How do Cheat Programs Work?

The method of entering cheat codes varies; on video game consoles, which lack keyboards, the code is frequently a sequence of button presses. On computers such as the Amiga or PC, the code can be textual and entered using the gaming keyboard, or more outlandish combinations of computer mouse, keyboard and controller may be required to activate the code. In modern games, the cheats are also often enabled through adding special settings in game configuration files.

While normal cheat codes are built into the game by the programmers, unofficial cheat codes can be created by manipulating the contents of memory address for a running game. On video game consoles this is done using a cheat cartridge. Users of some early home computers called these codes pokes, named after the command used to input them. Nowadays, cheating like this is considered "hacking" because the user must use external software or hardware to change values in the game memory.

Cheat codes are, by definition, considered cheating and most serious players only use them for experimentation, if at all. Sometimes, though, using cheat codes is necessary, particularly in case of bugs: If a serious game-stopping bug is encountered, a cheat code may be able to bypa ss it without the need to start the whole game over again from the beginning.

Modifying any values in memory can have unexpected results, and normally people refer to cheat code websites so that they can know which codes to enter. PC game cheat codes, can affect your computer as it may contain viruses. The legal cheats may be guaranteed against any technical malfunction, but any illegal cheats have to be downloaded at the user's own risk.