game hax and u

sometimes people hack video games. sometimes it requires a lot of effort and sometimes it’s just fucking around for a few hours. here’s the run down.

text hacks -this is casual baby mode. very easy mode. it involves replacing the text objects (like the text boxes from the help block in super mario world, or the dialogue in an rpg) in a game to make it say other things. even without a dedicated tool, it’s still pretty easy because most hex editors can look up strings of sentences for you.

graphics hacks -easy mode to text hacks’ very easy. specifically for games that do not use textured surfaces, this just means you redrew some graphics and changed some colors. maybe if you want to get crazy you changed some offsets to give yourself more space for whatever you are working on, or do some palette tricks. but mainly it’s a matter of replacing tiles, easy peasy. which is why it’s so confusing this stuff is “reported” on like it’s amazing work. hahaha game journalism.

texture hacks -graphics hacks for those aforementioned textured surfaces. this changes the texture on a 3d model. for example, maybe like changing mario’s color, or drawing on an extra eye or some shit. it doesn’t involve changing an object’s shape, size or anything, it’s sorta drawing on a three dimensional surface instead of ‘paper’ like with old pixeled games. harder than the above graphics hacks since you need to edit often so the textures do not warp or show up weird on a model.

level/map editing -here’s the real shit man. the normal mode that dips into hard as you get more involved. this involves rearranging the setting, levels, maps or what have you so the player has a new challenge. even if you did none of that above stuff you can get a very different game. but unlike the above, it doesn’t just look funny if you screw up. you fuck up here, you fuck up hard. or you just make it boring.

model editing -another 3d specific one. here you changed the shape of a model, the base object textures are put on so that a game’s not grey polygons moving around. it can get tough as most games have physics pre-programmed to certain objects. that means crazy shit will go down if you edit a model too much and then don’t adjust the physics to fit the new shape.

programming hacks -no one really says that because this is like the meat. it’s just “hacking”. this is altering the game’s actual programming to add much more to a game. you want the character to run faster, jump higher or add some completely new enemies, this is what you do. It can range from simply changing some numbers to completely rewriting areas of code. this is basically what an official game patch does.

of course usually you get a combination for something good. but if it’s just a stupid graphics hack, don’t lose your shit over it. people who know better will be embarrassed for you.