A former Rockstar Games developer, Obbe Vermeij, recently revealed how he cleverly hid cheat codes in Grand Theft Auto 3’s codebase to stop hackers from cracking them at launch.
His innovative approach, however, had an unexpected side effect: it accidentally disrupted speedrunners.
Cheat Code Hiding Explained:
- Instead of embedding cheat codes directly (e.g., “ILOVESCOTLAND” to make it rain), Vermeij used “hash codes” to obscure them.
- Hash codes are single numbers derived from the ASCII values of letters. For example:
- “ILOVESCOTLAND” = 983
- “GUNSGUNSGUNS” = 951
- The game checked player input against these hash codes, hiding the actual cheat phrases from prying eyes.
Unintended Consequences:
- Some alternate inputs (like “HDLMAAXOPK”) produced the same hash value as valid cheats, activating them unintentionally.
- This accidental activation became a problem for speedrunners, as cheats—triggered accidentally during play—violated strict no-cheat rules and forced runs to be aborted.
Final Take:
While Vermeij’s trick succeeded in keeping cheats hidden from hackers at launch, the unintended overlap created a unique challenge for speedrunners and gamers experimenting with random inputs.
It’s a reminder of how even clever game design can have quirky consequences in practice.