Game Hacking ─ Developing Autonomous Bots for Online Games

Wish your favorite PC game had a more informative heads up display? What if you could instantly collect all that loot from your latest epic battle? You don't need to be a sorcerer to transform a game you like into a game you love. Just make a bot to do the grunt work for you!

If you're familiar with Windows-based development and memory management, then Game Hacking, provides all the tools and knowledge you need to become a true game hacker. Let veteran game hacker Nick Cano teach you the basics, including reverse engineering, assembly code analysis, programmatic memory manipulation, and code injection. Throughout the book, you'll hone your new skills with hands-on labs, dig into practice binaries, and learn to write your own bot.

Level up your toolbox with hacking techniques:

• Scan and modify memory with Cheat Engine
• Explore program structure and execution flow with OllyDBG
• Log processes and pinpoint useful data files with Process Monitor
• Manipulate control flow through NOPing, hooking, and more
• Locate and dissect common game memory structures

Discover the secrets behind common game bots, including:

• Persistent hacks, such as a heads up display
• Responsive hacks, such as auto healers and combo bots
• Bots with artificial intelligence, such as cave walkers and automatic looters

Game hacking might seem like black magic, but that doesn't mean it's evil. When you know how bot makers create bots and why they do it, you'll be empowered to discourage and defend against bots in your own games!

Journey through the inner workings of PC games, and come away with a deeper understanding of both game design and computer security.

Nick Cano is a senior security engineer at Bromium, where he develops software to defend against advanced malware. He wrote his first scripts for open-source game servers when he was 12 years old and has been involved with bot development communities ever since. Cano maintains his own game bot company and advises developers and designers on best practices to discourage and protect their games against bots.