Bootstrapping Understanding: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering

BRANK

IntroductionReverse engineering an unfamiliar data file could be described as the bootstrapping of understanding. In many ways the process resembles the scientific method, only applied to human-made, abstract objects instead of the natural world. You begin by gathering data, and then you use that information to put forth one or more hypotheses. You test the hypotheses, and use the outcome of those tests to refine them. Repeat as needed.Developing skills in reverse engineering is largely a matter of practice. Through an accumulation of experiences, you build up an intuition of where to investigate first, what patterns to look for, and what tools to keep handy.In this essay I will walk through the process of reverse-engineering some data files from an old computer game, in order to show you a little bit of how it's done.Some BackstoryThis all started for me when I was attempting to re-create Chip's Challenge for Linux.Chip's Challenge was a game originally released in 1989 for Atari's n…