# Game Archaeologist

- **Event:** [AIE Code Summit 2026 Hackathon](https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon)
- **When:** Sat, Nov 7 at 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM (PST)
- **Where:** San Francisco, CA
- **Team:** [Ali Madinovich Zhumataev](https://cerebralvalley.ai/u/fridaytaev)
- **GitHub:** https://github.com/fridaytaev001/game-archaeologist
- **Demo video:** https://youtu.be/hkid2sycUJE
- **Gallery:** https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery
- **Page:** https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery/5

Game Archaeologist turns a compiled game into readable, editable code without using its source. Meta's Muse Spark investigates the ROM through disassembly, memory inspection and experiments, then writes and corrects a JavaScript reconstruction. A deterministic verifier—not an AI vision model—runs the original and rewrite on identical inputs and compares every pixel.

Br8kout matched 90,000/90,000 steps across 30 unseen runs after the verifier caught a five-pixel mistake. Players can compare the original with a modern remake, then ask Meta to change a rule in plain English; a mod report tracks direct and downstream state differences. Larger games currently have matching opening screens but incomplete gameplay recovery.

Built during the hackathon: our emulator, investigation harness, Meta agent, verifier, mod builder and playable demo. Uses CC0 game ROMs. Code, findings and run logs are public. Software Archaeology track; solo entry by Ali Zhumataev.

## More from AIE Code Summit 2026 Hackathon

- [EvoArena](https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery/2)
- [ClauseLens](https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery/3)
- [Self recovery mech interpiblity](https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery/4)
- [JCZ](https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery/6)
- [Adversary](https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery/7)
- [Cross Exam](https://cerebralvalley.ai/e/aie-code-2026-hackathon/hackathon/gallery/8)

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