Multiface
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The Multiface was a hardware add-on released by Romantic Robot UK Ltd. for various 1980s home computers (like the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC 464). The device allowed the user to save the contents of memory to tape or disk, thus enabling one to create backups of software. Copyright infringement was prevented by requiring the same unit to be present on loading the games. This was eventually worked around by a public domain program called "Anti-Multiface". The primary use for this feature was to be able to save your progress at any point during a game, a feature that was uncommon on the 8-bit home computers of the time.
Another feature was the ability to view and edit the contents of memory. This made cheating especially easy - magazines used to print codes every month, these codes were known as 'pokes'. Competing devices included the Mirage Imager, Disk Wizard, and Action Replay. At the time, none of these could save as many games, or offered the cheats. Action Replays for cheating have since been released on newer systems. Other competing systems were a wide array of software-based transfer programs.
A further use of the Multiface was to save tape-based games to disk, thus cutting out the extensive loading times often associated with such games.
Some games tried to detect the Multiface, and refused to load if it was present. The earliest models had no ability to "hide". Later revisions either included a switch, hid if you opened and closed the menu before loading the game, or automatically hid.
There was also some software available for the Multiface that loaded into the Multiface RAM. Examples are an improved debugger/assembler and a utility to find cheats.
