Ekim's Gamer View: Cheating for the Masses

Michel "Ekim" Veilleux
2002-11-27

Cheating in games is as old as games themselves. There are people specializing in finding faults in some games and exploit them. Cheating in a single player game is simply cheating yourself. But cheating in an MMORPG is cheating many other players around you. But which is truly worse?

The lone cheater
I think most gamers have cheated in a single player game at least once in their lives. If only to be able to get past one ungodly difficult part of a game just to see where the story goes. I remember I did that myself a few times In the original Baldur’s gate. I used commands to instantly kill the boss’ henchmen just so they wouldn’t be in my way when trying to kill him. And even then the encounters were still challenging.

There are some games out there that frustrates and challenges the gamer’s patience. I played Warcraft 3 for a few hours after it came out, but have never played since. The frustration just wasn’t worth it for me. I was never a huge fan of Real-Time Strategy games anyway, so don’t count my opinion as food for thought. I’m never good at them to begin with… But I would certainly understand someone cheating to get past the games more nasty areas.

So when you feel cheated by a game you love, maybe it’s just normal to go out and try to find ways to go around the hurdles instead of jumping over them. In doing so, the player is kind of cheating himself out of the experience though. The exhilaration after winning a tough fight sequence against a multitude of foes, even if you had to try three times before managing it, is always very rewarding. It becomes a source of pride. But if you cheat through it the pride and feeling of reward fades quickly, and sometimes just a little guilt forms in our minds. It’s normal. But you still cheated.

I cheat you, you cheat me
At least you only cheated yourself. The remorse fades away as quickly as the story moves on. Cheating other players can be quite questionable though. Online games, whether they be massive or not, are a cesspool of cheating players. But the cheating players in these types of games are detrimental to the experience of other gamers, those they play with or, even worse, against! Cheating takes on a whole new dimension. No longer are you cheating only yourself. You are giving yourself an advantage over others. Suddenly, the cheating actually makes you proud because you’re the first to have the biggest loot, to be able to single handedly kill the biggest mob, to get the most powerful character, etc.

Unfortunately I can’t get into the minds of those who cheat in those games. Most of them try to stay as secretive as they can about it. Why are they doing it? Why do they feel they need an edge over the other players? Wouldn’t the world be better if everyone was on the same playing field? I’d like to have those questions answered as I can never understand the real need for someone to use cheats in online games, where your actions greatly affect other people’s enjoyment of their game. The same game you are enjoying perhaps a little too much. Do these people realize they are actually destroying the game they play, that they are turning some potential players away?

Cheating your pride
Cheat away at will in your single player game, I don’t care much. I will only smile and proudly announce, if that’s the case, that at least I finished it without requiring cheats. I will be proud even if I didn’t get that +10 shining blade of Torture… But please don’t cheat while trying to hunt me down in my favorite online game. That only gets me irritated. If all non-cheating players leave out of irritation towards cheaters, then who will you hunt down?

On a special note today I would like to wish a very happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends! After this weekend there’s only Christmas to look forward to. Now’s the time to make our wish list! Here’s mine:

• Peace on Earth (I know, that one is easy)
• I’d like for everyone to stay healthy for the next few years.
• Arx Fatalis (it just won’t seem to ever arrive in this area… grr!)
• I wish I can go to bed tonight and already be December 18th when I wake up tomorrow so that I can go see The Two Towers! (I can be such a childish man sometimes…)