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Is cheating ok as long its intended by the developer?

Hyrulian_Zer0

Hyrulian_Zer0

Cappy
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as per my previous topic on gameshark/genie

is cheating okay, as long its the intended advantage for the player, especially single player games?

i can understand no hacked consoles/advantages for multiplayer

though lets look at the examples of skyrim ( console command ) and stardew valley ( item code as your name ) ... why change it if it only benefits the player and no one else?
 
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Honestly, I think people can do whatever the heck they want with any single player game they buy. There should be no skin off anyone's back if they want to cheat or hack or mod their game, because it makes no difference to anyone else.

As you mentioned, of course multiplayer is a different story entirely. Been getting back into TF2 recently and the bot issue is a real pain in the ass.
 
It’s your game, I say do what you want!

As a side note, OP, just so you know going forward: You’ve made multiple threads using the “Serious” tag today. I know it might not be clear, but that tag is reserved for topics meant to be taken gravely seriously. This would include things like threads for discussing real-world tragic events and things like that. I’ve changed it for you on your existing threads. You’re not in trouble or anything, it’s just so you know moving forward.
 
Its your game. Do whatever makes you have fun.

The reason cheat codes were never encouraged by pubs like Nintendo back in the day was because losing that control of the game could end up costing you a sale. Especially as rentals became a big thing.

Pubs like to set their own rules.
 
Cheating is ok as long as its fun for everyone involved

Cheating in competitive games is lame as hell
 
Maxis games were practically built with this in mind. So yes, cheat on for single-player stuff (where they often originated as debugging/testing tools).
 
In single player games there is nothing wrong with cheating. In many way mods are considered cheating, because they can add some qol improvements that may break the design or balance of the game. For example, in mass effect 2 I use a mod that lets me use the entire soldier class arsenal of weapons with any of the classes. It breaks the game because biotic classes are typically only given a small selection of the arsenal to use to balance out their powers, but man is it a lot of fun, and it makes Shepard feel like the chosen one super soldier the games make him out to be
 
I don't know, I cheated on Fuuka in persona 3 and, while this was clearly an in-game mechanic the developers intended, I felt really bad about myself when Fuuka brought me to a restaurant and bought me a cake with a name that was French for "unfaithful lover". I'll never forget that sting.

So no, I don't think you should cheat in games, especially not on Fuuka.

(Joking aside, as long as it's single player and you're having fun, go wild!)
 
The point of video games is to have fun so there’s no right way to play. If you have to use cheats to get the most out of it, go for it with the caveat that in competitive video games:
  • You plainly state you’re using cheats;
  • Everyone has access to the same cheats even if they don’t want to use them.
 
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Do what you want as long as it isn't directly negatively impacting someone else's experience.

I used a duping glitch in TotK - which I guess could be considered "cheating" - and I honestly think it improved my experience. I love the game, but after all the time I spent building myself up back in BotW I didn't feel like starting completely from zero again.
 
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Cheating is fine in single player games as long as you realize you may miss out on some things. And of course that's a "you" decision and not up to the developer.

What's more fun though is breaking the game within the confines of the game's system.
 
It feels wrong in multiplayer games because there isn’t a countermeasure for the other participants, especially where there is prize money involved, as it would go against the spirit of fair play. But in the single player experience, it’s fine. The Konami Code has been a thing for as long as most of us can remember. It wouldn’t be there, if it wasn’t intended for the player to use it. In Contra, it gives you 30 lives instead of 3. In Gradius, you can have a force field and triple shots from the start. The Game Genie has been around almost as long, too. It’s a product endorsed by the platform host. Also, glitches might exist. As long as they don’t render the game unplayable, they’re fine. One could argue that they bring a whole new dimension to Mega Man 2 speedrunning, for example. Then you have turbo controllers, which can allow button presses quicker than a human can execute, and even there, you can have varying ranges, which some might still use to avoid getting hand injuries, soreness, or pains. For the Game Genie example you mentioned, sure - Again, as long as it doesn’t render the game unplayable, it’s putting another easy/easier mode option on the table, I guess? If the end result is that it gives the player a chance to enjoy a game they might not persist with, and get a better experience out of it, I fail to see a problem. Oh, and remember that games aren’t “getting easier” - You’re just a lot more seasoned than when you started, and today’s player starting out has a lot more button configurations as well as 3D spaces to learn how to navigate, unlike those who cut their teeth in the 8-bit or 16-bit eras, who, for a large part, would’ve had the gift of “player’s wisdom” going into newer controllers…. and that’s before getting to the fact that difficulty in some games of the past was a result of hardware limitations or punishment by flawed design. One other thing - before the gatekeepers of the gaming community forced their grip, “Cheats” were commonly called Tips. They were a staple of games magazines, and they didn’t carry negative connotations or a sense of shame for people who used them. So, Please, Go enjoy your games. Use your cheat codes if you want to, and to hell with the “Get Good” culture. Ultimately, there are a whole range of circumstances where they might be helpful, and it’s nobody’s place to antagonise you for it. Hope it results in a better experience.
 
I only think cheating is bad when you use it to ruin the experience of the other in multiplayers. Other than that I'm fine with everything.
 
I never would have beaten Bloodborne without the cm dungeon

So when the choices are "Cheat in Bloodborne" or "Dont play Bloodborne", I think even FromSoft would prefer I go with the former.

(Single player only of course)
 
There can be a really narrow gap between, say exploiting a glitch that the devs didn’t know was there to make a ton of cash or whatever and exploiting gaps in enemy AI to easily cheese a tough boss fight in a silly way. In single player I’m not really sure I see much of a difference as I doubt either is what the developer intended, especially if the alternative would be putting down a game you’ve paid for or doing hours of mindless grinding/farming to get the same result. Thing is, games are so huge that I wonder if part of the fun of developing is sitting back and going ‘huh’ as you watch your players do crazy things with it just from millions of them eventually allowing them to stumble on wierd stuff and strategies that even the playtesters missed. BOTW and TotK must be prime examples of this.

Then you’ve got stuff like the various level skips in SMB/SMB3/SMW, where stumbling on them was the kind of the thing spread by playground rumour at the time. All fully intended to be found but it just took longer to disseminate to the player base back then. It still felt very different to using a game genie to give yourself infinite lives/invincibility or whatever though, I guess because the act of finding both a secret that’s intended to be found or even a glitch for yourself has a value in discovery beyond that.
 
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I feel Rare was one of the best studios when it came to including cheats in their games, if the developers put in their game it should be totally fine.
 
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i would even go so far to say it's fine in MP even, so long as everyone's on a level playing field

it's a game, make whatever homebrew rules you want if it's fun for you
 
Maybe in games from other developers, but Nintendo's terms and service usually say you can't modify your games isn't that right? I for one wouldn't want to break the law even if it was a solo game.
 
Boyfriend said:
i would even go so far to say it's fine in MP even, so long as everyone's on a level playing field

it's a game, make whatever homebrew rules you want if it's fun for you
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Wouldn't that require everyone to have the same cheating capabilities? Or even to know their opponent is doing it?

At that point is it even cheating if its a level playing field?

Most cheaters try to cover their tracks to avoid that level playing field.
 
Mer.Saloon said:
Wouldn't that require everyone to have the same cheating capabilities? Or even to know their opponent is doing it?

At that point is it even cheating if its a level playing field?

Most cheaters try to cover their tracks to avoid that level playing field.
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a level playing field in this case being the knowledge that other players are doing it and the ability to do it themselves

like yeah, you'd be a dick for doing it in a public lobby
 
Boyfriend said:
a level playing field in this case being the knowledge that other players are doing it and the ability to do it themselves

like yeah, you'd be a dick for doing it in a public lobby
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Fair enough.

Such a thing feels more fitting to custom minecraft or TF2 maps than any standard play. I feel like it'd just get boring to have pure anarchy on the regular.
 
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Speedruns (if not in its own category) and other competitive gameplay like multiplayer are of course not allowed.

Every other case, do whatever you want, no matter what the developer wants you to or not.
 
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Skittzo said:
Cheating is fine in single player games as long as you realize you may miss out on some things. And of course that's a "you" decision and not up to the developer.

What's more fun though is breaking the game within the confines of the game's system.
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i wish there were more avenues of cheating by nintendo, nin lost the lawsuit against game genie / game shark, yet people bought the hardware to do to make the game easier ... i hope they put them onto the NSO/NSO+ for us ... they added their competitor Sega onto NSO/NSO+ ... so .. why not?
 
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i will say as someone who cheated to oblivion n back with infinite hp lvl99 nonsense in my childhood n younger days, it's kinda meh to the experience.

like it's something ive actively gone far back on as ive grown. the dev intended experience really does tend to be more fun and rewarding in the long run even if our monke brains go "more easy big numbers good"

not to say it's always good though. i'd say cheating to remove a grind or just tedious part of the game is 100% valid and something i still do. with stuff like JRPGs you can cut off like 20-30 hours of nothing fluff content n get back to the good shit just by changing a couple of numbers, and that shit is worth it imo
 
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I think as most people already said here:

Singleplayer: Go HAM
Multiplayer: No
 
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Hyrulian_Zer0 said:
never heard or tried save scum
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Basically before a roll dice, you save.
Let's say in Disco Elysium I have only 10% chance of convincing a person in a dialogue choice, I would save right before picking the dialogue choice, and reload until i succeed.

I can't imagine playing Disco Elysium without save scuming.
 
MaitreWakou said:
Basically before a roll dice, you save.
Let's say in Disco Elysium I have only 10% chance of convincing a person in a dialogue choice, I would save right before picking the dialogue choice, and reload until i succeed.

I can't imagine playing Disco Elysium without save scuming.
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I can understand you but you shbould try it without some times. Some of the BEST dialogues and results in Disco Elysium come after you fail a dice roll. And sometimes it even helps you more than winning the dice roll. So not saying you it's bad and you shouldn't do it, but you are missing out on cool stuff! But Disco Elysium is one of the few exceptions who do that.
 
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