ELI5: Why is cheating in online games seemingly so prevelant? - eviltoast

What do these people think they gain?

Whats the point?

Do they really just want to ruin stuff for everyone?

  • Lemminary@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    22
    ·
    2 months ago

    I used to love in-game cheats as a kid. The ‘motherlode’ cheat on the Sims & the button combinations in GTA were great. Being able to summon a tank and roll over everything on-demand was awesome. I liked how those games embraced it and made things a whole lot more fun.

    • 𝔼𝕩𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕒@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      23
      ·
      2 months ago

      In a single player game no one should give a shit. Give yourself a million dollars. Mod in a gun that does 50,000 damage. A car that does 350mph.

      It’s pvp where people notice/care you’re cheating

      • Lemminary@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        2 months ago

        Yeah, I’m reminiscing because I was reminded of that particularly fun period in my life. Nothing to do with the main topic.

        • Zoot@reddthat.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          2 months ago

          Have you tried gtao with mods/cheats? Its the only game that I happily “cheat in” because when I play, I just want to have fun with the new things. Also keeps you safe from other modders, and I’ve made quite a few friends just being able to enjoy the game and not grind.

    • BougieBirdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 months ago

      I’m also nostalgic for the era where cheats were easter eggs that enhanced the single-player experience.

      Like, as a kid I was interested in Warcraft/Starcraft, but I’m horrible at RTS gameplay. Cheats gave me an out so that I could enjoy the story.

      Historically, cheats were essentially debug tools that the developer could use to, say, thoroughly play through a level with unlimited lives. But around the 90s/00s you started to see this shift away from using a complicated code of buttons to activate (Konami Code, IDDQD) to a simple to remember phrase (“PowerOverwhelming,”“GiveUsATank,” “GunsGunsGuns”).

      That shift makes me think that the cheats were for the players to enjoy. Otherwise they wouldn’t have fun names to activate them.