# Do you cheat at video games? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 18, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202 "2010-09-18T18:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/21 "2010-09-19T13:20:46Z")
Another walk-through user, but only after I’ve gone as far as I can with the game. At the point where the game is starting to get boring because I can’t figure out how to get past a certain point I’ll go looking for the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/22 "2010-09-19T13:30:18Z")
I do simply because what kind of adventurer goes off without good weapons? Plus I suck at games, what takes someone 10 hours will take me 20 or more. So yes I cheat most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/23 "2010-09-19T13:35:05Z")
Frequently. I will try without cheats, but after a few tries, I get frustrated and just want to move to the next part. Especially if winning is just a matter of (IMO) luck. For example, I recently replayed Far Cry. I’m no twitch gamer, but I like a little FPS action. I made it through the game, never really having to go through a scene more than 3-4 times for the toughest stretches. Then you get the ubiquitous “leave him without weapons” scene near the end. My two choices were to drop the difficulty to “kiddie” (don’t know if FC supports that in game), cheat, or shelve the game. I couldn’t remember the ending (probably because I never got to it before), so I chose to cheat my way past by adding weapons and ammo. Another example are RPGs which become nothing more than inventory management games (like my all time favorite, Baldur’s Gate II). I played that one through at least once, but now when I feel like re-playing it, I always add mods that skip the tutorial dungeon, shorten the cut-scenes, and ease inventory issues. Makes re-playing the game more fun. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/24 "2010-09-19T14:11:00Z")
If I reach the end and can’t get past the final boss, I will try it until I’m bored and then cheat to see what the finale is like. That is, if I can find a cheat. There was one a year or so ago that I couldn’t get past the final boss and couldn’t find any cheat codes and I ended up not caring enough to keep trying. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/25 "2010-09-19T14:43:23Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Not usually, no. It kind of defeats the point, doesn’t it ? When there’s no challenge, there’s little pleasure in beating the game. If your goal is to “beat the game”, you’re correct - there’s little pleasure in using cheats. However, my goal is to “relax by goofing off a bit”, and playing the same section over and over and over and over makes my goal unattainable. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/26 "2010-09-19T16:09:51Z")
> [@](#): > > In Civ IV, for instance, I detest how mountains and most desert tiles are useless, so at the start of a campaign I’ll crack open the map editor to change them all to hills and plains (and remove flood plains). Or I might change the whole continent to all grassland or all plains and see how that plays out. If I’m fed up with the restrictions on missionaries I might periodically use the city editor to add existing religions to all cities; or I might found and un-found all seven religions in 4000 BC to have a religion-free campaign. I might add corporations to my cities in the ancient era to see how much that affects my early expansion (answer: a lot). I might cover the whole continent with railroads at the start of the campaign and see how plays out. Back in Civ II my brother played a game where he gave himself a single stealth bomber at the start just to see how much it changes early gameplay (answer: entirely). Adding a silly parameter like this to a campaign is fun for me, and it almost certainly would have been less fun to play the game cheat-free over and over for the same amount of time. Yeah I do some Civ cheating too. I figure I might as well edit the map to be decent, not great. On a Hard difficulty I will know about 25 minutes into the game if I have a chance or not. If the resources and geography don’t fall into place It’s a hopeless endeavor. So rather than waste 25 minutes on something I know I might have to abandon, I will make sure I am in a decent place to start. It is my fun time anyway. Way back in original Civ I would cheat on the absolute bullshit. Stupid freakin’ spearman sinking my battleship on it’s first attack was not cool. :mad: reloaded for a redo on that without shame. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/27 "2010-09-19T21:12:49Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > > [@Kobal2](#): > > > > Not usually, no. It kind of defeats the point, doesn’t it ? When there’s no challenge, there’s little pleasure in beating the game. > > If your goal is to “beat the game”, you’re correct - there’s little pleasure in using cheats. There’s “challenging” and there’s “fucking impossible”. At some point of repeatedly trying to get through the former and failing, I’ll decide it’s really the latter and see if there are any cheat codes to get it back to the former. If no cheats or trainers are available, I will give up and uninstall. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/28 "2010-09-20T01:43:57Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I started a couple of franchises, noticed it, traded for the first 8 picks in the draft and crushed the draft. Of course, I didn’t have the foresight to stagger the contracts and when they all came due, I was 35 million dollars over the salary cap without resigning any of my free agents. Well that was your problem. You signed 8 players to huge Top 10 contracts. If a great sleeper pick is projected to go in the 6th Round, there’s no point in picking them before the 5th. Lock them into a 6-Round, $800K a year contract for 7 years and you’re golden. Unless there’s an absolute STUD available when I pick in the 1st Round I generally trade down and pick up another late rounder or two (after all, I know who all the sleepers are and where they’re going ;)). Then take any backups with trade value and do the same for the following season. I ended up getting an O-Line where every one was younger than 26, \>88 overall, and locked in for 6 years. Granted, I’m probably going to have about **1/2 my team** holding out for a new contract in a few seasons. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/29 "2010-09-20T05:11:21Z")
I picked maybe. I don’t use cheat codes or map editor or anything like that… but I have a terrible, terrible habit of abusing the save/load feature if things don’t go quite as I planned. For example in Civ4 I have to force myself to leave the box unchecked for generate new seed on load (or whatever it’s called) since otherwise I will reload the game every time my general dies, or I lose a stack in a battle I ‘should’ have won and so on. It’s a terrible habit, and actually makes games less fun in the long run (since I end up playing the most frustrating parts over and over to get them just right) but I can’t help myself ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/30 "2010-09-20T13:39:00Z")
I will not cheat in a game on my first playthrough. Never, ever, regardless of how hard a particular boss or puzzle is. Cheating simply takes the fun out of the challenge. I may cheat once I’ve beaten a game on the hardest mode, and now it’s time to have fun and play God. But never until then. There are very, very, _very_ rare exceptions, however. Some games, like Grand Theft Auto, are just more fun to cheat in than play “properly”. I’ve never actually finished a GTA game, but man, have I cheated my ass off in them. 😃 What’s the car thing in Age of Empires? I _loved_ that game and never cheated at it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/31 "2010-09-20T13:41:54Z")
I don’t agree that walkthroughs are cheating either. Walkthroughs are so you can get your grubby little mitts on everything the game has to offer, and I feel I am just getting my money’s worth. Cheating? I play probably 90% of my games on the console so of course I never cheat. I don’t know how. On the PC, sure, mainly I load up games so I can play in God mode or hack everything and have fun. I don’t want to play Morrowind unless I can be an uber character, and I love playing Age of Empires with the cheats. It’s for fun. However I play it is correct. I don’t do much multiplayer, except with the SO, and if we cheat on those we both cheat (like Diablo I, maxing out our stats or whatever). ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/32 "2010-09-20T14:04:08Z")
> [@Cyberhwk](#): > > > [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > > > I started a couple of franchises, noticed it, traded for the first 8 picks in the draft and crushed the draft. Of course, I didn’t have the foresight to stagger the contracts and when they all came due, I was 35 million dollars over the salary cap without resigning any of my free agents. > > Well that was your problem. You signed 8 players to huge Top 10 contracts. If a great sleeper pick is projected to go in the 6th Round, there’s no point in picking them before the 5th. Lock them into a 6-Round, $800K a year contract for 7 years and you’re golden. > > Unless there’s an absolute STUD available when I pick in the 1st Round I generally trade down and pick up another late rounder or two (after all, I know who all the sleepers are and where they’re going ;)). Then take any backups with trade value and do the same for the following season. I ended up getting an O-Line where every one was younger than 26, \>88 overall, and locked in for 6 years. > > Granted, I’m probably going to have about **1/2 my team** holding out for a new contract in a few seasons. 😃 Oh yeah, I know and understand what I did wrong there. There was an offensive tackle that would ONLY sign for the maximum years and the absolute maxiumum dollar amount that can be offered. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/33 "2010-09-20T14:09:52Z")
Yes, if it bores me. In Medieval 2: Total War, I auto-resolve battles that I am going to easily win, by my own calculations. But I save the game beforehand, so if I lose, I either replay it face to face, or wait until next turn. I see it as a wash in the end, because even when I win, I usually take more casualties on auto-resolve than if I had handled it personally, so the insurance of the win is made up for by larger average casualties when I do win. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/34 "2010-09-20T14:13:52Z")
Chose “No - Other”. I basically never use cheat codes or similar, and will only resort to a walkthrough if the stupidity factor of trying to get past the obstacle has reached exponential heights, or if I’ve already beaten the game and want to see what I missed. This is not from any real sort of integrity - I just think cheat codes are pointless and the opposite of fun. Do I really think that removing the restrictions put in place by the designers (which is really what 97% of “cheat codes” do. The remaining 3% are goofy cosmetic things that don’t really count as ‘cheats’, unless you think you get some sort of psychological advantage from a Big Head code or something.) is going to make the game more interesting or fun? Unlikely, assuming they’ve done their job right (They don’t always, but I like to give them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise - hence the exponential stupidity clause above) The idea of, as mentioned, removing “unuseful” tiles from a Civ map is abhorrent to me. Non-usable tiles add critical variety, and eliminating them makes the game less fun and interesting to me. Games are defined by their rules - which is to say, their restrictions. Removing these degrades the complexity, balance, and fun of the game. Would I like playing a space 4X game more if every planet was the same? no. I’d enjoy it less because there would be less complexity and variety. That said, I realize that some people have lower tolerance for and interest in complexity and variety than I do. They’re free to cheat, but in my heart of hearts, I will be rolling my eyes at them for not understanding. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/35 "2010-09-20T14:41:02Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > > [@Kobal2](#): > > > > Not usually, no. It kind of defeats the point, doesn’t it ? When there’s no challenge, there’s little pleasure in beating the game. > > If your goal is to “beat the game”, you’re correct - there’s little pleasure in using cheats. > > However, my goal is to “relax by goofing off a bit”, and playing the same section over and over and over and over makes my goal unattainable. Bingo. Playing the same section over and over is not relaxing. I have enough challenges - video/computer _games_ should not be one of them. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/36 "2010-09-20T14:55:35Z")
Saving before a crucial battle is cheating. Yes, i cheat. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/37 "2010-09-20T16:02:43Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > There’s “challenging” and there’s “fucking impossible”. At some point of repeatedly trying to get through the former and failing, I’ll decide it’s really the latter and see if there are any cheat codes to get it back to the former. If no cheats or trainers are available, I will give up and uninstall. For me, it all depends on the type of game. I quit _Devil May Cry 3_ after like 2 attempts at the first boss of the game (the Cerberus), figuring that if boss n°1 with the predictable patterns and forgiving timing and so forth was giving me so much grief, the rest of the game would be a no-fun slog. I recently watched a Let’sPlay of that game and yeah, it would have been 🙂 OTOH, Matador from _Shin Megami Tensei:Nocturne_ is an absurd and unashamedly unfair jump in difficulty compared to every boss that comes before it (and quite a few that come _after_ it), but each time the asshole stomped my face I got more determined to beat his stupid face. Until I did, and what sweet, sweet victory screen that was 🙂 I think I’ve got more patience for “brain” difficulty, that is to say figuring out the best set of skills and units and the correct research, overarching strategy and so forth, usually in turn by turn ; than I have for “body” difficulty, which is pure timing, reflexes, hand/eye coordination and so forth. If I had to put a reasoning behind it, I’d say I’m not going to get better at physical skills than I am already, but I \*can \*outsmart a machine if I set my mind to, no matter how unfair the contest is. Really though, it’s mostly just a gut feeling - some hard games are challenging, some hard games are just bullshit, man. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/38 "2010-09-20T18:42:02Z")
I’m in the camp who cheats to play with the game engine. I’ll cheat myself oodles of money in The Sims or SimCity to build “perfect” cities or fanciful towers and whatnot. In Civ, I’ll routinely completely change the game mechanics for the sheer joy of it. Generally, though, I don’t start cheating a game until I can at least competently play it without cheats. If a game is bullshit-hard enough that I would need to cheat to beat it, unless it’s got a particularly compelling story I will probably just stop playing it (see Devil May Cry, for example). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/39 "2010-09-20T18:45:40Z")
I look it up when I can’t get any further. I want my damned money’s worth out of a game, and I suck at games. If I can only get a quarter of the way in and then get stuck, yes, I’ll cheat. Not particularly ashamed of it. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202/40 "2010-09-20T18:58:54Z")
I play pretty much every incarnation of Zelda. While I don’t use a walkthru for 95% of the game I am not beyond referring to one in “Well, WTF am I supposed to do next?” scenarios. It saves a lot of time and typically it’s something I tried but not by the exact method needed to get past a point. (I think in Twilight Princess you had to give a fish to a cat which I tried but instead of just placing the fish by the cat you had to carry it to him and then engage in converstaion with him or something like that). I would have never thought of that method, abandoned the whole cat/fish thing, and spent countless hours wandering around town poking at doors with sticks. And boss fighting in the Zelda series usually goes: Attempt 1, get your ass kicked. Attempt 2, get beat again but observe the enemy and develop a strategy. Attempt 3, use strategy to gain ground but get beat again. Attempt 4, beat the boss. If after a few rounds I’ve tried a few strategies and nothing seems to be working and I’m making no progress I might refer to a guide for a tip. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cheat-at-video-games/554202.md?page=3)