Games have been around for quite a long time and have played a significant role in human history. They have evolved over the years, changing in form and style, but there is one thing that all games from sports to table games to video games have in common: Rules. Of course, ever since games were invented there have also been attempts to break those rules, or cheat, in order to win. Unfortunately cheating is a rampant problem for any gamer, and that includes video game players. There are numerous ways to cheat at video games. Some of them, like code-altering devices are widely recognized as cheating, but other methods, such as exploits of in-game physics, are often defended because they do not rely on any external manipulation. Personally, I believe that these “advanced techniques” are a form of cheating and cannot abide playing against people who use them.
The Granddaddies of the Digital Cheat
There are many terms for these exploits and you probably know most of them: Snaking, Wavedashing, L-Cancelling. There are many others, but I am mainly concerned with those because they affect games that I play and would like to enjoy (I know this stuff is rampant in PC gaming, but I have little first-hand experience in that area). I have been around to play ever single iteration of Mario Kart and Smash Bros. and have been appalled at the behavioral trends of so-called competitive players. The rampant glitch abuse helped make Mario Kart DS, the first online version of the game, far less enjoyable. The excitement of playing with others around the world quickly soured once I realized the lengths people would go to in order to win a game. Between that and the disconnecting of sore losers, Nintendo’s first online experience really went downhill, and it’s the users’ fault for making it so.
All games have rules. It’s an indisputable fact. In order for a game to be played, everyone must abide by a set of pre-defined rules. In sports, there are judging bodies and referees who ensure that the rules are followed. In most games that people play at home, there is no way to enforce compliance other than trust. In essence, all players of any game agree to play fairly according to the rules. Usually, an infraction is an honest mistake, and there is no harm done, but when a player has it in their mind to cheat, problems begin to arise. Almost all gamers can agree that cheating– at least in a competitive environment– is always wrong, but not everyone necessarily agrees on what cheating is. I personally believe that anything that violates the intent of the game designers– the spirit of the game, if you will– is a form of cheating, and that includes glitch abuses like Wavedashing.
Many advanced players will rise to the defense of these so-called advanced techniques. The arguments for their use typically fall along the lines of justification because of the skill involved and the benefits to the player. Of course, just because something takes tremendous skill, doesn’t make it right. It takes skill to slip a card up your sleeve in a game of poker, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get thrown out of the casino if you get caught. I can understand the skill argument from an academic standpoint. I too am curious about game glitches, and have explored them in a single-player setting, just to see the weirdness that sometimes makes it into games. Perfecting the skill is impressive to say the least, but that’s not license to unleash unexpected game-breakers on the poor players who don’t even know they exist.
The other big justification for utilizing these glitch techniques is the infamous but laughable claim that if the game doesn’t stop you from doing it then it should be allowed. I find this line of thinking in an opponent of mine in any game to be slightly disturbing. People actually propose that a game must physically prevent you from doing something in order for it to be cheating. I wonder if any of these gamers play anything other than video games. Take a game of Battleship for example. The game doesn’t physically prevent you from moving your ships around after the first move. Your opponent can’t see you do it so you could likely get away with it completely. Is that cheating? It absolutely is. The game makers, and your opponent, trust that you will not do these things. All you are really doing is cheating yourself out of a proper and fun game experience.
Even in a video game, there is a certain level of trust placed on the player. To use a classic example, the NES game Wild Gunman places players in a duel with an old-west outlaw.
The rules of the game state that a player is to hold their Zapper at their side, raising and firing only after the gunman calls, “Draw!” You are only given split seconds to do this; however, you could easily shave precious time off your task by holding the gun up and aiming ahead of time. In fact, you could probably win every time by doing this. But, by winning this way, you are cheating yourself out of the simulated wild-west showdown that the game purports to provide. In the real old-west, you’d be what they’d call “Yella.” There are always external factors that even a video game can’t control. Using an unannounced pause or unplugging your opponent’s controller are a couple of old dirty tricks for example. The game can’t stop you, right? No, it can’t, but it has to trust that you won’t do those things, or the game is made invalid and pointless.
So why, then, do people do it? Why do they justify using these dirty game play tactics? Well, as with the motivation for any cheating, the desire to win at any cost entices players to use any means necessary to achieve that goal. It’s a mindset that is ingrained in many video-gamers from years of battling the pixilated forces of evil. It makes us feel special, exceptionally skilled, and elite, something we can all relate to. Of course, very few people would actually admit they are cheaters, hence the justifications. They believe they are staying within the rules, “working the system” as it were. I don’t find the exploitation of unintentional loopholes to be very fair. There are players in pen and paper role-playing games who build inconceivably powerful characters by finding combinations of rules that allow them to do so. The practice, known as “minimaxing” in the vernacular, technically adheres to the rules, but violates the intended game experience and makes the game significantly less fun for those who haven’t read the copious amounts of rule books cover to cover. Some players’ need to find and use every miniscule glitch that can give them an advantage is puzzling to me. It never even occurs to me to look for such things, much less bother to learn to use them effectively.
An example of the “wavedashing” exploit from Super Smash Bros.: Melee
I for one wish that there was a way to avoid these situations altogether. One might think that the game developers could be more careful with their physics engines, ensuring that there are no possible exploits. Unfortunately, that isn’t very feasible. Games are play-tested quite thoroughly, but there will always be something that is missed. The best thing the programmers can do is close these gaps when the next iteration of the game comes out, something that has happened with both Smash Bros. with Wavedashing and Mario Kart with Snaking (or so early reports indicate). While many have cried foul, it’s only a matter of time before certain gamers find new glitches that give them an unnatural edge. Collectible card game makers ban their own cards all the time and try to close rule exploits from set to set. RPG writers also revise the rules whenever they publish a new edition to help the game remain what it is supposed to be. Unfortunately, all these fixes can only come after the fact. I applaud the developers for trying to put a stop to it, but in the end it seems to be a losing battle.
I know that most gamers hold strong opinions regarding things like Wavedashing and Snaking. While I might refer to them as “glitch-abuse” or just plain cheating, many of you consider them “Advanced Techniques.” We all have the right to our opinion and I respect that. As long as everyone playing is in agreement about what is and is not acceptable, then it isn’t a big problem. Unfortunately, I have seen the less appealing aspects of these glitches first hand. I have a problem when they are used to dominate the regular players, online or otherwise. It taints the game in my view and doesn’t encourage me to play anymore. Not everyone plays games for the same reason. Games aren’t just about proving skill; they are about entertainment and having a good time. I would humbly suggest that those who know and use these techniques think about that while playing so that everyone can have a great and fun experience.
