The Long History of Game Cheats
Fabian Toulouse
Cheat codes for video games have a colorful history. Hardly a game ever manufactured-even dating back to early Atari and the first computer games-has not had cheats either built in or a had way to program in changes. True, cheating sort of came about by chance, but today there is a whole game cheat culture with its own corner of the publishing industry.
At first, cheating was done only by the technically savvy gamers. It was not easy, and the every day gamer didn't have the skills. Cheating back in the day required literally reprogramming a game before it was loaded into the computer's memory. This breed of cheats were called POKES and could be used to create much the same effects that cheats produce in newer games-make a character unstoppable, get unlimited health, etc.
Game manufacturers from the beginning built cheats into their games. These were not intended for the use of players, however, but for the game testers. It made the pre-marketing testing process more efficient. Usually, the cheats were not removed before the games went on sale, and gamers found them. Accessing these cheats became so wide spread that game designers took note. Players began to look for them, and designers obliged, rewarding gamers with creative, useful, or interesting cheats and unlockables.
Some players howled that cheats were illegal, bad, wrong, and un-American. Even some of the gaming magazines took up the chant, but it was soon squashed. The cheats were just too cool. They could omit levels and speed up play for the time-crunched. They could take you to hidden sites and unlock stuff. They definitely made game replay way more interesting. And they could make eighteen wheelers fly and dinosaurs appear undead-how wack is that?
So cheat all you want! Cheats make gaming more creative, letting you make the game do what you want it to do. Be as dedicated or as witty as you like! Game cheats are the best way to get the most out of your games.
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