Since I think it's safe to say everyone here plays some sort of game, whether RPG, RST, online, offline, etc., I thought it might be a good crowd of people to ask. If you go to a search engine to look for tips or help on a game, I guarentee you'll get plenty of sites with cheats on them. Okay, so people cheat, what's the big deal?

Okay, first off, what qualifies as cheating? Is using a walkthrough cheating? Having your friend help you out? Or do you have to actually input some sort of cheat code or hack to actually be cheating? Technically, when I used walkthroughs I thought it was cheating. A low level type, but cheating nevertheless. Sometimes you get stuck, so you need a little help.

With cheat codes, you're outright giving yourself abilities in the game you would not normally have. For example in the game Glover, N64, I found it impossible to win even with cheats. But cheats included abnormally large life, opening future levels without completing pre-requisites, etc.

Now let's talk hacks. I know D2 best for hacks; Example- Maphack. With maphack the entire map is lit up and all the areas already marked on the minimap, obvously giving an unfair advantage. (Some people deny this is actually cheating, but, it is.)

Cheating, cheating. Big deal? Well, in single player games you're only affecting yourself. In online games, like D2, you can actually screw up the entire online economy by duplicating items, etc.

That aside, even if you weren't "hurting" anyhow, I don't quite understand why people cheat? I mean, at least when I play the FF games, I do it completely on my own the first time through if possible, and maybe the second time look up some hints online for additional help or side quests I missed. But, why cheat? In D2, why use Maphack? Why have a bot play for you for hours on end and get you tons of good items and then use them? Where's the fun in that? You didn't earn it...

Does cheating make games more fun? Or at least in certain instances? I know when I played the Sims the worst thing I ever did was learn the cheat that gave you unlimited money. It completely ruined the game for me, there was no game anymore, I could have everythign I needed without actually playing. No challenge.

I thought games were fun because they were challenging, and cheating removes the challenge. Hence, how is it fun?

...just a thought?