In today’s #gamedev musings let’s discuss: cheat codes! Do you remember them? Do you miss them? I do and do. And for quite some time, it’s baffled me how few players recognize the disservice done by removing cheats from video games. #indiedev #gamedesign - ThreadSky

goshki.vigeo.dev • 13 days ago

In today’s #gamedev musings let’s discuss: cheat codes! Do you remember them? Do you miss them? I do and do. And for quite some time, it’s baffled me how few players recognize the disservice done by removing cheats from video games.

#indiedev #gamedesign

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girthylemongames.bsky.social•13 days ago

First game I ever bought with my own money was Doom 2 and I remember turning the game into more of a toy with those cheats.

I really like the way Halo did it's skull system, but perhaps should've had more different ones for those who just wanted to mess around, like you could with these old cheats.

goshki.vigeo.dev•13 days ago

Cheats were originally created as developer tools for testing games. Game creation requires multiple playthroughs of specific sections, and starting from the beginning each time was impractical.

goshki.vigeo.dev•13 days ago

In early game development, when tools weren’t as sophisticated, testing specific levels was difficult. Cheat codes let developers skip to any section, making testing faster and more focused.

goshki.vigeo.dev•13 days ago

These codes often remained in released games, eventually being discovered by players (or deliberately shared as rewards). Once public, players could choose whether to use them or not.

goshki.vigeo.dev•13 days ago

And here’s the kicker: the unexpected benefit of cheats was that all players, regardless of skill level, could experience every part of the game. Not fairly perhaps, but they could access all content even if not as intended.

goshki.vigeo.dev•13 days ago

Players could customize their experience: skip boring parts, disable time limit, feel powerful with advanced weapons, beat challenging bosses, or compress a long game into their limited free time.

goshki.vigeo.dev•13 days ago

Sure, it was cheating and broke the intended game experience. But it let everyone enjoy games on their own terms – and you know what? It was perfectly fine. The only person for whom the game was broken was the player. And they knew exactly what they were doing when using cheats.

moshjason.bsky.social•13 days ago

I always develop with cheat codes. I need them for the same reason early developers need them - skipping to sections, making things easier so if it's a part I am not trying to test, or even hide parts of the game that I like but aren't quite making it in to the game itself.

goshki.vigeo.dev•12 days ago

This is the way, IMO. Also, interesting approach with hiding sections of the game. 👍

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