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Cheats are an endrun around overworked designers |
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Monday, October 13, 2003
From a discussion in the Worms3D forums) Remember how in the X-Men for the Genesis to progress past level 5 the player had to reset the console? Or how Tomb Raider Chronicles featured a swinging bar jump on one level, and not on the other bars in the game? Or UT2003's Oh-So-Fun sniperdeath boss? Or how in the classic Ikari Warriors for the NES the 3rd level victory conditions weren't implemented? Until the design crew is so well intuned with the average gamer that no bonehead ideas ever make it past testing, cheats are an essential part in preventing one flagrant mistake from making a game totally unplayable. Maybe after years of obsessing over this game it makes perfect sense to team 17 that the obsidion monster boss only takes damage from the mortar shell, and then only in the left arm. Obsidion, mortar, arm... the solution is obvious, right? No. Cheating is a very necessary step in keeping control firmly in the hands of the gamer, allowing for smooth progression through levels whose difficulty graph may resemble that of a heartbeat. Anyone else remember how the cantina boss in Star Wars for the SNES was unbeatable unless the player had a full weapon, and therefore hadn't died? Anyone remember fuitily typing "Insert atomic vector plotter into no tea" until they gave up and just read the bloody Hitchhiker's Guide? It is your right, nay... duty to cheat when the company at hand has made a mistake. Can't get past level 25 because a consumable item is required for progression, but was consumed? Cheat. Can't beat the soda wall monster because this second level beastie happens to be the most difficult in the game? Reclaim your power, and cheat. Can't beat Rambo because the 100 letter password the game spits out is incorrect 1/2 of the time? You know what to do. - Chris 4:39 PM [+] Comments:
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