Practicum 7 Mike

For this post I am going to talk about "cheating" and "hacking" in the networked gaming world. While typically these sound like negative terms, they have grown to be just another part of the online gaming world. Many people who are experienced gamers and/or participate in online discussions know certain tricks in playing that are called "hacks." They are usually bugs in the game's design that allow the player to break basic rules within the game world for more positive results. Game designers don't necessarily look at this as a negative effect in their game, and occasionally program certain hacks in for gamers to figure out. The most common that I have found is a hack for jumping higher and running faster. By hitting the normal commands on the controller for running or jumping (in this case we will take jumping) and tapping the button repeatedly in certain areas (for jumping it tends to be near large objects that seem unscalable), the player can break basic laws of physics and sky rocket into the air. This is usually used to get a player to a certain spot in the game map that provides excellent cover or a better vantage point. I have tried to incorporate some of these hacks into my gameplay, but have been pretty unsuccessful. I usually stand near a wall trying to jump higher for a while and end up getting killed and looking like an idiot. I may not be cut out for this kind of gameplay as I usually perform better without it, but it has grown to be seen as part of the game as opposed to cheating or breaking the rules.