Gaming the Game

Article first published as Gaming the Game on Technorati.

The wages of sin may be death but that toll is rarely exacted on cheaters in multiplayer gaming.  The worst that can happen is the cheater gets banned from the game and their copy invalidated.  The gaming equivalent of an execution for the sin. 

Of course someone so inclined could bring about their own Lazarus moment by simply buying another copy of the game and getting a new email address.  For the determined this is a common tactic and it seems the game industry can do (or will do)little to combat the issue. 

With popular titles, a game hack or cheat can be available the first day of release.  Sooner if the game reuses an already popular game engine.  It's gone far beyond the hacker who spends sleepless nights to gain an advantage, it's a business.

Try this out, do a Google search with your favorite title and just add the word "cheat".  In between leaked developer console commands and memory modifiers you'll find ads for services that promise domination of your online competition. 

So it was with Johnb32xq ( from here on known as John) from Canada a seemingly normal guy who succumbed to the temptation to cheat Battlefield 3's multiplayer.  He was paying a m monthly fee to Artificial Aiming ( a game hacking group) to gain access to their cheats.  When discovered by his gaming friends and confronted about it he chose the cheat over them.  In signature style he invoked a cheat that instantly vanquished all of his former compatriots before being banned from the gaming clan server.

John claims that there was no nefarious motivation for his actions.  He used the cheats simply as an "anger outlet" to relieve stress from his unfulfilling job as a mobile device tech. 

Look a bit closer at that last sentence.  It's about John's needs and the fact that other players are affected by his actions seems to be of no consequence to him.  However, the outrage expressed by victims of cheaters like John has less to do with the game itself than violating the social aspects of it. 

In games like Battlefield 3 accolades come only after a significant investment of time and effort.  The rewards have less to do with a better gun than a higher position on the leader board.  Earning a higher rank or receiving an award for a skill brings online prestige.  So it's no surprise that some would chose a shortcut to elevate their status.

Recently EA and Dice made available add-on content available for Battlefield 3 in the form of Shortcut Kits.  Marketed as a way to "level the playing field" with more experienced players, the shortcut kits (which allowed a player to access all available items in a player's class) was actually more of a legitimized game hack.  These kits were reasonably priced and subverted  illegitimate hacks that offered many of the same benefits.  A classic case of If you can't beat 'em join 'em and EA did just that squeezing  even more revenue out of the franchise in the process.

It's a strategy akin to the position of  proponents of the legalization of marijuana.  A tactic that has been at least partially successful for EA and Dice.  Unfortunately cheaters still pose an issue for the average player in spite of measures to combat it.

While John may not be a criminal miscreant in real life his actions relegate him to that position in the gaming world.  John has stated his motives plainly but it's likely there's more to it than just stress relief.   

In the 21st century it seems that accomplishment has less to do with effort and more about subverting the competition.  This is the basis of capitalism and even communist nations embrace it's tenets.  So in the world of gaming it's no surprise that opportunities abound to artificially elevate one's status.  If that opportunity doesn't exist for you in the real world it's a simple matter to bring satisfaction in the virtual.

It's not unreasonable to be suspect of the commitment of game developers to combat cheating either.  After all, most popular games have a life cycle of 9 months with a handful of DLC content dribbled out till the next major release.  A few high profile token efforts quiet the masses long enough to rev up the hype machine for the next big game.   After all, in the end it is just a game, a commodity product to be consumed and ultimately discarded. 

Think about it, when's the last time you heard about anti-cheating measures for Battlefield Bad Company 2?