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I have no ability to relate to people who derive joy from cheating in a MMOG...
It is just as unstimulating and lacking in productive challenge as reading the
'hint book' before playing an adventure game, but with the added bonus of
ruining the game for people who actually like to play the game as it was
designed.
I also have trouble relating to people who play only to win, and use underhanded
or cheap tactics to pull it off, but how is it even remotely fun to win because
you actually cheated? Where is the challenge? Where is the mental stimulation?
Where is the freeking GAME?
The answer is 'nowhere'... These people are not playing a game anymore. They
might as well write themselves a little program that just lets them push a
single button, which activates a "You win" message!
I can even understand the person who makes a 'hack' for these games. He's
playing a totally different game, not against the other players, but against the
designers of the game. The people who then use these hacks are not playing a
game against anyone, they're just pushing the 'I win' button...
Frankly, the attitude is entirely alien to me. I can barely stand to win
competitive games at all, because I know that it means others are losing.
Here's the thing:
I've been playing games my whole life, and computer games have been my primary
hobby for about twenty years. My favorite games are those that allow me to work
with and/or against other players instead of the computer. I always have respect
for my opponent, and try to help them with pointers and new strategies. Even
when my opponent is a complete stranger, I love to see someone who was at a loss
a few minutes ago, suddenly understand and learn to counter my strategies. Even
in simple games, a complex dialog occurs between opponents from which both
emerge victorious because they were able to learn from their opponent(s), and
have become a better thinker, and better problem solver, or even just a better
judge of timing and spatial accuracy. This is the true wonder of games in any
medium, and is why I love them so much: They teach the most important lessons:
How to think and solve; how to communicate; how to win, lose, and live
graciously; how to be a real, complete person.
All of this is undone, and even reversed when one cheats. All of the value of
gaming is utterly lost, and the person is less for the experience, learning
nothing.
I'd say that this aspect of gaming is much more dangerous than violence or
sexuality. I implore all parents: Observe your child's gaming habits. Ensure
that they are not downloading hacks and cheats, especially in games where they
are competing with other real people. If they have these bad habits, please take
them aside and explain the concepts of sportsmanship, and gaming for fun, rather
than for the win. If possible, expose them to a real gaming environment. Teach
them Stratego, Backgammon, Pente, and Battleship. Show them how to win and lose
with a smile, and play the game for the challenge and for the social connection
to other people. Don't let them grow up without a sense of what gaming should
be.
It may seem like a little thing, but imagine these children as adults:
Who would you rather do business with: The man who laughs and congratulates you
when you putt under PAR, or the man who drags his club when he putts?
Who would you rather marry: The woman who revels in the challenge of the
strategy of Pente, learning from every game, or the one that moves the tokens
when your back is turned?
Who would you rather have as a friend: The guy who whoops and hollers at every
frag, no matter the team it comes from, or the guy that sulks and makes excuses
when he looses then rubs it in your face when he wins?
Good sportsman ship is a bigger part of everyone's life than they think it is,
and how any one can bring themselves to cheat, especially in an environment
where it truly makes the game unplayable for those who do not cheat, is
completely beyond my understanding.
Then again, there are a lot of things that people do which I simply cannot
understand the motivations behind
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