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## Debate Wars

### Do Hackers Ruin Games? - Page 1

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#### Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Missing? NO!
Date: 2013-10-27 02:14:04
Hacking has been around for a while, moreso than ever before. Hackers are everywhere, abundant especially in multiplayer online games, like Call of Duty or Pokemon. Shiny Pokemon and online battling has consistently been flooded with hacked Pokemon, programmed with perfect IVs and egg moves to tank or sweep their way through any team, and hackers in Call of Duty can make themselves have the best weapons available in order to dominate their respective game.
However, hackers can reveal information about the game not previously known. In Diamond and Pearl, hackers were able to tap into the files of the games within the first few days of release and were able to find not only the entire National Dex, but their base stats and egg moves as well. They have been able to "datadump" and simplify all data collection to them.
Do hackers make games better? Or worse?
Talk.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Zowayix
Date: 2013-10-27 04:51:19
I have absolutely no issue with hacking/cheating in single-player games or single-player modes of games, sometimes it's even justified (fuck you event Pokemon). When people cheat in multiplayer I guess that's kind of bullshit. But I only ever hear of the former happening and people raging about it anyway as though it personally affects them.
So, in response to the actual poll, my answer is neither yes or no.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: OwnageMuch
Date: 2013-10-27 06:33:32
No, assholes make games worse. Unfortunately, many hackers such as the ones you mentioned also fall into this category. I personally don't see the appeal of cheating to win in a multiplayer game. I even regret the time I borrowed an action replay to cheat rare candies for my Manaphy, even though I tossed the rest, because I feel like I didn't deserve to have it…

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Tsukuu
Date: 2013-10-27 06:43:17
Like you said, there are hackers and hackers… actually, hackers and cheaters. Hacking to understand how the game works more deeply and even decrypting the info to normal civilians like us is an awesome thing. Cheating is also okay imo, as long as they're offline and you don't take any merit of it, instead, using it only for personal fun, time saving (run fast, inta-egg-hatch codes, etc), and other stuff. But there's always assholes who use it to take advantage on online gaming. I've barely played online stuff, but back when I played SA:MP (2006/2007?), I faced some shit guy with a Minigun that is a forbidden weapon and he blew the shit out of me. Disgusting.
So yeah, both hacking and cheating have even helped us with our glitch researches, so they're good things when a good use is put on them.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: tachi
Date: 2013-10-27 12:15:38
Yes, but certain things in the games in the game's coding wasn't necessarily INTENDED to be found. I mean, if the players were ignorant about ev's and iv's in pokemon, then TECHNICALLY it would be more balanced because nobody is exploiting the game's mechanics.
However, knowledge is power, so I guess it's neither ruining OR enhancing the game, because it can do both depending on what game. It just creates a different experience to others is all, whether one person likes it, doesn't mean the others have to. (and thats when you play other games, or stay out of competition.)
So again, depends on what game, and the kind of people playing it.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Bert
Date: 2013-10-27 14:27:17
My friends and I will use cheat codes and the like all the time when we play vidya gaems. For example, let's say we're playing F-Zero GX. Why should we have limited boost power, when we can instead boost all we want?
Or Super Smash Bros. Melee. I don't want to play as Ganondorf all the time. So, why don't we fire up the debug menu, and play as Master Hand and Giga Bowser 10x their original size and are metal?
There's no real harm in it. The people who ruin games are the fuckheads who are like "NO GUYS NO FUN ALLOWED GOD WHY AM I SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU." If you meet one of those people, kick them in the balls. It's not like they're gonna use them or anything.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: GARYM9
Date: 2013-10-27 14:47:53
It really all depends on what's being done when it comes to multiplayer and online multiplayer. I know some stories where people would screw with everyone's physics, clip them into the bottom of the map for a shootout, and/or give them unobtainable OP guns, and then let them just have at it. Case in point is Mario Kart DS multiplayer, ALL courses work fine (except Pipe Plaza) in Wi-Fi mode except you can only choose HALF the courses normally. There's some AR codes which allow you to pick all the race courses including some beta/glitch courses. However, there's also the people that use AR codes to instantly win a race, spam blue shells, etc. etc. so I just make the map vote for Pipe Plaza and then they go "it's pipe plaza I'm gonna use the pipes!" and then when they try to they fall through the pipes and crash their game and then the rest of the people still playing can enjoy the rest of the races (or just crash their games by going through the pipes because they don't know any better).
Also, Missing? NO! your definition of hacking is intermingling with just plain gameshark(ish) cheat codes/cheat methods such as lag switches, etc. etc. Most "hackers" in online games haven't even touched the interworkings of their game more than they have downloading a cheat/hack pack. I stress most here as SOME of them actually do do the hard work (which ends up being used by other people).

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Raven Freak
Date: 2013-10-30 12:16:15
There is a difference between a hacker and a cheater. I'm a hacker, I love to look inside the game's code and see how things work. I build upon the game, either adding new features to make it completely different or maybe just to fix a couple of bugs the original game had. A cheater is pretty much what was brought up in the first post, they use game enhancing devices and use them against other players so they can win which is complete and utter crap. So the question "Do Hackers Ruin Games?", no hackers don't ruin games. Cheaters ruin games for people. :P

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: 0ErrorYT
Date: 2017-12-16 22:04:28
One of my favorite games was recently breached and leaked a lot of emails and passwords, including moderator and developer passwords. However at the same time I gen Pokemon all the time. So is hacking/cheating/genning bad? It honestly depends on the game.
Edit: nvm they screwed me out of 500 dollars and 2 years of work, screw them. Lol easy exploit only need access to the user you want to hack email. Including admin and mod. That's right, you can usurp the game Just by obtaining access to the admin's email.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Torchickens
Date: 2017-12-20 11:38:52

> One of my favorite games was recently breached and leaked a lot of emails and passwords, including moderator and developer passwords. However at the same time I gen Pokemon all the time. So is hacking/cheating/genning bad? It honestly depends on the game.

That's true.
I've always felt personally cheating/hacking when it is offline and doesn't affect other players is fine, but if its for something like a MMORPG I don't like it as it can ruin the game for some people (and also if there are highscores it can hurt to think some people only got there by hacking or using a bot when you earned your place). On the other hand (though I'm not supporting it) some people don't mind the occasional person who cheats or bots.
I don't like the GTS in Pokémon for this reason unless I'm filling the dex (where there are more likely to be legit Pokémon compared to the Level 100 ones you see unless bred from a hacked one).
With things like password leaks though I don't tolerate it at all as it puts people's security at risk.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Pokedude
Date: 2018-01-11 15:37:55
I feel hacking is to much like breaking the game just so you can get what you want. I always try to find glitches if I need something in game that is now permanently unavailable.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Parzival
Date: 2018-01-11 18:41:39
I dunno. Do we ruin every Pokemon game for everyone?

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Spoink
Date: 2018-01-25 15:10:16
good thing verlisify isn't here :P
on serious note, hackers do not ruin games if they don't spoil or play online with their hacks.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: ISSOtm
Date: 2018-01-25 20:38:01
I want to add some nuance to this, since hax that just modify the appearance, for example, don't hinder gameplay for others.
And then there's the grey zone of things like macros, etc…
Spoiling is definitely not okay, though.

#### Re: Do Hackers Ruin Games?

Posted by: Feltyham
Date: 2018-01-30 15:36:20
Most people seem to share the same opinion when it comes to the nature of using the hacks.
In a controlled single player/local multiplayer environment, hacking can be fun. Basically the ability to dynamically change the game as you see fit. Or for purposes of curiosity, "what happens when I change this?". There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this, in fact you can learn a lot. Before I found this website, I used to experiment with the trainer escape glitch testing various things - for example pressing <A> on a sign before the encounter and discovering that I could get different text messages to appear; I didn't know why this occurred at the time, but thought it was cool and recorded my findings.
But in an online environment, hacks are usually used maliciously. I can provide an example to reinforce this point. I play on a Vanilla WoW private server, mostly for PvP. The population of the private server during active hours is only a few hundred people, and out of those few hundred, maybe 40-50 actively PvP. A game of Warsong Glutch (capture the flag) requires 20 players (10 per team, cross-faction PvP enabled to reduce queue times).
It only takes one person to ruin 19 other peoples' game. Semi-frequently, there will be someone who logs on a character using a third-party program to be able to teleport, grab the flag and then move off map and hold it. Unless a GM is on, he or she has effectively ruined PvP for a large group of people.
In Vanilla WoW, WSG matches do not time out - so if the person really felt like it, could hold the flag for hours until a GM intervenes (private server, not many GMs). The kicker is, the person isn't trying to win - they are deliberately trying to ruin the game for others.
Basically, the answer to the question is subjective to the game and environment in question. As well, the intentions of the individual who is actively hacking.
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