It's part of the game. You're taking it far too literally and seriously. Get over it.

Instead of worrying about cheating in computer games, you should be worried about what the actual content is teaching them. Recent research suggests that non-white characters in popular video games are constructed in racist and stereotpyed ways. What are you doing about that?

i'm with you. but i think that as a parent, you need to open a dialogue with your kids about stuff that you disagree with...
for example, my daughter and i were watching the video for 'crazy in love' by beyonce, where not only do they blow up a car, she parades around in the skankiest outfits. i said 'what do you think of the messages in this video?' and we were off... turns out my daughter didn't like the way she was dressing either.

i say rather than fret about it, open a dialogue about it. use it as an opportunity to teach.

I read an article that the new recruiting ad for the Canadian military on TV(you've probably seen it, it's black and white and has the words "Fighting....Chaos...." etc. on screen) is intentionally based on the style of video games and hopes to appeal to those teenage males who play these games. That's really creepy.

I'm not a big gamer but my husband is. From what I understand these "cheats" are put there by the developer of the game. They are really just shortcuts. As Blah said (I think), part of the fun is trying to find all the hidden shortcuts and that includes finding them on the internet! I mean, have you seen some of them? Press this button 10x then go to this section, then have Mario, Link, or the Prince of Persia jump in a circle and do a breakdance and voila - a cheat. :-)

I remember many years ago playing Super Mario on the Nintendo 64 and trying to find all the fun little shortcuts.

Okay, maybe I am a bit of a gamer. But just old games from the 90's.

D.

Yeah, these aren't cheats in the normal sense.

As to the racial stereotypes issue, that's a good point. I'm a big fan of World of Warcraft, and it's the only game I play. While the Orcs don't come off as overly bright, I don't think that has much parallel in the real world :) Grand Theft Auto et al, however, are another matter altogether.

Thanks, this helps. I've never played these games myself and on the surface I was getting worried that 'cheats' were much more insidious than perhaps they really are.

They're nothing to worry about, really. I've been a "gamer" since I was around 9 or so, and all gamers know that nothing beats the satisfaction of beating the game without cheats. Cheats are mostly used to keep the games' replay value up, and to keep things interesting (with all weapons mode, jump to different levels, etc).

Again, I don't think its really anything to worry about too much.

I play PS2 myself and am mightily excited about the PS3.

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start

God said:
"I play PS2 myself and am mightily excited about the PS3. "

What's your opinion of the new Nintendo Wii, oh mighty one?

I like to play computer games and so do my kids. I think it is important to have a discussion and talk about that word "cheat". They get used to thinking of computer game cheats (which really are just an aspect of the game or another way to play the games) but they should realize that cheating at Monopoly with real, live players has a whole different set of rules/etiquette - to the point of becoming a moral issue about trustworthiness and intention. The two meanings of the word should be clarified.

The language slowly dissolves under the weight of all the terms that are supposed to mean something different from what they say. Thus "cheats" in a computer game aren't really "cheating." When your children say there is nothing wrong with cheating, do they make the distinction between "cheating" as a specialist technical term meaning "using a short cut" and cheating as breaking the rules of the game in order to gain an unfair advantage over your opponent. With CBC's new show "Intelligence" we are told by one of the dirty cops that "there are no rules."
Beneath the ideology of left and right there is a basic anarchism, often nihilism. George W. Bush does not see himself as bound by any of the rules that the international community has spent generations putting into place. Torture, aggression, if they are against the law then ignore the law.

I agree with you guys... it's not really cheating, they are like little shortcuts and half of the fun is finding them. It's just too bad we couldn't rename them to something like "shortcuts" or something else creative. You guys got any good names for them???

This is directed at no poster here in particular, but it's this type of hand-wringing concern with things of minute importance that prevents people from seeing the big picture and being concerned about issues that matter.

Cheats in video games are like easter eggs on DVDs. They add to the experience, and there's nothing wrong with them. In fact, players who use cheats in video games often find that the cheats don't work after a while, or that using cheats sets other actions in motion resulting in the player doing less well than they would had they not used the cheat to begin with.

I'm in total agreement with everyone here, cheats in video games arwe pretty much harmless. They are just fun to use when you've finally rapped the game and want to go back and fool around in the different aprts of the game. And on a side note, I can't really think of any good names for it instead of 'cheats', thats a tough question...I hope someone comes up with one.

Since I abhor the way that language gets warped and twisted so rapidly I am a little uncomfortable with the games industry using the term "cheating". However it just gives me another topic to discuss so it's no big deal.

What I am pleased with is that it does teach people to do some research and wander around the edges of a problem. No longer is it merely about sitting in front of a screen manically pressing buttons.

Sorry Blah I disagree. This is an issue of huge importance especially if it's viewed as Processdualism discussed. Cheating is a moral issue not to be taken lightly.

But I agree when it comes to video games. I myself have tried to play the Sims game and after a short time I usually burn the house down. That's no fun. My son knows cheats and has fun creating his dream home. Next time I play I'll ask him for the cheats.

The short cut is usually the wrong way to go. Teaching children that they can circumvent things that shouldn't be will not benefit society when they get older as they will try to do the same out in the real world. I don't want a bunch of politicians in the world, that's for sure.

Could somebody please post some cheats for MS Hearts and Solitaire and Minesweeper? Thanks.