What Type of Game Cheater Are You?

[Thorin]

Mia Consalvo, a game academic at Ohio University, interviewed dozens of players about their attitudes [..] and found that we cluster into a couple of loose groups, each with a different ethical vision.

A small hardcore group are die-hard purists, like my friend. They don't use any cheats or guides, because they consider it "cheating yourself" of the subtle pleasure of getting stuck in a game -- then suddenly spying the way out.

The next group is the walkthrough folks, like me. We regard guides as a form of travel literature; I'd never have located all the cool, secret areas in Final Fantasy XII without a FAQ. (In contrast, the hardcore crowd seems to relish the idea that they'll miss out on stuff, because it's part of the mystery of game.) But I almost never use cheats or manipulations of code to grant myself "unearned" power. I like the idea that if I'm born into this virtual world, I'll abide by the fictions that govern its reality.

Then there's the final group of gamers -- the "by any means necessary" crowd, as it were. Like the ancient gnostics, or like Morpheus in The Matrix, they know the world around them is just code -- and the fun is not in obeying it but mucking with it. Single-player worlds are toys, to be hacked with any available Easter eggs, exploits or hardware mods; you can't have the truly l33t experiences if you're not tricked out with sick amounts of weaponry and skillz.

I'm definitely in the "walkthrough" group.  For instance, I've been looking for ways around this god-damned ice canyon level in Blazing Angels, but I don't typically go looking for every hack possible.

[Mr. Analog]

I only look for codes to release fighting game characters, I don't think I've ever used a walkthrough...

[Lazybones]

I have used walk troughs once or twice to get over a part I have been stuck on for a long time but I try to avoid them.

I use codes to unlock characters in fighting games as well, as sometimes it is next to impossible to meet the normal requirement.

[Mr. Analog]

Oh wait! I used a walk through guide for an old Readysoft game called Braindead 13 (it's like Dragon's Lair but it's about a computer guy in a mad scientists castle).

[Mags]

Similar to Lazy, somewhere between hardcore and walkthrough.