Optimizing the Fun Out of Games
The interactivity at the core of video games makes them fundamentally different from other artistic mediums. When you watch a movie, every other person who watches it will experience the same events in the same linear order. While games have varying levels of linearity and freedom, it’s not a sure thing in even the most scripted and linear games that players will experience the same things. Some may struggle at certain parts, feeling frustration or confusion. Others may completely miss or skip certain things. Some may experience bugs or glitches that diminish or otherwise alter the experience. And finally, others may purposefully exploit mechanics or glitches to progress through the game in ways that were not intended by the developers. There have been some recent articles about people decrying the fact that Nintendo has been patching out item-cloning glitches in the latest Zelda game. With that in mind, it’s that last point that I want to talk about in this article. Is using cheats or exploits a valid way to enjoy a game?
First off, I want to clarify that I don’t think that there is any one single “right” way to enjoy a game. You bought the product, and if you feel that breaking the intended rules is more fun than playing through it in the prescribed fashion, then more power to you. That is, so long as it’s a single player game and you aren’t making other players’ experiences worse by cheating in a multiplayer title. Sometimes, though, it isn’t always about what’s more fun. It’s human nature to try to make things as simple and efficient as possible. So when a cheat or exploitable glitch makes for a more convenient method to get valuable items, skip long quests, or otherwise make progress in a way other than playing the game normally, players with an efficiency-first mindset will almost always gravitate towards that method, even if it means gaining less enjoyment than you would otherwise get from regular play.
Sid Meier and Soren Johnson are two of the minds responsible for the popular Civilization series. The two are credited with the quote: “Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game”. This can be exemplified by Destiny’s infamous “Loot Cave”. The glitched area of the map could be exploited to respawn enemies much faster than anywhere else, allowing players to spend hours at a time shooting the same low-level mobs over and over in the hopes of rare gear dropping. It may have been a faster way to get some of the more powerful items than the regular grind. But could it honestly be described as more fun than just playing the game? I would argue that in taking the easy road, you deprive yourself of the experience the creators intended. Sure, the unintended route might result in a different experience that sometimes matches or surpasses the intended route for you personally. But you can’t experience something again for the first time. For certain games, choosing the exploit path before experiencing the game naturally can effectively spoil the experience and lock yourself out of ever feeling the impact of the intended course.
[Spoilers ahead for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
As an example, I have a young cousin who started playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild a few years after release. At that point, all of the game’s secrets and glitches were widely known and easily accessible on the internet. I have no issue with looking up the occasional guide if I feel like I’m spending an inordinate amount of time trying to figure something out. But it saddens me a bit that my cousin never experienced some of the game’s highest peaks because the temptation to take the easy road was too much for him. I remember finding the Master Sword in the forest, not knowing how many Hearts it would take to pull it from its stone. I kept going out and earning more Heart Containers, returning each time to test if Link was strong enough to pluck the sword. When I finally did it, it felt like a major milestone and game changer to have a weapon that could endlessly replenish itself. I can’t speak for him, but for me, it rang a bit hollow to watch him exploit a campfire glitch that let him pull it with a few Hearts. Going back to experience a game the intended way is almost an impossible psychological hurdle for many as long as the temptation of an easier route is available. So it’s likely he’ll never have the experience that the game was intended to facilitate. Choosing to exploit this glitch, along with many of the item duplication glitches found in its sequel, have irreversibly altered the play experience for many, many players.
It ultimately doesn’t matter much how someone chooses to obtain a pretend sword in a pretend forest. But I would argue that forcing yourself to play the game the intended way and fighting the temptation to disrupt game balance or progression with exploits makes you gain much and lose nothing. Then, if you have the time and desire after playing the game naturally, going back through the game and using exploits can be its own secondary “remix” of the experience. You already experienced it the intended way, and now you can have fun breaking it and pushing the limits. I’d argue that the order in which you do those two things is crucial, but if you’re able to have it both ways, why not go for it?
First off, I want to clarify that I don’t think that there is any one single “right” way to enjoy a game. You bought the product, and if you feel that breaking the intended rules is more fun than playing through it in the prescribed fashion, then more power to you. That is, so long as it’s a single player game and you aren’t making other players’ experiences worse by cheating in a multiplayer title. Sometimes, though, it isn’t always about what’s more fun. It’s human nature to try to make things as simple and efficient as possible. So when a cheat or exploitable glitch makes for a more convenient method to get valuable items, skip long quests, or otherwise make progress in a way other than playing the game normally, players with an efficiency-first mindset will almost always gravitate towards that method, even if it means gaining less enjoyment than you would otherwise get from regular play.
Sid Meier and Soren Johnson are two of the minds responsible for the popular Civilization series. The two are credited with the quote: “Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game”. This can be exemplified by Destiny’s infamous “Loot Cave”. The glitched area of the map could be exploited to respawn enemies much faster than anywhere else, allowing players to spend hours at a time shooting the same low-level mobs over and over in the hopes of rare gear dropping. It may have been a faster way to get some of the more powerful items than the regular grind. But could it honestly be described as more fun than just playing the game? I would argue that in taking the easy road, you deprive yourself of the experience the creators intended. Sure, the unintended route might result in a different experience that sometimes matches or surpasses the intended route for you personally. But you can’t experience something again for the first time. For certain games, choosing the exploit path before experiencing the game naturally can effectively spoil the experience and lock yourself out of ever feeling the impact of the intended course.
[Spoilers ahead for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
As an example, I have a young cousin who started playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild a few years after release. At that point, all of the game’s secrets and glitches were widely known and easily accessible on the internet. I have no issue with looking up the occasional guide if I feel like I’m spending an inordinate amount of time trying to figure something out. But it saddens me a bit that my cousin never experienced some of the game’s highest peaks because the temptation to take the easy road was too much for him. I remember finding the Master Sword in the forest, not knowing how many Hearts it would take to pull it from its stone. I kept going out and earning more Heart Containers, returning each time to test if Link was strong enough to pluck the sword. When I finally did it, it felt like a major milestone and game changer to have a weapon that could endlessly replenish itself. I can’t speak for him, but for me, it rang a bit hollow to watch him exploit a campfire glitch that let him pull it with a few Hearts. Going back to experience a game the intended way is almost an impossible psychological hurdle for many as long as the temptation of an easier route is available. So it’s likely he’ll never have the experience that the game was intended to facilitate. Choosing to exploit this glitch, along with many of the item duplication glitches found in its sequel, have irreversibly altered the play experience for many, many players.
It ultimately doesn’t matter much how someone chooses to obtain a pretend sword in a pretend forest. But I would argue that forcing yourself to play the game the intended way and fighting the temptation to disrupt game balance or progression with exploits makes you gain much and lose nothing. Then, if you have the time and desire after playing the game naturally, going back through the game and using exploits can be its own secondary “remix” of the experience. You already experienced it the intended way, and now you can have fun breaking it and pushing the limits. I’d argue that the order in which you do those two things is crucial, but if you’re able to have it both ways, why not go for it?
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