Why do people use cheats to advance in video games?

There are thousands of websites that have cheat codes for levels and various unlocks on all types of games. A gamer doesn't have to endure the process of the game, instead they can access all the parts of the games that others would work for hours to get to.

Computer games are full of challenges and are often very long winded. From the ones that I have experienced, I have completely very few of them. The temptatation to cheat to access the next level is always at the back of my mind whenever I play one. The problem with games being so long winded is that it can get boring. If you fail a challenge or a level you have to go back and do it again and as the game gets considerably harder you end up repeating them more often. Therefore, a cheat is an easy option.

However, there are other ways that you can cheat instead of just simply getting codes. For example aimbots allow the player to have an advantage over others when shooting. They do not need to target because the bot will just do it for them, the user simply just has to press the 'fire' button. Although it's not the same as gainig codes to complete levels it is still a cheat that majorly affects the game.

Instead of playing the game as the manufacturer intended, you are playing the game with your own rules when you cheat. The purpose of the games are the challenges and by overriding them with the cheats you are defeating the object of having th game in the first place.

Apart from the reason that games get boring, I think that people use cheats to get ahead in games and be better than others who play it. League tables and acheivements are something that are publicised with things such as Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.

Personally I would rather accept the challenges that the game designers have given me rather than override their hard work with a code that will instantly get me past a level.

Newsgames: Do they take the seriousness out of the news?

 Image courtesy of newsgames.gatech.edu

Newsgames "can persuade, inform, and titillate; make information interactive; recreate a historical event; put news content into a puzzle; teach journalism; and build a community." (Bogost, Ferrari, Schweizer, 2010)

The progression of advancements in technology has allowed an audience to consume media in many different ways. For example, the gaming community online has grown considerably in the last few years with the introduction of games such as World of Warcraft (WoW). This has inspired games to be created with news stories as their theme.

By playing a game based on a news event, the user interacts with the issue. It could provoke them to find out more about the issue or it could do the opposite and take all seriousness out of the real situation. For someone who's just stumbled across the game it can be a good starting point for them to access a news story. After all, curiosity is something that strikes us all and we always want to know more. However, if you already understand the concept of the story then the game can become simply just a game as you interact and get involved in the game without thinking.

Many of the games that I have found have been biased. For example, there are many games circulating the internet opposing George Bush. These games allow people to express their views via the creator. This is somewhat safer than actually hitting George Bush with a shoe yourself (as one of the games allows you to do!)

So, are these games a good way of getting news across to various audiences? Yes and no.

Much of the gaming community is comprised of young people- often teenagers. Therefore, they'll be the ones much more likely to stumble upon these games. These games can then become viral as they're shared via social networking sites such as facebook. Furthermore, these games can then go on to reach an older audience if, for example, the gamer's parents are aware of the games that they're playing. So, these games can then reach a variety of people.