Re: cheating

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Mark Collins wrote:

> Another reason for cheat codes: DEBUGGING!

Yes - during development - but when the game is
release:

#ifdef IN_DEVELOPMENT
  <cheat>
#else
  <no cheat>
#endif

It should be amazingly easy to turn off the cheat code at the last minute.

The true reason for cheat codes in commercial games is because when you
first release the game, you get lots of publicity.  But a couple of months
later, all the excitement has died down and the magazines stop giving you
free advertising in the form of reviews.

So, you release a few 'cheat codes' - the magazine prints them and VOILA!
more free advertising.  The next month, you release a few more - for as
long as you think you can sustain the interest.

This used to be done rather subtly by 'leaking' them to the right players
who would pass them on to the magazines - but nowadays, it's all planned
rather formally.

The 'big heads' option in many sports games, the ability to
race as a Panda in a snowboarding game, being able to make mirror-images
of all the courses in a racing game - you can't tell me that's anything
to do with debugging...its' simply to sell more magazines and get more
free publicity to extend the life of the game.

The *TRUE* cheat codes that are for debugging are less frequently revealed
and may even have been compiled out.

-- 
Steve Baker   HomeEmail: <sjbaker1@airmail.net>
              WorkEmail: <sjbaker@link.com>
              HomePage : http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
              Projects : http://plib.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxaqfh.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxkart.sourceforge.net
                         http://prettypoly.sourceforge.net


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