Argument Hour: Cheating

As the new Punch Out for the Wii comes out, it got me thinking about a few things. I just read an article about cheating in videogames and its implications on real life. It was actually kind of interesting to look at. So here it is, my argument on why cheating in videogames isn't really cheating at all.

If you look at a videogame and its set-up, it's actually pretty simple. You are this character, trying to perform a task; get past a boss, win the gold etc. But if you think about the whole of the game, it's much more. You're task within the game is to achieve your goal. If you get stuck along the way, you may give up, you may practice harder or you may cheat. If you cheat, you're basically altering the programming of the game to achieve your goal. You achieved your goal through a different means. Your method of achieving the goal has just been labelled cheating. If you find another route around traffic, are you called a cheater? No! In fact, you may be praised for you tactfulness. You found a better way to complete your task. You gained knowledge of what lies ahead, if in fact you choose to play the game again. Sure you can go back and play the game without having unlimited ammo, invisibility or invincibility, but who's to say it's going to be more fun? Instead of gaining the skills to beat the game the original way, you gained the skills it took to beat the system.

FIGHT THE SYSTEM! haha