Games have always come with the option to cheat. Every time we had people who wanted to play games, many of them also wanted to cheat to win. Chances, probability, and manipulations usually win games. Trust us; there is always at least one person trying to make the odds work in his or her favor.
The video games have been around for a while, and for as long as it has been in existence, there are also many ways to beat your way through. Game cheats could include infinite or endless lives, abundant energy, extra access to weapons, the ability to weaken your partners, skipping challenging stages, picking the best fighter or athletes, and many more.
It can also include using special features to access options and bonuses that are out of reach for others. The first known occurrence of video game cheats happened in the 1971 game called “Computer Space.” It is a game operated and controlled with coins. It was said that if you played the game and you pressed two buttons on the left, you could have a head start of 14 points. But it only worked for a few units only. Despite that fact, computer cheat codes have moved past that, and it has evolved side-by-side with computer games.
Cheat Codes for Testing
Modern cheat codes were initially added in the game framework for testing. They were first created to help the game developers test for irregularities. It was a vital process used in debugging. Therefore developers and testers had to put in certain options that would make navigation easier and quicker. The developer will need to quickly jump game levels to correct errors in the next coming levels if need be. Today, a player can easily log on to platforms like iwantcheats.net and access different cheat codes for various games. It’s more accessible to everyone now than it was decades ago.
Testing processes were made very much more manageable by introducing cheat codes. Back then, developers had to work back doors used rigid memory points, which meant their removal could cause unnecessary and unexpected glitches. The testing was too expensive, stressful, and problematic; hence they were left with the use of cheat codes. Unfortunately, it was not well known compared to what we have nowadays until the release of the game called Contra. Kazuhisa Hashimoto released Contra in 1985, and it came with a cheat code known as the “Contra Code” or “Konami code.”
Konami Code
This Konami code revolutionized the world of gaming cheats, and it got very popular throughout the world. Many game companies started emulating the Konami code, and for the first time, cheat codes became very popular. The Konami code was used to obtain 30 lives in the game when entered into the game’s title page.
It got so widespread that the programmer Kazuhisa Hashimoto added it to almost every game that Konami made. The Code is used by pressing the following buttons in the same order of arrangement. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, and the start button.
POKEing
Many games didn’t come with cheat codes, or the codes were removed after they were discovered. Gamers and programmers deliberately Poke the game to achieve their desired results. POKEing is usually done by altering the variables of the game code. It was initially done by picking a specific part of the available game code and manipulating it to meet your standards. POKEing became so popular that numerous dedicated channels such as magazines were made public
These channels gave Pokes manipulation tactics, cheat codes, and maps. Later on, pokes started to decline due to its clumsiness and how relatively difficult it is and thus gave rise to newer and better options.
Cheat Cartridge
This is similar to POKEing. It is usually a cartridge that can be inserted into a part of the gaming package. Cartridges are small devices that are used to aid cheats and manipulations. The best thing that cartridge offers you is the specificity of manipulation. You just insert the cartridge and make real-time manipulation without worrying much about codes. These devices give you the edge of viewing and editing the contents of the memory to your desired specifications, wipe off the possible glitches and problems caused by the formal conventional code Pokeing method.
Lastly, video game cheats have greatly evolved in this age and time. There are many cheat engines and online cheat platforms you can use but many companies have deliberately made efforts to reduce cheats access and usage to the barest minimum.