Tag Archives: XBOX

What Happened To Cheat Codes In Games?

If you grew up playing video games in the 90s or early 00s, you’ll probably remember how common cheat codes were. Almost every game had them – and you would often only discover them by talking to friends or by reading about them in gaming magazines.

Some cheat codes were designed to give you an advantage such as unlocking future levels, making you invincible or providing you with free money. Others were more playful or comical such as being able to spawn tanks in GTA, turn on moon physics on Pro Skater 2 or activate ‘big head mode’ on Goldeneye.

Then one day, cheat codes started disappearing from games. What happened? Did game developers lose their sense of fun? Or did cheat codes simply get replaced by other things? This post explores some of the biggest reasons cheat codes likely disappeared.  

New testing methods

Many of the first cheat codes were introduced by developers as a way of easily debugging games. By being able to easily turn on invincibility mode or spawn money, it could become easier to test certain features of the game. As more advanced gaming development tools became available, there was no longer a need to create these cheat codes – you could simply disable player damage using a button on a dashboard.

Online gaming

Many games now revolve around online gaming. Being able to use cheat codes online would render most games unplayable. And so a lot of developers have simply stopped introducing cheats to any games that have an online multiplayer mode. You could argue that developers should have still allowed such cheat codes to be used offline, but with many players spending most of their time online, you could also argue there wouldn’t have been much point. 

Achievements and trophies

Once Xbox and Playstation began introducing achievements and trophies for certain challenges, a lot of games stopped introducing cheat codes as they would have been an easy way to unlock these achievements and trophies. The few games that kept cheat codes instead made them only unlockable after completing certain challenges. They became more of a reward for beating a game rather than a way to beat it. 

The rise of mods

Mods have replaced cheat codes in many cases. The rise of the internet made it more possible to share mods, and many game developers even began supporting these mods. Instead of entering cheat codes, players can now buy Forza Horizon 5 modded accounts to quickly get ahead or replace dragons in Skyrim with Thomas the Tank engine. The possibilities are more open-ended than a list of cheat codes, making them a more attractive alternative. 

In-game purchases

You could also argue that many cheat codes have now been replaced with in-game purchases. Instead of entering a code to unlock perks, game developers have realised that they can make a bigger profit by allowing players to pay real money for such perks. Similarly, special characters and hidden levels can be purchased instead of having to enter a cheat code. Paying is the new cheating

Gaming Can Be A Lot Of Fun, But You Need To Manage It Well

Gaming and tech go hand in hand. Without tech, there would be no gaming, and then there would be no gamers, and that would be really sad. We all love something in this world, some of us just love tech and gaming more than others! Gaming can provide a short term escape from reality, entertainment and a number of other things, which is why so many people enjoy it. However, you still need to be managing this to the best of your ability, which means remaining vigilant. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do to manage your gaming, ensuring that things don’t go too far. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

Gaming Can Be A Lot Of Fun, But You Need To Manage It Well

Watch What You’re Spending

One of the things that you are going to need to do is watch what you are spending on gaming and tech as a whole. You can’t go too far and start spending money that was supposed to be allocated elsewhere just because you wanted a new game, a new piece of equipment, or even something in a game. If you’re using an online platform like space casino, we recommend setting a deposit limit on this, as at least this is something that you can physically control unlike other games and gaming sites out there.

In-app purchases are often where a lot of games make their money. They show you little ads of things that you then want, or they will make it so that there are certain things you can only have if you pay for them. This then escalates and you want things that are costing you 20 or 30 at a time, but you don’t even realise. Try to keep the in-app purchases to a minimum as much as you can to watch what you’re spending.

Do Research Into Consoles Before You Purchase

If you are going to be purchasing a new console, then you need to do your research before you do this. Whether you are looking into purchasing a Nintendo Switch, an XBOX, PlayStation or a PC, you need to know as much as you can gather about them before you make a choice. We know that there are some people out there who purchase entire consoles simply because there are one or two games that are exclusive to that brand. This is not a good enough reason to buy an expensive console, so you really need to think this through before you go ahead and purchase one.

Look at all of the specifications, take a look at factors such as how many games you want to play are released on that platform, and then compare them to all the other consoles available. This will give you the best idea as to which one is going to be most suitable for you, helping you to make the right choice.

Gaming Can Be A Lot Of Fun, But You Need To Manage It Well

Keep is Reasonable

When we say keep it reasonable, we are talking about how much time you are spending on your games, as well as how much money you are spending on the games and tech. Don’t forget that the equipment such as headsets and controllers all count as money that you have spent on gaming, and this needs to be managed. Other than that though, a lot of people who find their love of gaming growing will spend increasing amounts of time on their consoles, games, or other pieces of technology. You have to be careful with this as it can slowly become more than you are realising.

If you have spare time, then there is nothing wrong with spending this time playing your games. However, if you are getting to the point where you are actively avoiding things to play the games that you love, then this is where the signs of you developing an issue are starting. Should it be the case that you start finding yourself in the position where you are spending more time online than you are in the real world, something needs to be done about this as soon as possible. You cannot continue this way, as it can become dangerous to your health and mental wellbeing.

Try To Work On Your Social Skills

There are a lot of games out there that allow you to socialise and interact with other people. Generally, this is in games where you need to play as a team, so you sign in online and play with random strangers. From there though, who knows what could happen? You could become fast friends, talking and playing with each other whenever you both have time, and this can help you to develop your social skills. If you are finding a way to do this, then gaming can be massively beneficial to you.

The fact that you end up talking to so many people that you don’t know as well is also helpful for social development. Talking to strangers in a safe environment can be really good for you. However, we cannot stress enough that you should not be giving out your personal information, especially if you are under the age of 18.

Pull Away If You’re Getting Addicted

 

Gaming Can Be A Lot Of Fun, But You Need To Manage It WellIf you start to notice signs that you are addicted to gaming, then you need to start to pull away from this and immerse yourself in the real world. This means that you need to put the consoles away, you can even sell them if you want to as you will get a fair amount for the tech that you have accumulated, and you need to get outside in the real world. Go for a walk in the park, go on a date, climb a mountain, just do something that doesn’t involve sitting in front of a computer screen for a little while.

Signs that you are becoming addicted to gaming include, but are not limited to things like constantly thinking about gaming, using every ounce of spare time you have, and even time you don’t to play, spending excessive amounts of money on games, cancelling prior arrangements to play the game and so many more.

There’s More Online Than Just Gaming

The final thing that we want to say is that there is more to the online and tech world than just gaming. If you can get this into gaming, then there is no reason that you can’t do this with other things that are similar but not necessarily the same. There is so much more out there that you can explore, and if you take to the internet, there will be plenty of people happy to show you some of these awesome things.