MovieChat Forums > Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade (2007) Discussion > Cheating?

Cheating?

posted 12 years ago by adambhoy
8 replies | jump to latest

Just watched this; having been a huge fan of KoK, I was thrilled to find it streaming on Netflix!

What are peoples' thoughts regarding the manipulation of the games with external aids? Is it really fair to be playing using pencils as fulcrums or electric knives to help hit the buttons faster (Track and Field), tape on screens to judge
altitude (Barnstormer), etc?

I would think the people who grant world titles would frown on that kind of thing, and that a lot of people would consider it "cheating". I really don't care either way, but I found it interesting and was wondering what other people thought.

Any gamers with an opinion?

[–] jbarkeley 12 years ago

My opinion is using the pencil is fair because the player is still using their own motor skills to control the pencil. I don't think use of the knife is fair. Though it's a clever idea, it's machinery actually hitting the buttons at that speed with that degree of repetition. Anyone who's hit those buttons over and over knows how sore and fatigued your hand can become and ability to continue to play with a tired hand makes the high scores more of an accomplishment.

[–] rstump312 12 years ago

The pencil idea was pretty ingenious, but I agree that the electric knife was a bit over the top, even for the era.

The thing that i found most interesting about some of the "strategies" was that they didn't rely on skill so much as on tedious amounts of grinding for higher scores (i.e. the guy playing Centipede).

I think the guy playing Barnstormer with the tape on the screen was the precursor to modern games and the add-on programs that help you play the game.

[–] DonaldFDraper 12 years ago

In my day, we used a comb because it was flatter and had more surface-space. The pencil was too flimsy and would go off in different directions.

[–] Welz82 12 years ago

The guy with tape on his TV - surely this was just a training aid? If he was allowed to submit a score using that method, then Twin Galaxies are an epic fail in my eyes.

I think the stance they (partially :) )take in King of Kong, promoting live scores is the best way to go.

[–] DonaldFDraper 12 years ago

The tape on TV was for the Atari 2600 home game of Barnstorming. Activision promotions in its early days had a mailing address to send polaroids of high scores, in return, players were sent a cloth patch as part of the high score club.

It had nothing to do with the Twin Galaxies arcade. Only the person who qualified it as a high score is to blame. But then again, he wasn't really in it for the purity, only self-promotion.

I remember their being much made about the anonymous high scores being left in arcades with the initials G-U-N. I'm not sure if he ever revealed himself, people were definitely looking for him. And he certainly wasn't in the documentary.

[–] BrainGremlin 12 years ago

I think it's okay. Anyone can do it (electric knife aside, I guess), so it's not really unfair. It's not like having a GameShark. It was creative... I like it.

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[–] ShadowAngelx 11 years ago

Of course it's cheating. From the point on where you use other tools, it's cheating. Same goes for Rapid Fire Units. I laugh at all those people who use NES Advantage or whatnot to survive Level 1 in a Shoot 'em Up. They have no skill, they aren't willing to learn (lack the patience) so they use tools to cheat.
Using something like a pencil or a lighter (that worked on the Playstationgamepads with International Track & Field) is lame. That's like athletes who use doping.

[–] BrainGremlin 11 years ago

Oh, don't get me wrong. You're indeed not playing games the right way. I just don't think it's that bullsh!t from a competitive standpoint if all contestors can use cars with nitrous oxide injection.

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