A brief history of cheating: Let’s watch Polygon’s “Cheating in Video Games Used to be Fun”
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Since Cyberlete is an anti-cheat technology company built by gamers, for gamers, we were excited to watch this insightful video from Polygon’s Jenna Stoeber about the history of cheating in video games.
Here’s a quick summary of the points that really resonated with us.
1. Once upon a time, “cheating” wasn’t really cheating.
It was publisher-approved playing time. The pattern went like this:
- Developers added secrets, sometimes ones the game publishers didn’t know were there.
- Eventually, the game publishers would make them part of the experience.
- Bug hunting evolved into quests for secrets, then Easter Eggs and power-ups.
In addition to adding complexity and longevity to playing time, players loved the so-called “cheats” because they made the games about more than high scores. As Jenna puts it, “knowing where all the secrets were gave you social capital. It made you a cool kid.”
Cyberlete observation: Video games create community.
This part of the video made us nostalgic for the passion and excitement Cyberlete wants to preserve for gaming. It’s what we see under threat by the influx of bots and (non-publisher, non-developer-approved ) cheat software. Publisher-approved cheats were a simpler time when the gaming community thrived on the foundation of a different culture.
Cyberlete dedicates Web2 and Web3 technology to serve gaming communities in a different world, where gamers feel discouraged. A recent Global Gaming Survey Report noted that 60% of online gamers feel cheats negatively impact their multiplayer gaming experience. 76% of gamers thought it was important that multiplayer games online are secured against cheating.
“We want the user to have as much fun as possible in a safe environment.” -Cyberlete Co-founder James Stolte
2. Publisher-promoted cheats defined gaming culture in the 80s and ‘90s.
When gaming publishers promoted cheats, Jenna explains, the resulting gaming culture trifecta looked like this:
- Games got advertising
- Gaming magazines got content
- Players got secrets to show off to their friends.
Cyberlete observation: Today, gaming culture revolves around an eSports triangle.
There are gamers, fans, streamers, and broadcasters. Fans love watching and supporting the games they play. Streamers love showing their skills and building community. Broadcasters love sharing their vision and passion for gaming.
Gaming communities are inevitably connected by brand equity to the larger eSports and gaming industry. Projections put the eSports ecosystem on track to hit $1.8 billion by the end of 2022. Existing on such a massive scale means gaming culture needs integrity to thrive and remain stable — and fun for everybody at all levels.
Any gaming community should be a place where you feel welcomed and free to fail (while having fun!) and have information available to you if you want to improve. Right now, developers and publishers use personal data for themselves to improve games, but gamers can’t see in-depth insights to enhance their play on their own.
Cyberlete aims to change that with dashboards that provide insights to help players adjust and improve. No cheating is necessary because data is on your side. To Cyberlete, sportsmanship and fun go together at every level.
“The idea here is to protect competitive integrity at the foundational level… we’ve got to educate some amateur levels to have this integrity, to take this competitive integrity and make it a thing.” — Cyberlete Co-founder Geoffrey Maunus
3. The shift to online multiplayer is a pivotal moment in gaming history.
When gaming became public, the communities did, too. It changed gaming dynamics, the motivations of gamers, and increased the stakes for developers and game publishers.
Cyberlete observation: Preserving gaming communities is more challenging than ever, and more important.
A commonality among gamers is an appreciation for the community and love of gaming. And it’s hard to see a thing you love ruined by bots or software cheats.
As mentioned above, watching streamers play is a new part of the fun of gaming now — it's entertainment. But it's fun when you know someone has practiced and done the work to get where they are. Like any other sport, there's an expectation of integrity that holds the fanbase together. Today, the public nature of social media makes it tempting to take shortcuts for fame and recognition, not for fun, or the love of the game. That doesn't build community.
Cyberlete's technology is ready to jump into most gaming communities and help with cheating. It's a problem all game developers face.
- The Know Your Player process uses a biometric process to verify users. Players know when they’re playing casually or competitively, they’re playing a real person.
- Our software rewards players for mouse and keyboard data while playing their favorite game. This data is processed in our Cyberlete AC Artificial Intelligence Cloud (CACAIC).
- Players own their data and can use it to see how they can improve their game.
Cyberlete is for single players, too. It’s scalable, and it’s for everybody. As we all enter the next phase in the history of cheating, we’re here to help everybody get through it. Let’s go!
Cyberlete is a technology company built by gamers, for gamers, that offers the world’s first fair gaming application powered by Web3 technology.
Join Cyberlete on Discord for a non-cheating Game Night every Wednesday, 8pm EST (5pm PST).
Learn more in our whitepaper or at Cyberlete.io
