Digital Games and Players

 

The introduction of modern digital video games has created a unique range of players and challenges, from the casual gamer up to the professional that can be considered a video game artist. The challenge comes in how gamers respond to a video game and how people choose to play the game. Are they artists for the way they change the game or are they nothing more than a hack that ruins the enjoyment of the game for others? A videogame was designed to provide an enjoyable social interaction between people, but this has become difficult for those who play alongside others that don't adhere to the basic rules of the game. When it comes to game players there are a number of so-called "cheaters" including hackers and team-killers and "griefers". Players who knowingly engage in activities such as offensive messaging they can destroy the balance of social interaction among players. However, when it comes to individuals who kill members of their own team to sabotage the game, post their team's position to other players or find unique ways of overcoming the basics of the game; there is a fine line between those who are considered "cheaters" and those who are simply videogame artists who are improving the play and providing a more challenging experience. Hacking has often been considered a new trend called "emergent gameplay" which is used to describe players that simply find strategies that weren't originally seen or intended by the designers. Cheating is looked down upon because it is considered taking something that doesn't belong to you. Yet glitches in videogames are considered normal because digital games aren't a real space and a glitch can be used to provide certain advantages to players. So where does the different lie in a player who cheats and one who is simply exploiting the glitches found in a videogame?

http://www.igi-global.com/article/international-journal-gaming-computer-mediated/3957
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2006/02/player-driven.ars