An Ethical Question On Gaming...
 

Me and a few guys are doing a project for an ethics class. The crux of our project deals with ethics in gaming, particularly Halo (when playing multiplayer). What i would like to know from anyone intelligent enough to answer without saying 'omg halo is teh suk lolz', is whether or not you think screen cheating is ethical or unethical.

This doesnt have to be exclusive to Halo, any multi-player FPS that you can play on a console where screen cheating is involved will do. Do you get mad when people screen cheat? Do you and the people you play w/ exact revenge on a person that does? Do you get mad when people use weapons like the RL when it is widely accepted that using the lesser powerful weapons require more skill?

The project is for real, so any real input would be great. So there you have it, is screen cheating ethical? Do you expect people to screen cheat, or is it something that you expect people not to do? its as simple as that. Thanks for the input.

Usually, I'm just playing with buddies. I don't get mad when they obviously do it, and since they do it, I do it every once in a while. Unfortunately, it's a part of having split screens on a single TV.

Now, is it cheating? Yeah. But I don't fault them for being human. I personally try really hard not to do it, until I catch them looking at my screen trying to figure out where the hell I'm sniping from or running to.

Plz define screen cheating for those of us who still play but are old. Thanks

When you're repeatedly getting popped in the head by Dave and you have no idea where he's at, so you look at his part of the screen to see where he's hiding.

So you have to be in the same room, this is not like turning off the walls or something like that.

Correct. That's why, when you see people duelling at shit like Quakecon, they are always facing each other - so they can't see each other's screens.

It's not a technical hack - it's just something that's basically impossible to eliminate in friendly, single-TV based multiplayer gaming. Even on multiple computers at LAN parties, you have some of it involved. It's a pain in the ass for actual competition, but playing Halo, no big deal.

It's friendly. It's grey area. It's not good, but I think that unethical is much too strong a word to use in this situation. Since the game might be more fun if dave wasn't in his hidey hole sniping with near-impunity, looking at his screen to locate and possibly stop him might make the game more fun for the rest of the players -- although I suppose I would discourage such notions.

I think that screencheating itself should be discouraged, but it is not unethical.

How does it compare and contrast with wallhacking or maphacking?


As for using stronger, 'newbie' weapons: those are provided. Using the weapons that require skill is more fun for people who know the game, using newbie weapons is more fun those who don't. Someone who is really good at the game, and who uses the overly powerful weapons, however, is not fun to play with and therefore detrimental.

wallhacking and maphacking is cheating; people that do it should be tied to a gurney and castrated with fishing knives.

I have to deal with this all the time as staff of the premier Q3CTF league as well as being a player. The scary thing about wallhacking is that if the cheater knows how to hide it, it's extremely difficult to tell that they're doing it. Botting is obviously cheating but it's a hell of a lot easier to catch.

I hate cheaters. But I can live with screen cheating in a friendly environment. That doesn't really steam my beans like wallhacking or botting.

Hear, hear!

Like most ethical questions, this one is situational. If you're playing a four player game on the same screen, where everyone has basically the same advantage, I don't think it's that big a deal. I'd probably be irritated if someone was doing it to me who was better at the game and knew what they were doing, but I'd have to live with it.
But, isn't cheating (the unethical part of gaming) by definition the exploitation of some sort of unfair advantage? Thus, screencheating on a console game would not be cheating (they only difference between players is their knowledge of the game) whereas screen cheating at a LAN party where one person could see another's screen w/o reciprocation would be.

I think it is also dependent on the ground rules that have already been set. Right and wrong in most cases is a very gray area. I don't think it is ethically an issue if everyone has the same advantage/opportunity. If everyone agreed not to screen cheat, then any screen cheating would be unethical. If it was never agreed that screen cheating was in fact cheating and not just taking advantage of the current situation, then in my mind it is okay. It all comes down to what is acceptable in the environment. If everyone agreed to use hacks, then all forms of cheating would be okay. It is just a game with no impact on real life. There are no real repercussions outside of the game.

Not cheating but unethical
 

In my opinion it is unethical but not cheating. cheating is a direct violation of rules and unless previously stated that you aren't allowed to screen look then it is fine. however even if you do create the rule, it can be very hard to keep your eye from looking at your opponents screen.

A little off topic but to the guy that said "people who do it should be tied to a gurney and castrated with fishing knives" did you get this from George Carlin, the comedian.

Thank god! I thought I'd never finish this project. ;)

Welcome dark_ninja

Ooooooo! Big post coming, as soon as I get the time. Ethics in bracketed realities (gaming) is something I've been interested in for a while. This is cool!

First, I have to grade this stack of shitty thesis papers. Back soon!

Screen Cheating
 

I, too, was unfamiliar with this term. But it does have an analogue: Looking at your opponents cards in a card game. This, common sense would say, is illegal--but is that written down in the rules of each card game? Or is it accepted, without explicit statement, as part of our social contract with other civilized peoples? . . . A more "gray area" would be analogous to "talking across the table" in a card game.