Definition of cheating - Where do you draw the line

Well.. Euro and American Truck Simulator games give you mods that enhance visual effects. Better lightining, car colors, and better physics..
Thats not cheating.
Cheating is cheating. Modding isnt essentially cheating.

For single player cheating/modding should be a player choice (dont even care if achievements are not disabled if cheating personally i like earning them normally but if someone earns one through cheating i dont care)
For any online / multiplayer game cheating should be forbidden and punish cheaters, as far as modding or add ons as they called in online games if they improve the experience but not getting advantage over people who not use them they are a must to exist ( i mean good luck trying to find a wow professional player that enters tournaments or even blizcon tournaments and not using add ons

I stopped using cheat long ago, however, I do use console command in Bethesda game when I clip into or through something and cannot get back out or a script failed to launch and then I "cheat" it to continue as it should.

Other than I don't cheat, and when it comes to mods I always modded the crap out of games but it just, later on, took away from the intended experience, how I am now I only apply mods that better the experience but doesn't break the game, for example in Fallout 3 I applied mods that gave you a 1st person body, made that you can use ironsights instead of zooming in on the screen, give unique skins to unique weapons, unofficial fixes and such.

Only graphical, fixing, sound and user interface mods allowed for me :)

After 100%ing the original game then mod the crap out of it as the original experience was experienced as best it could be :P

And obviously, no cheating in multiplayer games allowed!!!!! EVER!!!!

Single player and co-op (as long as all players are on board) I don't give a single solitary fiddlestick what people do. If they're enjoying themselves, who cares?

Competitive, anything like you mention I would class as cheating.

As a damn casual game player and one who enjoys adventure and exploration rather than anything requiring fighting/shooting most AAA games aren't my cup of tea unless mods/cheats are being used. This may well not be what the devs intended and considered cheating but if I paid for the game and play in singleplayer they still get their money and I get a fun experience - we all win. I guess I think of it a bit like Monopoly. I've never experienced a game that totally sticks to the original rules, every 'house' has slight adjustments (usually depending on who's banker ;) ) but we all get the gist and play the game along similar lines and have fun.

Although in my humble opinion if the devs deliberately put in a cheat code etc then they must expect it to be used so surely it's another legitimate form of gameplay, albeit one that most players would find boring?

multiplayer games: anything that modifies the game beyond the normal settings. Also any P2W items

single player: you decide what you consider cheating in your game
and whoever complained about achievements should just get a life instead

I cheat in single player games when and if I want to on a whim for any reason that pops into my head at the time. Sometimes I never cheat and sometimes I'll cheat during the tutorial. It's random and holds no real meaning. Sometimes I think it's funny, sometimes more fun and sometimes I regret it because it ruins the game like Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Cheat Engine FTW. Regardless of when, where, why or how much I do it, I still consider it cheating.

I absolutely cheat all the time in single player games - cheatEngine is my best friend when I don't want to grind for dozens of hours in a final fantasy game, for example. The vast majority of my cheating is bypassing certain mechanics/minigames/etc. that are primarily there for timesinks. It was fun when I was a kid, but I'm old now and my energy is a resource I have to actively manage. I literally just do it so I can see all the content without having to put in just pure, straight up time.

For some people, the joy of video games is about demonstrating skill. For me, the joy of video games is the discovery. Different people enjoy different things! (I'd never cheat in multiplayer, though, that's just a dick move)

Cheating and modding i avoid is everything that affects other players in the slightest, even if it's only a highscore or any other statistic in the cloud.

Personally i think cheating and modding should only affect you and if it does, it's fine to be done.

I always play games 'as is' first, modding and cheating only to enhance the experience or simply to save some time (like avoid dying 100 times in the same spot).

I would never try to boost my e-peen by cheating online or using mods that make me better, i wouldn't want others being directly affected from my own way of playing but no doubt you can annoy other players by simply sucking at a game too but i have no problem with sucking at games, especially those i barely play and where i don't want to spend the time to 'git gud'.

Where you have an upper hand in comparison to the games original mechanics.

Cheating is cheating, whether it is rationalized or not. Your "wiki definition" is accurate.

I generally use mods that have no impact on gameplay (e.g. cosmetic, ease-of-use, bug-fixes) as I desire to play my games "the way they were intended to be played," but sometimes I will cheat when I am short on time. For example, when I lost all of my save games in a 50-hour campaign, I used cheat codes to get to the map I was on with the equipment and stats I had. (i.e. I manufactured my old saved game.) I have also been known to use cheats for replays when I don't have time to play a game "properly."

Regarding the backlash of some people, that is just a manifestation of guilt. Some people feel the need to rationalize what they consider "wrong behavior" by themselves, so they will come up with excuses and/or lie to themselves about why they are behaving that way. If you call them on it, they will attack you personally in an attempt to avoid the humiliation of being "guilty."

I don't think it should matter in single-player experiences.

With that in mind, I think that if I own a game I should be able to experience it as I please, even if that means ruining the potential "best experience" I could have by modifying the way the software behaves.
But experiencing a game is a subjective thing, and while a person might get the best out of a game by playing as the developers intended, someone else might not enjoy the game at all, unless modded.

After all, who else, except yourself, cares if you've cheated in a single-player game? You're not harming anyone else, the only one you could cheat in a single-player game is yourself.
Apparently some people do care, but should they really?
Can anyone think of a valid reason why they would be upset that someone else is cheating in his own game? 😄

In multiplayer it's pretty obvious we should all follow the same rules, no advantages for anyone except their ability to play.
Or at least that's how it should be, but current multiplayer publishers seem to agree with the saying "money is power" even in competitive games, though that's another issue. 🙂

I'd say using glitches in multiplayer games
or anything that edits the game from it's standard code in single player
Also console commands

Usually when the nipple makes its first appearance.

Any modification that gives the player an advantage is cheating.

With that said, I don't consider cheating/modding a bad thing, as long as:

1. It is not done in multiplayer game, unless allowed and officially supported/implemented.
2. Won't affect global stats/abilities (for example, in games that can be played online and offline, and cheating in SP will carry over to MP).
3. Co-op cheating, if allowed in the specific game, should be done only when in a private server with the full consent and acknowledgement of fellow players. The co-op game should also comply to rule 2.

I don't know if I will answer to most of the single answers in the thread but I have read them all. I think the clearest line most draw is the multiplayer section. As such I would like to know if you mean competitive only or also PvE games. For example if you have a 2-4 player online co-op game with public lobbies hosted by one of the players

• Would it be okay for you if they use any cheat as they don't "hurt" you in any way?
• Would you think it to be okay for the host to mod/cheat as he wishes because it is "his" public lobby?
• Would you say that the game should stay the way the developers intended as long as the lobby is public?
• etc.

The only thing I consider cheating in a single player game are things that effect a public leader board of some kind. That includes people cheating to unlock all achievements on Steam. As for multiplayer, if it gives players an unfair advantage, it's cheating. Though, thinking about a particular game, I don't consider voice chat cheating. Any codes or whatever that developers place into games are not considered cheating in my book. And I would only consider mods cheating if they take place on a public server not under the modder's control.

Multiplayer - Cheating is bad.

Co-Op/Lan everyone knowing about it and agreeing... - Fine

Singleplayer - You can't tell me what to do, nor can I tell you what to do. It's my money, or your money, or your game you won from me or I from you. Whatever. Personally I get pissed when games do things slowly, so a speed up mod is nice. I just don't have the time I used to as a kid to wait for some stupid game to not allow me to skip cutscenes, or other things. If a game gets tedious it's probably not my thing... but if I enjoyed it at first... then that's another story. I might do things to help me through the story part faster. I don't really care about 100%'ing things anymore, so whatever. I just like to play and enjoy games these days. I have nothing to prove to anyone about how good I am or am not.

If a game is singleplayer then I don't consider anything cheating. If someone wants to use mods or even codes that make them invincible, then go for it. If it makes the game more fun for them then they can do whatever they want with the game they spent their money on.
If a game is multiplayer then it's obviously entirely different, and anything that will make the player unjustly stand above others is cheating (aimbot, etc).