Why People Cheat In Games, According To The People Who Stop Them

The folks behind EasyAntiCheat, a service that stops people from cheating in video games, deal with one of the messiest issues in the medium. People often feel that anyone caught breaking the rules should be punished severely, but you don’t always know why someone cheated. That’s where things get dicey.

Image credit: Hal Hex | Flickr

As it turns out, not everyone who cheats in a multiplayer game is an unrepentant jerk who only wants to ruin someone else’s day. Actually, you’d be surprised at how often good people are put into situations where they feel that they have to cheat, or how quickly someone might regret cheating, only to be shamed for years to come. Hell, sometimes people can’t even agree on what cheating means. How does a game company deal with such grey areas?

In the latest episode of Fave This, a new podcast/YouTube show hosted by Gita Jackson and me, we dive into the world of cheating and discuss an interview I had earlier in the year with the people who work at EasyAntiCheat. We also bring on special guest Maddy Myers to discuss whether or not people should cosplay as someone who looks different (whether that’s race, body type or something else.)

You can listen via the embed below, or find an MP3 of this episode here. Alternatively, we’re on iTunes here (leave us a review!), on Google Play here, and you can check out our RSS feed here. If you want to skip right to the meat of the cheating discussion, start around the 6:20 mark.

I’m travelling today, so no video version!