Growing up when I was gaming in the 90s and on, I knew of the stigma of cheating in video games. You were seen as stupid, someone incapable of completing challenges on your own. You were seen as lowly, someone who can never go through life without cheating. Like, it was a pretty big deal as I grew up, hearing all of this for years on end.
I’ve been able to beat games without cheating, of course. But during my late teens and early adulthood, I just tried going past the stigma. Cheating in video games don’t necessarily reflect how you handle life and don’t translate. I’ve found it quite fun to cheat in video games. Probably not in multiplayer and especially on the receiving end.
I even use cheats just to beat games anymore, who the hell cares. People only care if you want to make a big deal about it, by showing it to everyone and boast how you’ve beaten a game in record times. I’ve tried beating some games head on without cheats but there just comes a point where you ask yourself if it is fun dying a hundred times at some part of a game. I don’t think so, personally.
So yeah, I don’t have the stigma anymore. I kinda like how gamers today only care about cheating if it was done in multiplayer or if you’re trying to beat a speedrunning record or some score record. Fun is meant to be how you find it.
I can’t recall the last time I used a cheat. I so wanted a game shark growing up. Some games I will exploit systems if I get a chance. That said there is fun to putting on ‘god mode’ for a game like gta and going to town to just blow crap up, sometimes you just want to fool around.
I wouldn’t say I ever beat a game while cheating though, hell the list of games I’ve beaten is shorter than women I’ve dated (or at least close I don’t keep track anymore). Really though growing up with undiagnosed ADD and only being allowed to rent games, possibly for the best, I finished reactively few. Oh shit the Sierra adventure games I never count those ones for some reason, they were great for learning typing.
In the end just play how you want single player and don’t cheat multiplayer is what I think works. Though I wouldn’t call it beating a game if you used cheats, maybe saw ending or finished but not beaten. Though all semantics is all.