"I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating." by Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles

The website 1UP has released an article about game cheating.

The details are as below:

Every game has rules and a means of breaking those rules. Videogames, which are among the most complex games on the planet, feature suitably complex means of cheating. There are in-game codes, hacks, mods, code-altering devices, algorithms, walkthroughs, and many other means of breaking down a game in order to do what you're not supposed to do.

Though "cheating" is a grimy word, its contested status in gaming proves that it's not easily defined. There's a twisted honor granted to those who dedicate themselves to finding ways through a game's defenses, whereas other hackers are hated. Certain aspects of cheating are considered a fascinating and celebrated part of videogame culture, but drawing the line is not as easy as it seems.

Dragons, unicorns, and bots

Multiplayer games are especially subject to cheaters. Moderators can patrol the games to make sure that everyone plays fairly, but it's simply not possible to keep an eye on everyone. There're recorded instances of cheating in organized games and sports, but the numbers don't touch the disregard for authority and fair play that you find in online games.

Gaming webcomic Penny Arcade summed up the issue with a strip that illustrated the "Greater Internet F***wad Theory:" a normal person + anonymity + an audience = total f***wad. More than one irritated Spartan who has met an unfair death on the battlefield has referenced this theory.

Though multiplayer games are generally known to be at least as lawless as the actual battlefield, no game genre has earned a reputation for cheaters more than massively multiplayer online RPGs (MMORPGs). With millions of subscribers inhabiting the fantasy worlds found in such games as World of WarCraft, Final Fantasy XI, and Ragnarok Zeny, there's bound to be a certain percentage of players who want to make their pretend lives easier or gain recognition. Despite the use of customizable avatars in MMORPGs, there's undeniably a desire to be the best and own the best stuff, and it so happens that the road to glory is paved with an insufferable amount of level grinding.