Poll: Split screen, screen watching. Skill or cheating?
- Thread starter mrbonzai211
- Start date
I really think the word cheating is being misused here. In essence cheating is when one player obtains an unfair advantage over another such as using special codes or hacking the game so that their characters get a boost in abilities. In order for screen watching to be considered cheating, we have to put players in a position that allows one person to be able to screen watch and prevent the other player from doing so.
Such a requirement is impossible to meet and in normal split screen games both players always have the OPTION to screen watch it's just that not many people go on to actually exercise this choice.
Pretty much, you always have the chance to screen watch and your opponent has that ability too. Screen watching is far from cheating and it is completely fair under these guidelines.
Such a requirement is impossible to meet and in normal split screen games both players always have the OPTION to screen watch it's just that not many people go on to actually exercise this choice.
Pretty much, you always have the chance to screen watch and your opponent has that ability too. Screen watching is far from cheating and it is completely fair under these guidelines.
These responses are actually surprising to me. I'm an unapologetic screen watcher, and have been since at least Goldeneye. For me, it's just another one of the differences between PC gaming and Console gaming, similar to the way shooters designed for consoles tend to have radars that show the position of the enemy, while those designed for the PC generally do not, instead requiring the player to go only by what his character can see or hear. So here's a counter question: Do those of you who have a problem with screen-watching also have a problem with using the radar in games that are so equipped?
I've taken to always looking down when playing split screen. Needs the map completely memorized, but my brothers are awful for it.
Screen cheating is almost unavoidable if there is no barrier. I recently launched www.screencheatingshield.com to cater to gamers who are serious about preventing cheating of this sort. I think a shield or partition improves realism in multiplayer split screen games-- one team can't see what the other team is doing.
It depends on if you're playing competitively or cooperatively. You can guess which one is generally okay... unless you're against a group of 4 players that all immediately gang up on you if one sees you.
Part of the experience when playing on the same TV, sure.. but still cheating, particularly when done nearly constantly like some people do.
I feel like there should be a poll option for "Both".
It takes skill to effectively play the same character on two different halves of a screen, particularly due to the shift in POV and corresponding reversal of controls when manipulating your own character through your opponent's screen. If one is able to use screen watching to dodge their opponent's sniper shots, for example, that takes a pretty commendable degree of skill and multi-tasking.
But is it fair? If agreed upon with one's opponent, sure. (and probably an unconscious act, as already mentioned in this thread)
However, is it playing the game as it was designed to be played? That's debatable, but if the answer is "no", then couldn't it still be considered cheating? Is one cheating the pure, original design and rules of a game, or exploiting a set of rules without breaking them?
On another level, if the act is unconscious, how could it be considered cheating?
It takes skill to effectively play the same character on two different halves of a screen, particularly due to the shift in POV and corresponding reversal of controls when manipulating your own character through your opponent's screen. If one is able to use screen watching to dodge their opponent's sniper shots, for example, that takes a pretty commendable degree of skill and multi-tasking.
But is it fair? If agreed upon with one's opponent, sure. (and probably an unconscious act, as already mentioned in this thread)
However, is it playing the game as it was designed to be played? That's debatable, but if the answer is "no", then couldn't it still be considered cheating? Is one cheating the pure, original design and rules of a game, or exploiting a set of rules without breaking them?
On another level, if the act is unconscious, how could it be considered cheating?
Lets face it, everyone is going to do it to some extent even when they try not to, so you may as well make the most of it. Anyone who blames their defeat on you 'screen cheating' is just a bad loser and probably screen cheated themselves also. Accusing someone of 'screen cheating' is just an asshole thing to do really, just shut up and have some fun. That said, it is cheating but both players can and will use it so its not unfair.
The information is right there and there is not rational reason to ignore it. Since the game is not capable of mechanically enforcing ignorance of that information, using it is not cheating by any rule of the game. Moreover, any attempt to completely ignore that is impossible given that unless you have a very large screen and you very carefully position yourself for viewing, you still see your friends screens.
Thus the only way it could be cheating is by a "house rule" and even then in any reasonable circumstance players will at least unintentionally violate any such rule. It seems to me that the only rational thing to do is accept that screen watching is useful, viable and unavoidable source of information.
Thus the only way it could be cheating is by a "house rule" and even then in any reasonable circumstance players will at least unintentionally violate any such rule. It seems to me that the only rational thing to do is accept that screen watching is useful, viable and unavoidable source of information.
Eclectic Dreck said:
Fairness is irrelevant in this case. Superior knowledge and experience with the game gives a player an advantage. Most modern games are built around this very concept to the extent that the idea is encapsulated in the word "skill". If a game did not reward the skilled player more often than the unskilled player, what incentive is there to be "good"? How would you even define "good" in such a case?Cazza said:
I usually screen. I know it's douchey, but I'm always a bit of a douche when playing, so I don't mind. The problems come though when you forget you're screening, and then wonder why the character isn't doing what you want it to. If I'm playing really intensly though, I won't screen. Or rather, I won't think about it. If I would, then I'd probably do it.
Eclectic Dreck said:
It is actually quite different since the game is, without modification or exploitation, providing the information to other players. It is actually no different than looking at the radar as it is information that the game can not and does not hide.Kermi said:
Yes it's cheating but we do it anyway because it pisses our best friends off. That's the true meaning of friendship.