Glitching through the years

Home consoles have been around for decades, allowing people to explore digitally rendered worlds in their own living rooms. For as long as there have been consoles, however, there have been people who push the limits of games, finding holes in the code that produce odd, surprising and even humorous results. This process of intentionally seeking out programmer errors and exploiting them is known as glitching.

Mario, perhaps the most recognizable gaming icon of all time, consumed my days as a child. I would play often, and when I wasn't playing I was discussing strategy with my friends. Once, in the third grade, my friends and I were engaged in an esoteric conversation about the benefits of shooting fireballs at turtles, when a fifth grader approached us. He looked down and explained in his mighty voice that fireballs were for weaklings. Why use fireballs, he exclaimed, when you could walk through walls, become invincible, or even warp to the final level?


After a lengthy discussion and several jaw dropping revelations, the fifth grader agreed to come to my house where he would show my friends and me how to delicately circumvent the rules of the game and emerge victorious. Among the tricks he taught us was one where the player could gain 100 lives, enough to complete the game with ease, by jumping on a turtle at the right time and place. Another glitch involved walking through a wall to reach a hidden area where the player could warp to the final level. At the time I was surprised that a person could break the rules of seemingly intact games, and this newfound power thrust me into the world of glitching. I have actively pursued programmer errors ever since.




As I grew older, games became more advanced and glitching ascended to higher levels. No longer was I limited to walking through walls on a side-scrolling game like Mario, I could now explore 3D environments and exploit the physics and computer behavior of games to achieve amazing results. In the game Rush 2 my friend and I discovered that it was possible to escape from certain levels by gaining speed and hitting a well placed jump or ledge. While this glitch didn't benefit us in any way, it was fun to discover the limits of games.




I got my Xbox when I was in high school and was thrilled to be playing games like Halo, a first person shooter. My friends would come over to my house and we would spend hours competing against each other, sometimes playing one vs. one, or upping the stakes and engaging in a team battle. While this was fun, we were limited to one TV screen, one Xbox, and ourselves. However, Halo 2 came out several years later and was equipped with online capabilities. Now I could sit in my basement and battle with my friend across the internet as he sat in his basement.

As we began to play online we soon discovered that our proficiency at glitching gave us an advantage over other players. We could escape to building tops and wreak havoc on the opposing team, to their dismay, or carry extra weapons and unload clip after clip of ammo into enemy forces. By taking advantage of subtle errors in the code we were able to win almost every game. This didn't last long however, and the developer issued a "patch", or an update for the game that fixed many of the problems, as well as a warning that threatened to ban glitchers. Despite developer efforts, gamers are constantly discovering new glitches and developers are continually updating games to prevent them.

Ever since then I had refrained from glitching in online games for moral and selfish reasons (namely, that I didn't want to be banned), but in a recent game of Halo 2 I managed to take advantage of a glitch (for research only, of course) and reach a very high building with the sniper rifle, where I could kill opponents at my leisure. To me they looked like little dots far below, running in circles, but I could zoom in and have a wide open opportunity for a head shot. After several minutes of carnage and a score of 25 to 4, my opponents weren't very pleased and had this to say:

Opponent 1: "Oh my gosh, check out the glitch whore."
Opponent 2: "Yeah, that's so lame, anybody who needs to do that to win is just... lame."
Opponent 1: "Gosh!"
Opponent 3: (whiny child) "Gaaaawd. This sucks."
Opponent 1: "Every time I re-spawn I just die. Dude, you suck, I hope you die today. Go fuck yourself!"

After that last sentence the opposing team left the game within seconds, taking a loss and giving my team a win. Based upon my research, and having had been in their shoes countless times before, I am more aware of what a problem glitching can be in multiplayer games.

However, glitching is not an intrinsic evil. Like any new knowledge it can be used for whatever purpose it's discoverer intends. With that, I leave you with an example of fun and harmless glitching. This appears to be a secret that the developers implanted into the single player mode of Halo 2 on purpose, and it requires glitching. On the level "Metropolis" there is a hidden weapon with vast power located far above the regular level on a building that is not accessible unless glitching is implemented. In this case the player has obtained the overshield, making him resistant to damage. He then sets the warthog on a bridge, hanging the front wheels over the edge. By standing on the corner of the warthog and firing a rocket launcher at the ground the player is blasted up into the air, far higher than is allowed by the game physics under normal circumstances.

Glitching through the ages (not final)

Home consoles have been around for decades, allowing people to explore digitally rendered worlds in their own living rooms. For as long as there have been consoles, however, there have been people who push the limits of games, finding holes in the code that produce odd, surprising and even humorous results. This process of intentionally seeking out programmer errors and exploiting them is known as glitching.

Pac-Man on the Atari was a controversial game that displeased many fans because of it's rushed production and poor quality. However, that didn't stop people from finding a glitch that allowed a player to beat the game easily, locking the ghosts in the portal permanently.



Later, when the Atari had lost out to the next generation of 8-bit consoles, like the Nintendo, games offered a new world of glitching. Super Mario, perhaps the most popular game icon of all time, had several glitches in it's first sidescrolling rendition, Super Mario Bros. The ones shown in this video are representative of the types of glitches that were common for many Nintendo games, including walking through walls and defying death.





The Playstation, released in America in 1995, was the first console able to create complex 3d environments and as a result glitching ascended to ever more complex levels. The Playstation 2 improved upon the graphics of the PS and glitching became more entertaining as fairly realistic environments were demonstrated to be nothing but computer code.



As video games became playable over the internet and it was possible to compete with anyone, glitching took on a new role. Glitches allowed people to gain an advantage over their opponents in matched games. By finding a shortcut through a wall in a racing game, escaping to an unreachable section of a map in a shooter game, or taking advantage of physics glitches to attain invincibility, players were able to defeat their opponents unfairly.

In a recent game of Halo 2 I managed to take advantage of a glitch (for research only, of course) and reach a very high building with the sniper rifle, where I could kill opponents at my leisure. To me they looked like little dots far below, running in circles, but I could zoom in and have a wide open opportunity for a head shot. After several minutes of carnage and a score of 25 to 4, my opponents weren't very pleased and had this to say:

Opponent 1: "Oh my gosh, check out the glitch whore."
Opponent 2: "Yeah, that's so lame, anybody who needs to do that to win is just... lame."
Opponent 1: "Gosh"
Opponent 3: (whiny child) "Gaaaawd. This sucks"
Opponent 1: "Every time I re-spawn I just die. Dude, you suck, I hope you die today. Go fuck yourself"

After that last sentence the opposing team left the game within seconds, taking a loss and giving my team a win.
Based upon my research, and having had been in their shoes countless times before, I am aware of what a problem glitching can be in multiplayer games. As a result of the widespread use of glitches to gain an advantage, game developers have resorted to updating games with patches that fix problematic glitches. These "patch" up the faulty code, preventing people from gaining an unfair advantage over their opponents, and are required to play online against real people.

However, glitching is not an intrinsic evil. Like any new knowledge it can be used for whatever purpose it's discoverer intends. With that, I leave you with an example of fun and harmless glitching. This appears to be a secret that the developers implanted into the single player mode of Halo 2 on purpose, and it requires glitching. On the level "Metropolis" there is a hidden weapon with vast power located far above the regular level on a building that is not accessible unless glitching is implemented. In this case the player has obtained the "overshield", making him resistant to damage, after which he utilizes the warthog and a rocket launcher to blast himself into the air.



Remember. Please glitch responsibly.

Halo, Writing from Observation (Rewrite)

Steve sits in the chair after having turned on the TV and the Xbox 360. Bill is sitting on the corner of the bed, facing the TV. Both have a controller in their hands. Halo loads up and Steve navigates through the menus and enters a game entitled "4v4 Slayer" on the map Sanctuary. Once the game has loaded, Steve and Bill are on opposite sides of the map. On screen an opponent crosses in front of Bill, and Bill says "Hey buddy" before going after him. Suddenly Bill is sniped from across the map, sending his body flopping down to the ground, and he screams "What the bastard! I thought I was red!".

Meanwhile, on the other side of the map, Steve has acquired the Battle Rifle and is walking towards the center of the map. The noise of a nearby grenade is heard and Bill tells Steve to "Watch out!". The grenade explodes, blasting shrapnel, fire and smoke outwards, but Steve is unharmed because he turned a corner. Steve continues towards the center of the map and says "Watch this shit" before moving out from behind his cover and shooting at an opponent with the Battle Rifle. Another opponent appears and after Steve has killed the first, sending his body sprawling over the edge of a bridge, he attacks the second, then pulls behind the wall to let his shields charge. Once his health is full, Steve darts out and surprises the same opponent who had become engaged with another battle, killing him. Steve turns around and begins walking towards the edge of the map along a bridge, his field of vision swaying back and forth across the map.

On Steve's screen there is a signal indicating that his teammates are under attack, he begins to make is way to the battle when the horrifying swoosh of a sword is heard. Steve quickly turns around and backs up while throwing a plasma grenade. An opponent has just appeared around the corner, pursuing Steve with the shiny and deadly sword, and the grenade sticks right onto his chest. When he explodes Steve shouts "Yeah! Got the sword douchenator!" Bill then chimes in, "I'd like to have the sniper rifle, I'll tell ya why, Reed, In the game of Spiderman, I mean Halo, --" Stops talking and chases an opponent, then kills him with the shotgun while shouting "Ahh! there's a dead one -- Bitches!" Soon afterward, another opponent attacks Bill from behind with the Carbine, a weapon that shoots green bursts of energy. Steve says "I'm coming" and starts running towards the battle, but is too late and Bill is killed.

As Bill waits for his avatar to respawn, his cellphone buzzes, signaling an incoming text message, and he looks down to read it. On the TV screen, an opponent runs by and assassinates Bill's avatar, who is standing still, facing a wall; he looks up from his cellphone and says "Dammit". He redirects his attention to his cellphone and begins texting back, using his thumbs to type.

Meanwhile, Steve has acquired the sword and is pursuing a group of opponents. He rounds a corner and sees them all shooting at a distant enemy. He leaps up and kills the first one with a single swipe. The other two turn around and start shooting but Steve is already on the second one, killing him. By now, Steve's shields are low because of the enemy fire, and before going for the final opponent, Steve yells "Oh ho!" and as he kills the last one, he is shot at from the other side of the map and is killed. He yells "Shit!". Meanwhile, Bill has finished texting, has focused back on the game, and is gathering weapons. He looks out into the middle of the map and sees an opponent on a machine gun turret. He throws a plasma grenade high into the air in the direction of the gunner and yells "Come on far stick!". The blue grenade sticks on the opponent and explodes, sending the body flying through the air into a wall. Bill screams "Yeah!" and Steve lifts his hand up for a high five while saying "Oh boy, fucking awesome".

Steve is running around on one side of the base and kills an opponent with an SMG, a rather weak gun that the player starts with when spawned, then says "He's not the greatest". He then goes on to kill another opponent with the Battle Rifle and gets a "double kill" award, but takes heavy damage. He then says "whew, almost died", and hides behind a wall to allow his shield to charge. Bill is in the center of the map and runs by a doorway. In the corner of the screen, inside the doorway, are several opponents shooting across the map. Bill throws three grenades in and kills the two opponents. With these two kills the game is over. Steve says "yaaay".

The results of the game are not even close, Bill and Steve have many kills and their teammates have even more. The opponents have more deaths than kills and didn't receive as many medals as Bill and Steve. It is a glorious victory.



Writing this without any commentary or explanation was rather difficult and I feared that some of the more exceptional moments would not be fully appreciated without interpretation. During the whole game, the microphone wasn't attached, so none of the opponents could hear what Bill and Steve were saying. I suppose it would have added some interesting dialog if there was communication between the two teams, but Bill and Steve's comments were directed solely at each other, me, or aimlessly into the universe.
When Bill threw the plasma grenade across the map and stuck the opponent on the turret, that was an awesome event and one that is quite rare and cause for celebration. Another sweet moment was when Steve got a triple kill with the sword, laying waste to three opponents, but alas, dying soon afterward. The sword is perhaps the most versatile and powerful weapon in Halo 2, and in the right hands can be devastating to the opposing team. It was for this reason that Steve reacted with such vigor after killing the opponent with the sword who was chasing him.
I missed out on a fair amount of the action because I was trying to focus on both of the players and the details of their exploits, and so while I wrote about Steve's attack with the sword, I don't even know what I missed on Bill's screen. Overall, though, I think I was able to describe the general flow of the game and some of the outstanding moments.

Halo - Writing from Observation.

Steve sits in the chair after having turned on the TV and the Xbox 360. Bill is sitting on the corner of the bed, facing the TV. Both have a controller in their hands. Halo loads up and Steve navigates through the menus and enters a game entitled "4v4 Slayer" on the map Sanctuary. On screen an opponent crosses in front of Bill, and Bill says "Hey buddy" before going after him. Suddenly Bill is sniped from across the map and screams "What the bastard! I thought I was red!".

Meanwhile, Steve has acquired the Battle Rifle and is walking towards the center of the map. The noise of a nearby grenade is heard and Bill tells Steve to "Watch out!". The grenade explodes and Steve is unharmed. Steve continues towards the center of the map and says "Watch this shit" before moving out from behind his cover and shooting at an opponent with the Battle Rifle. Another opponent appears and after Steve has killed the first he attacks the second, then pulls behind the wall to let his shields charge. Once his health is full, Steve darts out and surprises the same opponent who had become engaged with another battle.

After killing him, the swoosh of a sword is heard and Steve quickly turns around and backs up while throwing a plasma grenade. An opponent has just appeared around the corner, pursuing Steve with the sword, and is stuck by the grenade. When he explodes Steve shouts "Yeah! Got the sword douchenator!" Bill then chimes in, "I'd like to have the sniper rifle, I'll tell ya why, Reed, In the game of Spiderman, I mean Halo, --" Stops talking and chases an opponent, then kills him with the shotgun while shouting "Ahh! there's a dead one -- Bitches!" Soon after, another opponent attacks Bill from behind. Steve says "I'm coming" and starts running towards the battle, but is too late and Bill is killed.

Bill's cellphone buzzes, signaling an incoming text message, and he looks down to read it. On screen, an opponent runs by and assassinates Bill, he looks up from his cellphone and says "Dammit". He looks back down to his cellphone and begins texting back, using his thumbs to type. Meanwhile, Steve has acquired the sword and is pursuing a group of opponents. He rounds a corner and sees them all shooting at a distant enemy. He leaps up and kills the first one with one swipe. The other two turn around and start shooting but Steve is already on the second one, killing him. Before going for the final opponent, Steve yells "Oh ho!" and as he kills the last one, he is shot at from the other side of the map and is killed. He yells "Shit!". Meanwhile, Bill has finished texting, has focused back on the game, and is gathering weapons. He looks out into the middle of the map and sees an opponent on a machine gun turret. He throws a plasma grenade high into the air in the direction of the gunner and yells "Common far stick!". The grenade lands on the opponent and explodes, killing him. Bill screams "Yeah!" and Steve lifts his hand up for a high five while saying "Oh boy, fucking awesome".

Steve is running around on one side of the base and kills an opponent with a weak gun then says "He's not the greatest". He then goes on to kill another opponent with the Battle Rifle and gets a "double kill" award, but takes heavy damage. He then says "whew, almost died", and hides behind a wall to allow his shield to charge. Bill is in the center of the map and runs by a doorway. In the corner of the screen, inside the doorway, are several opponents shooting across the map. Bill throws several grenades in and kills the two opponents. With these two kills the game is over. Steve says "yaaay".