What Are Game Glitches?
If you play video games regularly, glitches are a fact of life. Admittedly, glitching isn’t as rampant as it used to be, but you’re still likely to encounter the occasional error. That being said, not every in-game error can be classed as a glitch. Need some help making sense of glitching? Want to know the difference between glitches, bugs, and exploits? Read on for everything you need to know and more.
Glitches Explained
Glitches are usually the result of an issue with graphics. In the case of video games, a glitch usually occurs when graphics haven’t loaded properly. This can result in avatars becoming fused with in-game objects or surface textures. Additionally, in-game animations can be affected. Although inconvenient, these types of glitches aren’t usually critical. Normal gaming can quickly be resumed once a player leaves the problem area or graphics have loaded completely. Furthermore, these glitches are easily fixed. In the era of eighth and ninth-generation consoles, users can quickly download patches from game developers and manufacturers to resolve issues.
Examples of Game Glitches
Glitches come in many forms. Clipping is one of the most common and used to be a major drawback of video games. Clipping glitches involve in-game avatars being able to pass through virtual environments. Although unsightly, they can be used as an exploit. A savvy player can use a clipping glitch to access unused “ghost areas” of in-game maps or reach locked areas early.
Jumping glitches are also common. This type of glitch allows players to effectively break the laws of physics. A jumping glitch allows players to access restricted areas by triggering an action not normally allowed.
Sequence breaking is another type of glitch and is fairly common with narrative-based stories that require players to complete quests in a specific order. As with other types of glitches, sequence breaking is often used to access locked areas of a map early. Although sequence breaking takes a lot of the fun out of completing a story, it’s an effective exploit for speedrun gamers.
Is Glitching Cheating?
If you’re only focusing on single-player games, it’s up to you whether to exploit glitches. They can be used to break up the monotony of gameplay or utilized to achieve a new speedrun record. However, when it comes to multiplayer titles, you’ll need to be more careful when activating glitches.
Many multiplayer gaming communities frown on glitching. In fact, most online communities put glitching in the same camp as cheating. If you’re actively exploiting programming faults to gain an unfair advantage, you’re not playing
fair. Those players who use glitching to climb the leaderboards in ranked matches are looked upon with disdain by other players. Even streamers who use glitches to achieve record times in speedruns are likely to be frowned upon.
Want to make a name for yourself in competitive gaming? You only have to take a look at the CSGO schedule here to get an idea of the kind of scores you need to secure. Holding your own in pro-level esports is all about hard-earned skill and teamwork. Admittedly, professional tournaments haven’t been immune from glitches and bugs. However, these have only led to crashes, controversy, and player bans.
