Old 'Gaming' Myths and Legends

Dastardly · 07 July 2002, 22:02

I once heard a long time ago that the reason games have cheats in them is because back in the 8-bit days, a couple of software houses were guilty of deliberatly making their games impossible to get past a certain level. The reason for this was so they didnt have to create the entire game and could release it sooner :hoo
I was told that this shady practise was eventually discovered and the result was that games had cheats put into them so they could be checked in advance for this dodgy practise. I have no idea if this is just a made up story that was told to me or if it is actually true. Id be interested if anyone else has heard this.

Also
If you have any gaming myths and legends of your own....lets hear em

jmmijo · 07 July 2002, 22:36

It does have that Urban Legend feel to it, however, corporate business practices makes this sound very plausible as well :hoo

Djay · 07 July 2002, 22:52

i always thought, that testers could fully test the games using unlimited lives etc...., some companies just left the cheats in and then because they came popular, the cheats evolved into actual extensions to the game itself... extra features like wobbly cars etc...

but i prefer Dastardly's theory

Galahad/FLT · 08 July 2002, 18:12

They were used primarily for playtesting and to enable magazine reviewers to playtest a games later levels for screenshots etc, invariably it was more effort that it was worth to remove the cheats, so they stayed, and became a habit.

cv643d · 31 July 2002, 21:26

Here is another myth, wittnessed by myself:
After the trainride in Final Fight arcade, you fight in some kind of underground where there are pipes on the wall and barrels are rolling. The pipes on the walls are leaking water in small drops, the rumors in the arcades - no matter if it where in Sweden or Turkey- was that the drops that leaked were dangerous. But it wasnt. Kinda cool that a rumour spread all over europe.

Shatterhand · 01 August 2002, 05:31

I know a few legends that were popular here in Brazil

When MK II was released in arcades here, everyone was talking that there was a secret character that would appear if you had 99 wins.

With MK I, there was the legend that Johnny Cage could throw 3 heads away from his enemy. Of course, this is NO legend, it actually can be done, but as only a few people had seen that, it was considered a legend.

There was one in Cadillac & Dinosaurs, in the elevator stage, if you jump to close of the edge, your character will be locked in the border of the screen, and you'll have to wait the time runs out to continue. Never saw this happening, but a friend says he did that in the emulator (Maybe he was the one who started the rumour after all

)

Miggy2TheMax · 01 August 2002, 07:29

Arcade rumor about SF. A rumor was going around and was published by a games mag (with screenshots!) that if you beat every opponent "perfect" then in the end you get to fight ryu's dad.
I think in the end it was found to be pure BS .. I wonder how many poor souls out there actually tried to beat every opponent perfect...

ethylene · 01 August 2002, 08:15

Here's a true one!

The Atari Jaguar game Evolution: Dino Dudes contains a subliminal message, evidently designed to make players buy more games!

I found this out myself. One of your characters is a wizard. When you make the wizard work his magic, he starts a chant. Recorded and played back in reverse, what he's repeating over and over is, "Buy another Jaguar cart!"

I never did :hoo

Shatterhand · 02 August 2002, 05:54

I remeber that thing about Ryu's dad... his name is Sheng Long, if I am not mistaken.... this rumour existed here too..

When Super Street Fighter II Turbo came out, people said Akuma was him...

Amiga1992 · 02 August 2002, 06:46

I think Sheng Long's just a japanese legend, so that's a load of bollocks!

Fred the Fop · 02 August 2002, 08:05

Sheng Long is a chinese name.

Amiga1992 · 02 August 2002, 08:18

YEAH frederica, I got that wrong alrightey

Dastardly · 03 August 2002, 00:10

Quote:

Originally posted by Frederic
Sheng Long is a chinese name.

Is it like Long Shlong? The girls tend to call me that

jmmijo · 03 August 2002, 00:14

Quote:

Originally posted by Dastardly

Is it like Long Shlong? The girls tend to call me that

Shatterhand · 03 August 2002, 07:31

hey! Ryu actually says the name "Sheng Long" in one of his winning speech! (In that screen that shows the defeated guy with the face beated'up)

I even played Street Fighter II turbo on Snes now, but he didn't said it.. I think he doesn't have this saying on this version... or maybe I am getting crazy...

Amiga1992 · 03 August 2002, 08:04

I know! But I think he is referring to the old legend and NOT to his father!

he says it in the SNES version, AFAIK

Muzkat · 03 August 2002, 15:51

Sheng Long has never appeared in any SF game AFAIK.

Bloodwych · 03 August 2002, 16:30

I fooled all my friends by making up the myth that if you saved the princess in Defender of the Crown you'd get to view some explicit love scenes.

During these scenes, you'd have to assist your character in the art of love making by guiding his third leg home.

I described the playability as being the same as the jousting scenes, except the lance and shield were replaced by, well you get the idea!

It was tricky stuff, thrusting forward at speed and trying to hit the spot. Hitting the mouse button too early also resulted in premature release.

If you failed, the princess would reject your charms and order you away!

This was when my friends were all at the gullible age 13 and craving anything sexual! I had them playing Defender of the Crown for ages while I pissed myself laughing at their stupidity!

cv643d · 03 August 2002, 18:47

Quote:

Originally posted by Miggy2TheMax
Arcade rumor about SF. A rumor was going around and was published by a games mag (with screenshots!) that if you beat every opponent "perfect" then in the end you get to fight ryu's dad.
I think in the end it was found to be pure BS .. I wonder how many poor souls out there actually tried to beat every opponent perfect...

Haha... I actually heard of that rumour here in Sweden

If you beat the game with a perfect score, the other competitiors will stand in the background and cheer you I thing

Twistin'Ghost · 04 August 2002, 08:37

OK, it's not gaming, but a friend of mine and I convinced another friend that the (then) latest version of Directory Opus, when installing to hard drive, played a sound sample with a female voice that said "Welcome to Opus ... Directory Opus", only the word Opus was pronounced O-poo; then we always referred to the program as Directory Opoo. That was pretty mean of us.

07 July 2002, 22:02	#1
Dastardly Into the Wonderful Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: England Age: 49 Posts: 2,335	Old 'Gaming' Myths and Legends I once heard a long time ago that the reason games have cheats in them is because back in the 8-bit days, a couple of software houses were guilty of deliberatly making their games impossible to get past a certain level. The reason for this was so they didnt have to create the entire game and could release it sooner :hoo I was told that this shady practise was eventually discovered and the result was that games had cheats put into them so they could be checked in advance for this dodgy practise. I have no idea if this is just a made up story that was told to me or if it is actually true. Id be interested if anyone else has heard this. Also If you have any gaming myths and legends of your own....lets hear em

08 July 2002, 18:12	#4
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,992	hmmmm They were used primarily for playtesting and to enable magazine reviewers to playtest a games later levels for screenshots etc, invariably it was more effort that it was worth to remove the cheats, so they stayed, and became a habit.

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07 July 2002, 22:36	#2
jmmijo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: PDX Age: 62 Posts: 2,396	It does have that Urban Legend feel to it, however, corporate business practices makes this sound very plausible as well :hoo

07 July 2002, 22:52	#3
Djay 95th User Join Date: May 2001 Location: Brighton/UK Age: 48 Posts: 3,120	i always thought, that testers could fully test the games using unlimited lives etc...., some companies just left the cheats in and then because they came popular, the cheats evolved into actual extensions to the game itself... extra features like wobbly cars etc... but i prefer Dastardly's theory

31 July 2002, 21:26	#5
cv643d Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Sweden Posts: 762	Here is another myth, wittnessed by myself: After the trainride in Final Fight arcade, you fight in some kind of underground where there are pipes on the wall and barrels are rolling. The pipes on the walls are leaking water in small drops, the rumors in the arcades - no matter if it where in Sweden or Turkey- was that the drops that leaked were dangerous. But it wasnt. Kinda cool that a rumour spread all over europe.

01 August 2002, 05:31	#6
Shatterhand Warhasneverbeensomuchfun Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Age: 41 Posts: 3,450	I know a few legends that were popular here in Brazil When MK II was released in arcades here, everyone was talking that there was a secret character that would appear if you had 99 wins. With MK I, there was the legend that Johnny Cage could throw 3 heads away from his enemy. Of course, this is NO legend, it actually can be done, but as only a few people had seen that, it was considered a legend. There was one in Cadillac & Dinosaurs, in the elevator stage, if you jump to close of the edge, your character will be locked in the border of the screen, and you'll have to wait the time runs out to continue. Never saw this happening, but a friend says he did that in the emulator (Maybe he was the one who started the rumour after all )

01 August 2002, 07:29	#7
Miggy2TheMax Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Australia Age: 45 Posts: 381	Arcade rumor about SF. A rumor was going around and was published by a games mag (with screenshots!) that if you beat every opponent "perfect" then in the end you get to fight ryu's dad. I think in the end it was found to be pure BS .. I wonder how many poor souls out there actually tried to beat every opponent perfect...

01 August 2002, 08:15	#8
ethylene Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Beaverton, OR, USA Posts: 87	Here's a true one! The Atari Jaguar game Evolution: Dino Dudes contains a subliminal message, evidently designed to make players buy more games! I found this out myself. One of your characters is a wizard. When you make the wizard work his magic, he starts a chant. Recorded and played back in reverse, what he's repeating over and over is, "Buy another Jaguar cart!" I never did :hoo

02 August 2002, 05:54	#9
Shatterhand Warhasneverbeensomuchfun Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Age: 41 Posts: 3,450	I remeber that thing about Ryu's dad... his name is Sheng Long, if I am not mistaken.... this rumour existed here too.. When Super Street Fighter II Turbo came out, people said Akuma was him...

02 August 2002, 06:46	#10
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	I think Sheng Long's just a japanese legend, so that's a load of bollocks!

02 August 2002, 08:05	#11
Fred the Fop flaming faggot Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Versailles Age: 55 Posts: 2,808	Sheng Long is a chinese name.

02 August 2002, 08:18	#12
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	YEAH frederica, I got that wrong alrightey

03 August 2002, 07:31	#15
Shatterhand Warhasneverbeensomuchfun Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Age: 41 Posts: 3,450	hey! Ryu actually says the name "Sheng Long" in one of his winning speech! (In that screen that shows the defeated guy with the face beated'up) I even played Street Fighter II turbo on Snes now, but he didn't said it.. I think he doesn't have this saying on this version... or maybe I am getting crazy...

03 August 2002, 08:04	#16
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	I know! But I think he is referring to the old legend and NOT to his father! he says it in the SNES version, AFAIK

03 August 2002, 15:51	#17
Muzkat Into the Wonderful Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Earthrealm Age: 42 Posts: 1,429	Sheng Long has never appeared in any SF game AFAIK.

03 August 2002, 16:30	#18
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	I fooled all my friends by making up the myth that if you saved the princess in Defender of the Crown you'd get to view some explicit love scenes. During these scenes, you'd have to assist your character in the art of love making by guiding his third leg home. I described the playability as being the same as the jousting scenes, except the lance and shield were replaced by, well you get the idea! It was tricky stuff, thrusting forward at speed and trying to hit the spot. Hitting the mouse button too early also resulted in premature release. If you failed, the princess would reject your charms and order you away! This was when my friends were all at the gullible age 13 and craving anything sexual! I had them playing Defender of the Crown for ages while I pissed myself laughing at their stupidity!

04 August 2002, 08:37	#20
Twistin'Ghost Give up the ghost Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: U$A Age: 33 Posts: 4,662	OK, it's not gaming, but a friend of mine and I convinced another friend that the (then) latest version of Directory Opus, when installing to hard drive, played a sound sample with a female voice that said "Welcome to Opus ... Directory Opus", only the word Opus was pronounced O-poo; then we always referred to the program as Directory Opoo. That was pretty mean of us.

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