Editing Talk:Cheats (section)

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After Doom, it wasn’t enough to have cheat codes.  After Doom, a game’s cheat codes needed to be comprehensive, creative, and fun.

When Elliot told me cheats generated a fair amount of traffic for GameSpot’s website, I was surprised.  Why?  Personally, the first time I ever remember using a game cheat code was... Doom.  Prior to this, I’d never actively sought out cheat codes, and apparently, I was in the minority.

...Using the HoMM2 functions as a foundation, I first consolidated the existing cheats, before expanding them into the codes HoMM3 players use today. 

I could have stopped there, and created a list of purely functional cheat codes, but I wanted to follow the new tradition established by id Software.  So, I adopted their template. To start, I decided to use the ‘nwc’ prefix.  As for the suffix, I also liked id’s idea of using ‘inside jokes’, but I didn’t want them to be too cryptic.

In the end, for The Restoration of Erathia, I decided to use references to the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail].  Why this specific movie?  Gus Smedstad [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,24719/], our AI Programmer, was also a fan of the film, and over the course of making HoMM3, he and I frequently quoted various lines from the movie.  In using The Holy Grail, each individual cheat became an inside joke to anyone who had seen the movie.  Concerning the rest of the HoMM team, the cheats became an inside joke between Gus and myself.  If you want a good explanation as to the individual cheats, I’d suggest looking [http://www.heroesofmightandmagic.com/heroes3/cheatcodes.shtml here].

Of all the cheat codes created, only one wasn’t mine: nwcphisherprice.  This was the work of John Bolton [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,562/], our Lead Programmer.  He told me about it, after he’d put it into the game, and it’s an allusion to Fisher-Price [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher-Price], an American company specializing in toys for small children.  As the code brightens the game’s colors, I assume it was his commentary on the appeal of HoMM2’s fairy tale art style.

When it came time to create Armageddon’s Blade, I wanted to rename all of the cheat codes.  Why?  Honestly, I did it as a favor to Elliot Chin.  As Elliot pointed out, it was a money maker for their website.  Creating new cheat codes gave players a new reason to look-up the new cheats, thus driving traffic to a webpage.

For Armageddon’s Blade (AB), the origin of its specific set of cheats began on November 13th, 1998, when the teaser trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ] for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Episode_I_%E2%80%93_The_Phantom_Menace] (TPM) was attached to opening of Meet Joe Black [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zIOjl93WrU].  Many fans paid for a full priced movie ticket, watched the trailer, then left the theater before the actual film started.  This same phenomenon occurred again, on March 12th, 1999, when the second theatrical trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo--sWDK_nU] was attached to Wing Commander [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR26_xbXIQ4].

A day later, on March 13th, 1999, I saw the online version of the TPM theatrical trailer and couldn’t wait to see the next installment of Star Wars.  In fact, I was so excited, I confidently decided the cheats for AB would stick with the ‘movie’ theme I’d established with RoE, and derive its theme from The Phantom Menace.  There was however... one problem... I had yet to see the movie.

On the following Monday, after I set my satchel in my office, I stepped to Map Maker’s cubicles.  I couldn’t help myself from asking.

{{---}}Me, “So?  I assume everyone enjoyed The Phantom Menace?”

There was a ripple of groans accompanied by a couple of cold stares, one almost certainly from Dave Botan [https://www.fanstratics.com/fstnewsletter10].

{{---}}Me, “I was okay with it, but I went in with low expectations.”

{{---}}Jennifer Bullard [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,15311/], “It was okay.”

{{---}}Marcus Pregent [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,15313/], “No.  It was bad.”

{{---}}Walter Johnson [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,4685/], “I wouldn’t say it was bad.”

{{---}}Dave Botan, “It wasn’t good.”

{{---}}Me, “Alright-Alright.  Well, I’m using it for the Armageddon’s Blade cheats.”

There was another ripple of groans from Dave and Marcus.

{{---}}Me, “Do you have a better idea?”

{{---}}Jennifer stepped up, “What about The Matrix [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix]?”

{{---}}Marcus chimed in, “Yeah.  The Matrix is good.”

{{---}}I furrowed my brow, “The Matrix?”

I hadn’t seen The Matrix.  In fact, I hadn’t even heard of The Matrix.  I’d been so busy crunching [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunch_(video_games)] at work, video games and comic books had pushed movies into a distant third place priority...

{{---}}Jennifer, “Yeah.  It’s a science fiction movie with Keanu Reeves.”

{{---}}Me, “Haven’t seen it.  Haven’t had the time to see much of anything.”

{{---}}Marcus, “It’s really good.”

{{---}}Me, “Well, maybe for the next expansion.”

...There were a couple disappointed looks and shrugs, but as I had planned, when I created the cheats for Armageddon’s Blade, I referenced Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.  As for the cheats referencing The Matrix, I must admit my recollection is fuzzy.  Either I wrote them up and put them in the design documentation for later use, or Jennifer Bullard created them.  I honestly don’t remember, because... in less than a year... when Shadow of Death released on March 31st, 2000... I was working in Las Vegas, at Westwood Studios, on Command & Conquer: Renegade.

Greg Fulton, the lead designer of HoMM3 (RoE and AB)

[https://www.fanstratics.com/fstnewsletter20  Fanstratics Newsletter #20 (April 2022)]