Facebook Games Hacks

[pothead420anarchy]

We all know that it's.... wrong to hack facebook profiles (right to privacy and such), but is it wrong to hack a facebook game whose only goal is to make money? They obviously weren't made for entertainment, or all of the paid features would be free. Exploiting holes in the code seems to me like finding loopholes in the law: so long as it's there and you didn't have to break any laws to do it, it's only exploiting other peoples' weak code, not deliberately costing them money. Obviously, the people who would support such hacks do so because they would never pay money for stupid flash game "privileges," but still would like to be entertained at the same level as people with money to throw away (or the stupidity to throw away money they don't have). This is not the same as hacking to "steal" vanity items whose sole purpose is to show that you have the money to spend, but to give you the same functionality as people who can afford to pay to play. Of course it's fair to give the people who pay an advantage over the people who don't, but it's my opinion that it's wrong to make people pay at all. These are flash based in-browser games, not corporate giants like Blizzard's World of Warcraft. These games could probably easily be supported through advertisement alone (unless I'm severely underestimating the cost of developing using the same tools most people use for a hobby.) Making people pay for something most people do for free, in my opinion, is far worse than hacking those games to get things that should be free.

Is this a thing that people care about? Are my opinions and estimations wrong? What do you think?

[Vulpine]

Someone wants you to pay in order to fully utilize their product, and you're complaining that they should give it to you for free? Go enjoy free flash games if it bothers you so much. Or are they "making" you not do that?

[OnlyHuman]

Hey. They give you an API to help develop if you're interested. What you do with that API is your own business. What kind of person that makes you is up for interpretation. That said, they also have a little "hacking" challenge that makes you eligible for employment, if you manage to pass all the levels. There are two ways to go about this. One gives you something you want for free. The other comes with the possibility of making money for doing something, that as a hacker, you should enjoy. I won't say which one is right for you (not my place), but I'd much rather get paid.

[Goatboy]

His name is pothead420anarchy... Is it even worthwhile responding to him?

[thetan]

His name is pothead420anarchy... Is it even worthwhile responding to him?

word.

Part of me wants to lock this post and be gone with it, but then the other part of me doesn't really care tbh.

[pothead420anarchy]

This was posted in an ethics forum, wasn't it? The point wasn't to get your opinion about me, but about the material I put forth. And yes, I realize that my username is incredibly stupid, but I was 14 when I made it. I'm too lazy to change it. Next time, base your opinions on the actual content of my posts, not the username. What you're doing is just being an asshole.

[eljonto]

Most people's sole purpose is to make money these days, and if you fall for their stupid ploys you are just supporting them. What's not right about it? Sure it seems a bit of a cheek to have to pay for some crap that can be done over a weekend in as you rightly put it- hobby tools, but again if you pay for it, you deserve it. The world is full of stupid people... what an awesome money-making opportunity, seriously, it's entrepreneurship- if you can find a way to bring in passive income and rip off stupid people at the same time, why wouldn't you? Yes, paying customers should get more benefits that non-paying ones, but when the game is a shitty little flash one, are the extra benefits really that important?- hell i doubt they even think people will pay for it- can't hurt to try make some money. Really IMO, if this is what bothers you, then you should really find an outlet- who cares about those flash games? sure some are fun and addictive, and if you see that you have to pay for it, then just say 'fuck it' and find another one. As for the injustice of it all, I can think of more pressing issues than the plight of the discriminated flash-gamer.

[mrmasterful17]

I don't see anything wrong with making people pay for for a service you're offering them. The only difference between World of Warcraft and (facebook)farmville is what the user perceives it to be. I know people who are not into gaming and would rather play farmville for free than get a chance to have a WoW account bought for them. Personally if I could create one of those crappy flash games and pay a bill around here to help my mom out I don't see why I would be a villain for that. On the flip side who the hell pays for internet flash games?

[thetan]

I don't see anything wrong with making people pay for for a service you're offering them. The only difference between World of Warcraft and (facebook)farmville is what the user perceives it to be. I know people who are not into gaming and would rather play farmville for free than get a chance to have a WoW account bought for them. Personally if I could create one of those crappy flash games and pay a bill around here to help my mom out I don't see why I would be a villain for that. On the flip side who the hell pays for internet flash games?

Ad partners, thats who pays for internet flash games. You crack at paying a bill or two, while the fact of the matter is that Zynga (the company that owns/designs farmville) has a TON of developers on the pay roll, owns TONS of servers and has landed a deal with 711 recently.

To say the least, Zynga is a reputable gaming company. I've actually been out to their HQ once to do a walk through and let me tell you, i wouldn't mind working for them. Their kind of like a young upstart google in the sense that they have tons of on site employee recreation, paid for lunches, snacks everywhere and yes, they have a FUCKING ZEN ROOM that you can go in to meditate and clear your mind, A FUCKING ZEN ROOM!!!!!!!!

So yes, if you can justify stealing from a company that pays the salaries of hundreds employees (zynga) more ethical then stealing from a company with thousands of employees (blizzard) then you might be correct. However i see it that your vastly wrong and it's more or less that the complete opposite would be true if any were to be true at all.

[IncandescentLight]

Think of it this way: the fees you are paying in farmville will be going into the salaries of the programmers who have toiled to construct that game. It's simple economics: An exchange of a good/service (which is the pleasure of playing farmville) for a medium of exchange(money). Essentially, you are paying for the resources which have gone into the production of that game. So all in all, it's a fair exchange.