The gamebook I'm currently making features a number of links in a sidebar. As well as the essential 'Save' and 'Restart' ones, there's also two others; 'Backwards' and 'Forwards'. The 'Backwards' link, as most of you will be aware, essentially reverses time and is therefore rife for 'cheating'. The player makes a wrong decision, so they simply hit 'Backwards' and pick an alternative.
I can disable these two links with CSS, but wonder if it's a bad move. I see it as a way to discourage cheating, but others might say whether a player cheats at a game is entirely up to them. It's also worth considering that saving the game before possible crucial decisions would mean they could step back a turn just as easily, but at least this would require a little foresight on their part.
My argument is that game developers in the mainstream market go out of their way to eliminate cheating and exploits. Fair enough, it's in their interest to do so for marketing reasons, but the principle remains.
Thoughts?
I can disable these two links with CSS, but wonder if it's a bad move. I see it as a way to discourage cheating, but others might say whether a player cheats at a game is entirely up to them. It's also worth considering that saving the game before possible crucial decisions would mean they could step back a turn just as easily, but at least this would require a little foresight on their part.
My argument is that game developers in the mainstream market go out of their way to eliminate cheating and exploits. Fair enough, it's in their interest to do so for marketing reasons, but the principle remains.
Thoughts?