Cheats and codes. The Great and Forgotten Mechanics of Old Games

Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived happy players who didn't know the word microtransactions. The legend goes that the less capable of them, unable to complete some games in any other way, used mysterious cheats and codes. This knowledge was widely available – either through colorful periodicals offered by merchants in small kiosks, or travelling by word of mouth, making no secret of it. We're talking about a lexicon that may sound to contemporary tribes like a complete, hmm, gibberish. "IDDQD", "IDKFA", "AEZAKMI." Occasionally, the good old "GOD." Less popular, but equally eagerly used, were the spells "Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A" and the unceremonious "give ammo."

Today they're remembered only by the oldest among our brethren. The model of buying various gaming goods through the use of rectangular plastic items, called, ugh, payment cards, has dominated this timeline. Old customs and long-standing tradition have gone into neglect, same as the paper payment cards with miens of ladies and gents will someday.