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Hacking Video Games In A Personal/Isolated Environment
Question for anyone knowledgeable in software/ video game laws and Islam:-
Context:- There is a legal memory editing software out there called cheat engine which you can attach to computer games and enhance player experience via editing memory values and changing the game speed (Slow motion/Fast motion). In a nutshell this software allows a player of the game to modify game data and speed such that one can enhance game experience and potentially get more freedom in the video game and have more fun and is hence cheating in the game.
Potential problem/dilema:- vast majority of video games require people to comply with the EULA (end user licence agreement) which in almost all cases prohibits cheating in online and/or multiplayer mode which has the potential to ruin the experience of other players and thus directly or indirectly cause monetary damage to the production house which is hence copyright infringement and clearly wrong to do so.
However there is still an online debate as to whether using softwares like Cheat Engine violates the EULA of the video game if you are cheating in offline single player mode such that it’s only for your own personal use and the experience of other players is not being effected and no monetary damage can be attributed to the production house.
From my own research on various forums etc the majority of people argue that it is ethically fine to do so and it does not violate EULA to hack in single player offline mode as there is no proof of monetary damage to production house and no one is being harmed and along the lines that it is none of anyone’s business on how you choose to entertain yourself in this isolated environment. Even if there is something in the EULA that looks prohibitive to do so, it does not apply as monetary damage can’t be proved and it falls under fair use (using this logic, a company called Lewis Galoob toys won a lawsuit against Nintendo who sued them for copyright infringement but lost source:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Galoob_Toys,_Inc._v._Nintendo_of_America,_Inc.)
However according to some other people and Chat GPT it is still considered a violation of EULA as it interferes with the intended game design and violates integrity of the game (does not make sense to me personally as I’m just having fun with a game I payed for and no one is being harmed 😕). But in this case, the production house will not enforce any breach of contact as there is no monetary done to them and also maybe as it’s hard for them to detect an activity of this nature done on a personal level.
Question:- if I use Cheat Engine on single player games I’ve obtained legitimately just to enhance my own fun in a manner that does not amount to any “Haqtalafi” on face value (monetary loss/stealing from game developers/ruining the fair play and/or experience of players who I’m potentially playing with), is it a still a sin to do so even if I’m potentially violating the EULA but harming no one in the process?
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9 Replies
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Hacking Video Games In A Personal/Isolated Environment
updated 4 months ago
4 Members
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9
Replies
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If you bought the game and don’t spread it unlawfully then its ok to enhance your own experience in offline mode.
Injustice scenario will be as follows1) if you unlawfully distribute it robbing them off their revenue.
2) In case of online game, hacking the system will give you unfair advantage and potentially ruin the business.
I will request @Irfan76 or @UmerQureshi sb to share their opinion too.
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I agree with Mr Ahsan Jalal’s answer.
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I don’t think EULA has any legal standing. Even if you break it, it is not unlawful but most companies have a common practice which is, that they will simply ban your account if you do break their EULA including hacking/cheating in a single player game or modifying any of their products. This never happened but if they do, on an extremely rare chance, ban you, you will have to accept that and move on.
I think everyone agrees that it is not a sin or illegal. It’s just doing something against company’s terms but they tolerate it as long as it doesn’t affect others but they have full power to not tolerate it.
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Just a thought. So in terms of EULA any modification to software is not allowed. However practically speaking the way I want to modify the software is i) not enforcible ii) does not effect anyone hence nobody cares so it should be fine.
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@FortunateServant what do you think of those micro-transactions which seem unreasonable. I’m not talking about dlc content talking about those ones which you have to pay real money to get additional health ammo etc (basically stuff already stored inside the memory address of your own computer).
Asked this question to a friend of mine he said that whatever I do with a software/game that I bought and store within my own system is completely fine as long as whatever I do does not go outside the bounds of my system. Along those lines he said that a contract which restricts your personal freedom with a program you paid for and occupies space within your computer is not a valid one according to Islam. Same logic that if someone sells me a pen under the condition that I can’t use it to write provided that there is no real reason that writing with the pen will cause harm to anyone, then that condition is not a valid one.
So if I use a hex editor to change health, ammo, in game money which has no real value (all of which are NOT stored on an online server but within my system) in a game which otherwise has the option of notorious micro-transactions to buy such things for single player, is that fine? What do you think of that?
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Generally companies that do singleplayer micro-transaction also forces you to stay online where they can check if you are hacking and getting the benefits for free which according to their TOS must be purchased. Generally, people are not confident to hack to get perks in games on their own so they rely on companies to provide this services. You can get banned for getting these benefits through an unofficial way if company detects you and chooses to take action, although normally companies do tolerate it because it will make them lose players for restricting their freedom to hack since very few people are capable of hacking and do not cause concern for company….yet. It is generally not ethical in my opinion to hack any software where company explicitly tells you not to hack it in a way that causes loss in its profit.
However for this part:
“Along those lines he said that a contract which restricts your personal freedom with a program you paid for and occupies space within your computer is not a valid one according to Islam. Same logic that if someone sells me a pen under the condition that I can’t use it to write provided that there is no real reason that writing with the pen will cause harm to anyone, then that condition is not a valid one.”You are going to need an expert opinion on this part @UmerQureshi @Irfan76
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Yes I’ve noticed that usually with micro-transactions of this nature, either the game requires internet connection to play or those particular in-game resources have values which are stored on your game account within an external server or an online platform. I personally think that hacking stuff outside your system (over the internet/game hacks for server or online advantage) is wrong only because it is outside your own operating system. Hence, I personally wouldn’t try to hack server based values or anything being influenced via the internet or outside my system.
Another parallel: Even books are copyrighted material. If I buy a book, I can do whatever I want with it whether or not it’s the intented purpose; read it, tear it, burn it. I can even create my own continuation of the story as much as the original author does not like it. I think even photocopying the book is fine as long as you strictly keep the copy to yourself and it does not fall in the hands of anyone else as that would be theft/unlawful distribution of intellectual property.
Hence given the above logic and the research I’ve done, I feel that one should have the freedom to do whatever they want with a software they paid for and strictly within their system and offline.
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Did more research on the topic I found out that:- In most if not all jurisdictions, there is no legal ground for restricting anyone for what they can do on their personal computer given that the nature of their activity remains isolated within the computer itself. So if I buy a game or any software, I can do whatever I want with it so long as whatever I do does not influence what’s outside my computer via internet or sharing otherwise via memory device etc etc. Similar logic to what I stated earlier about buying a book.
Having said that EULA violation is still there. Even though the violation of terms restricting personal uses is not illegal, you can get banned from the game.
Having said that, I have no problem with developers charging money for downloadable content which you pay money in exchange for game files and other programs. However what I personally see as very problematic and scammy in nature is them charging real money for changing the value of a memory address already present in your computer.
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Thanks for the answers 😊
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