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God mode is a state in some video games wherein the player character is invulnerable to damage. It is typically activated by entering a cheat code, but some games may also include invincibility powerups. The term may also be used when the CPU opponent, mostly in sports games, goes into a "god-like" state, deliberately altering the probabilities and mechanics of gameplay in its favor.

[edit] Description

The term originated in Moria^{[citation needed]} and was popularized by the games of id Software in the 1990s. The name is derived from the command traditionally used to activate it: typing "GOD" in the game's command console.

When playing in God mode, the player is immune to most sources of damage in the game (enemy attacks deal no damage). Frequently, god modes do not provide full invulnerability; whilst they may make the player immune to enemy fire, other hazards may still pose a threat (such as drowning, falling into a pit, or running out of time).

God modes (and other similar modes) often originate as a means by which developers test games, normally to test a new feature is in a game which requires play to determine whether it works (this allows the developer to quickly reach the relevant portion of the game by avoiding death or by "flying" over time-consuming regions of the game environment. This source of God modes often manifests itself in the route by which players activate these modes - for example, running a game with a development mode flag.

Use of god mode or other cheats is frowned upon in multiplayer gaming. Most cheats are disabled in most multiplayer games by default. However, in some games, cheats are integrated into the gameplay. Dedicated game servers running certain tools (such as "AMX" or "Admin" server mods for Half-Life servers) allow the administrators of the server to grant and revoke god mode or other abilities. In games that feature a high score list, activating God mode usually automatically forfeits the player's chance to have his or her name or initials listed (like all episodes of Heroes of Might & Magic).

[edit] Examples

• The early shooter Rise of the Triad used a literal God Mode as a power-up: the player begins making "Godly" noises, becomes ten feet tall, and can disintegrate enemies with homing "Godfire" shot from his or her hand. They also developed the first well-known mock of God Mode, named Dog Mode, where the player becomes two feet tall, furry, and utilize tackles and barks to take down opponents, all the while remaining just as invincible as the player would be while in God Mode.

• Another variation of god mode prevents the player from reaching a health point below 1, and is found Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and Half-Life 2.

• In Blizzard Entertainment's games god mode can only be invoked in single player; the player is not allowed to cheat against other players. The exception to that rule is in the Warcraft 2's multiplayer. Activating god mode in Warcraft 2 also gives all attacking units extreme damage (255 in Warcraft 2, enough to kill enemy units instantly).

• The Doom series of video games features an invulnerability power-up which makes the character immune to damage for 30 seconds at the cost of the loss of color vision. It also has a god mode cheat (IDDQD, called degreelessness) that provides immunity to all sources of damage except telekills (such as when a player or enemy is spawned on top of the character).

• There are examples for built in "god modes". In the game Team Fortress 2 the Medic class is capable of making himself and a teammate invincible up to eight seconds if his Übermeter reaches 100%. This provides total invulnerability to damage, but the players are still affected by knockback effects and map hazards such as trains.

[edit] See also

• Cheating (video games)
• Noclip mode
• Powergaming
• Godmoding
• Difficulty level