Is taking advantage of in game glitches cheating?

HCoinslot wrote:
However, I don't see the relation to house farming. I would not call building extra houses "manipulating the game". The point of the game is to construct buildings, collect the rent, and use it to construct more buildings.

But typically in a game where construction is concerned, there is an aspect of design. House farming done right is having them on streets, with fences, yards, etc. House farming when you cram blue houses using all available space feels like a completely different aspect. It seems to me the goal is to "rebuild Springfield". From watching the show, I've never seen stacks of houses where it is impossible to enter said houses. I wouldn't say that a Springfield was rebuilt when the designer openly placed houses on virtually every available tile of land without adding in yard space, placing them along a street, etc. To me, that sounds like designer is manipulating the collection aspect of the game to achieve additional cash/xp in order to purchase more land - which leads to more houses - and repeats until the designer has maxed out the land and has sufficient cash to buy everything needed. So if the designer is manipulating the cash income from a stackable structure, to me that is apples to apples where in both cases the designer is achieving an increase in cash collection.

Tapping and collecting rent and constructing more buildings is more what you do to play the game. In essence tapping and collecting rent gives cash/xp, same as the open air stage, channel 6, Cletus' farm and Squidport entrance. Whether you tap 10k blue/white houses or handshakes; it still yields cash and xp - to speed up the game. Same with Contra using the 30 life code, you sped up the process of earning lives - to start the game with additional lives - in order to speed up the game (so you don't have to use continues, or worry too much about losing a life here or there).

I'm just saying if you manipulate the game to achieve faster/better/easier results should be the same thing. Using an option of manipulating the game from an expected way is cheating. Whether one person feels it is cheating is subjective (as agreed). With many current games today not really offering in cheat menus or codes, is the way video games have come along. Many older NES, SNES, N64 games had cheat menus, codes, Game Genies, Game Sharks, all ways to manipulate the game and play the game differently than just hitting start. This was before the online era of gaming. Is it cheating to beat a game with infinite lives? Probably. But if you don't have the skill, time, patience and just wish to experience the story without concern, sure you say I had help, used a code, or flat out lie saying you did it without anything. Depends on the person and what they wish to admit, or even their mindset if they feel they outright cheated through the game.