Glitching
Encyclopedia
Glitching is an activity in which a person finds and exploits flaws or glitches in video games to achieve something that was not intended by the game designers. Gamers who engage in this practice are known as glitchers. Glitches can help or disable the player.
"Glitching" is also used to describe the state of a video game undergoing a glitch. The frequency in which a game undergoes glitching is often used by reviewers when examining the overall gameplay, or specific game aspects such as graphics. Some games such as Metroid
have lower review scores today because in retrospect, the game may be very prone to glitches and be below what would be acceptable today.
Video game glitches that go to "out of bounds" areas are mostly performed by either moving through walls or corners or jumping to places in the map
that do not have invisible wall
s. For example, in Tony Hawk's Underground 2
, in the Los Angeles level there is a glitch that can allow players to leave the proper play area and enter the background.
In "out of bounds" areas, many maps have hollow objects that the player can move through freely. These objects usually are in the distance and are for decoration. The floor or terrain can also be hollow. The floor can appear the same as a normal floor but moving over it will cause the player to fall as if it does not exist. Depending on the game, after falling a certain distance the player will freeze, die, respawn on the map again or just keep falling. A good example is in the Nintendo 64
game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
there is a section of "wall" at the entrance to the water temple that will allow players to fall through the ground. Eventually players respawn rather than the game crashing.
Many other glitches may also include background music being played at the time it was not intended to play, such as the Western Super Mario Bros. 2
(based upon the Japanese-only game Doki Doki Panic) has a major glitch where the Subspace music (the Overworld background music from original Super Mario Bros.
) can be played outside of Subspace after the player becomes invincible and enters Subspace and leaves before invincibility drains away (this glitch was fixed up for Super Mario All-Stars
and Super Mario Advance
so that Subspace music can only be played in Subspace). One of the best known examples for glitching in an online game is on Grand Theft Auto: IV where people can glitch into rooms there not supposed too or get under the map. (example by glitching a helicopter to spawn under the map and fly into beta rooms).
"Glitching" is also used to describe the state of a video game undergoing a glitch. The frequency in which a game undergoes glitching is often used by reviewers when examining the overall gameplay, or specific game aspects such as graphics. Some games such as Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
have lower review scores today because in retrospect, the game may be very prone to glitches and be below what would be acceptable today.
Video game glitches that go to "out of bounds" areas are mostly performed by either moving through walls or corners or jumping to places in the map
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
that do not have invisible wall
Invisible wall
An invisible wall is a video game term for a boundary that limits where a player can go in a certain area, but doesn't appear in-game as any kind of visible obstacle, or as an obstacle that in reality could easily be bypassed, such as a mid-sized rock or short fence...
s. For example, in Tony Hawk's Underground 2
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
Tony Hawk's Underground 2, also known as THUG 2, is the sixth installment in Neversoft's Tony Hawk's Series and sequel to Tony Hawk's Underground. Tony Hawk's Underground 2 was released on October 4, 2004 for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PC, and Game Boy Advance platforms...
, in the Los Angeles level there is a glitch that can allow players to leave the proper play area and enter the background.
In "out of bounds" areas, many maps have hollow objects that the player can move through freely. These objects usually are in the distance and are for decoration. The floor or terrain can also be hollow. The floor can appear the same as a normal floor but moving over it will cause the player to fall as if it does not exist. Depending on the game, after falling a certain distance the player will freeze, die, respawn on the map again or just keep falling. A good example is in the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
there is a section of "wall" at the entrance to the water temple that will allow players to fall through the ground. Eventually players respawn rather than the game crashing.
Many other glitches may also include background music being played at the time it was not intended to play, such as the Western Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
(based upon the Japanese-only game Doki Doki Panic) has a major glitch where the Subspace music (the Overworld background music from original Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
) can be played outside of Subspace after the player becomes invincible and enters Subspace and leaves before invincibility drains away (this glitch was fixed up for Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars, known as in Japan, is a collection of platforming video games that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It contains enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels , Super Mario Bros...
and Super Mario Advance
Super Mario Advance
Super Mario Advance is a series of four platform games released for the Game Boy Advance. The games were enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Super Mario Bros. 3 respectively...
so that Subspace music can only be played in Subspace). One of the best known examples for glitching in an online game is on Grand Theft Auto: IV where people can glitch into rooms there not supposed too or get under the map. (example by glitching a helicopter to spawn under the map and fly into beta rooms).