God Mode
In some video games, god mode is a state wherein the player character is invulnerable to damage. It is typically activated by entering a cheat code.
The term originated in Moria and was popularised 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. Other effects may be activated, for example unlimited ammunition or the ability to fly. The cheat is commonplace, particularly in action-oriented first-person shooters such as Quake or Half-Life. 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.
God modes (and other similar modes) often originate as a means by which developers test games. If a new feature is implemented in a game but requires play to determine whether it works, it saves time if a developer can 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 muliplayer games by default. However, in some games, cheats are integrated into the gameplay. Dedicated game servers running certain tools (such as "AMX" or "Admin" mod for Half-Life) allow the administrators of the server to grant and revoke god mode or other abilites. Another command, called "roll the dice", is used to randomly give an effect (good or bad) to the player using it (he is rolling his dice, so to speak). God mode is usually in the list of possibilities.
In recent years the term godmoding has become an extremely negative term referring to behavior on online role-playing games such as MU*s and PBEM/Post-by-post role-playing forums in which a character takes on powers, attributes and abilities far beyond what would be considered acceptable, forces his or her own actions on another player, or disrupts gameplay with an overly powerful character that exploits its 'godlike' abilities to the detriment of the game and other players. It has become interchangeable with such terms as powergaming and to some extent twinking.
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