Hello Scirra forums.
First of all, if there already exists a thread like this one, I apologize.
I just want to know what this forum's general opinion of hacks and homebrews is.
I was an active user in several game hacking sites and while I don't post much there anymore, I still occasionally visit the sites for new content. That's right; I used the word "new." Despite a lot of these hacks usually being a simple rearrangement of obstacles, I would argue they enhance the pre-existing game by allowing you to experience them in different ways. In some cases, these hacks "FIX" what was previously broken by rebalancing the games.
I was sick of having played Chrono Trigger for the 26th time and a simple patching with the "Original, Non-Woolsey Translation patch" as well as "Hard Mode Patch" made me enjoy the game as much as the first time I played it.
Another good example of hacking "fixing" a game would be Mega Man 1. You remember how frustrating Elec Man's stage was? The first screen featured a section that required extremely accurate jumping while avoiding fast hazards. Let's not even talk about how frustrating Elec Man himself was without the proper weapon. Sure the game allows you to tackle all levels any order you want but there will always be that kid who chose Elec Man's stage first possibly got sick of the game and didn't proceed to buy the next one (which is considered by many to be the best of the series.)
Sure there are issues of using another person/company's intellectual property but how is it different from writing fanfiction and making fanart? IF people are making money off of them (and yes, you can see the occasional scumbag on ebay selling them) then I can see the reason they are widely looked down upon but that doesn't deteriorate the content itself.
Opinions?