CHAPTER 1
Game On
Making Something Out of Nothing
Remember, you don't have to buy at the very bottom or sell at the very top to be a successful investor [but it sure helps].
–Charles Osgood, KCBS commentary, April 13, 2009
The boy plays video games. When Dad first hooked up the video game console, the little shaver experimented to learn how to play his games. With experience, the boy picked up some strategies and techniques on his own. He was not about to read any instruction manuals beforehand. After playing over a period of time, he eventually developed some proficiency. However, he wanted to do better. He wanted to become the next professional gamer, like his “manny” (a male nanny). So, like most people these days, he consulted the Internet. There he found the latest “cheats” on many of the games he plays. It seems that gamers are a somewhat friendly bunch who like to share cheat codes to help others in the community do better in their games.
Video games are basically a bunch of rules embedded in computer code acted out on a video screen. Each gamer's action (toggle turn, button push, etc.) has a consequence that may be good or bad. A cheat code represents a series of special commands that can enhance the skill level or appearance of characters within the game to gain an advantage. For example, a gamer playing a certain basketball video game could use a cheat to outfit his entire team with new shoes. As we like to believe in real life, it is the shoes that make the video basketball ...
