Why Do Gamers Call It Cheese? An Expert‘s Guide to Gaming‘s Cheesy History

As an avid gamer, there‘s one phrase that has always stuck out as rather bizarre – why do we call certain tactics, items, or playstyles "cheese" or "cheesy"? This dairy-derived slang term is ubiquitous when discussing competitive games, yet its origins and implications are less widely understood.

In this extensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into the etymology, history, and impact of "cheese" on gaming culture. Whether you‘re a developer looking to design against cheesy exploits, a tournament player trying to understand cheese bans, or simply a fan fascinated by gaming lingo – read on for the full story behind one of gaming‘s most storied terminologies!

Defining The Cheesy Term

First, what exactly constitutes "cheese" in gaming context? There‘s no single universal definition, but in general cheese refers to:

Any strategy, tactic, ability, or in-game mechanic that allows a player to achieve a disproportionately powerful advantage with minimal effort or skill.

Cheese has strong connotations of being overpowered, unbalanced, unfair, or irritating to play against. It circumvents the need to out-think or out-play your opponent by leaning on something "cheap."

Common categories of cheese tactics include:

• Exploiting oversights – Taking advantage of game bugs, glitches or physics quirks never intended by developers.

• Abusing overpowered elements – Using weapons, characters, or abilities that are clearly unbalanced.

• Low-risk spamming – Repeatedly executing high reward tactics with little counterplay.

• Stalling – Exploiting invincibility or frozen states to prevent opponents from playing.

• Disruption – Derailing normal back-and-forth gameplay flow via freezing, trapping, blocking etc.

There is significant debate around which strategies are truly cheese versus situational options. But tactics perceived as unfun, uninteractive, or undermining skill often get labelled as cheesy.

Origins of the Dairy Term in Gaming

So where did this dairy-laden jargon come from?

The earliest known usage can be traced back to 1996 and the iconic fighting game Super Street Fighter II Turbo. The new version introduced Super Combos – flashy special moves with exaggerated effects. Players quickly realized certain characters like Chun Li had Super Combos that were excessively easy to execute and could be spammed relentlessly.

In response, a series of threads on Usenet groups like rec.games.video.arcade in 1996-97 dubbed these "cheesy" tactics – unbalanced and irritating to fight against over and over. For instance, a common early usage:

"Throwing fireballs continuously is just a cheesy way to play"

The term "cheese" quickly spread through the 90s fighting game community and arcade scene as shorthand for cheap or annoying repeat tactics in versus fighters.

By the early 2000s, "cheese" was an established fixture of fighting game lingo, used extensively on forums and sites like Shoryuken to call out unbalanced play. Players criticized "cheesy Chun-Li players" for abusing her lightning legs infinite combo for easy wins.

From there usage expanded to other competitive genres in the 2000s like RTS, shooters, and MOBAs. Any tactics or elements upsetting the balance of skill required could be labeled cheesy.

Notable Early Cheesy Tactics

In the early decades of gaming, plenty of cheese tactics left frustrated players fuming:

• Street Fighter II (1991) – Certain characters‘ spinning pile-driver grabs were largely inescapable leading to round-long stunlocks.

• Mortal Kombat II (1993) – Many complained Reptile‘s acid spit gave him an excessive projectile advantage.

• Goldeneye 007 (1997) – Using the tiny Oddjob character made headshots nearly impossible.

• StarCraft (1998) – "6 Pool" Zerg rush builds overwhelmed opponents before they could tech up.

• Super Smash Bros (1999) – Ice Climbers could infinitely lock foes in a grab combo known as "wobbling."

• Halo 2 (2004) – Players used the "BXR" and "double-shot" glitches to break weapon functionality for instakills.

As early as the 2000s, debates raged around whether tactics like these reflected skillful adaptation or just cheesing for cheap wins.

Cheese and the Evolution of Metagames

An important aspect around cheese is its relationship to the evolution of gameplay metas. When new cheese arises, it can dramatically disrupt established ideas of skillful play:

• Cheese shapes metagames – A new cheese tactic may become the dominant winning strategy until countered. This shapes gameplay styles and character choices.

• Adapting to cheese – The community experiments to find counterplay against cheese. This leads to new anti-cheese strategies.

• Suryiving cheese – Developers eventually patch or remove truly unfair cheese elements, while skillful counters to remaining cheese become expected at high levels.

• Cheese begets innovation – Working around cheese encourages tactical innovation, keeping gameplay fresh and nuanced as players creatively counter the latest dominant cheese tactics.

So while disruptive in the short term, cheese also drives strategic evolution in competitive communities. Let‘s look at some case studies:

Starcraft Zergling Rush Cheese

• 6 pool opening builds overwhelmed opponents early on through sheer numbers.

• Professional players were forced to adapt with improved scouting and defenses.

• Walling off bases and worker micro to fend off rushes became standard. The meta evolved around the cheese.

DotA 2 Fountain Hooking

• Using Relocate and Meat Hook to instantly drag enemies into the fountain for instakills was hugely controversial.

• After extensive debate, Icefrog determined it undermined competitive integrity and removed the interaction. High level players adapted.

• But the cheese inspired innovative combos using the abilities in less broken ways.

The Controversy Around Cheese

Given its association with "cheapness", cheese has always been controversial in gaming circles:

– It circumvents perceived skill testing – Cheese undermines evaluations of a better player through lower risk and higher rewards.

– It diminishes diversity – Effective cheese compresses variety down to a few dominant cheesy tactics.

– It reduces interactivity – Being stuck in unavoidable locks or losing instantly to exploits feels non-interactive.

– It enables trolling – Obvious cheese becomes an outlet for unsportsmanlike conduct.

– It shifts the meta erratically – New cheese can instantly boost characters from worst to best, invalidating established theorycrafting.

As a result, attitudes towards cheese range from contempt to begrudging acceptance:

• Purists argue cheese should always be removed as antithetical to competitive spirit.

• Pragmatists accept dominant cheese as part of adaptation, but dislike uncounterable exploits.

• Cheesers embrace whatever tactics maximize wins, even those perceived as unfair or irritating.

There are no easy answers, as cheese lives in a gray zone between innovation and exploitation.

Cheese and Game Design

The existence of cheese also creates challenges for designers seeking to stamp it out:

• Unforeseen skill combinations and sequencing create cheese developers didn‘t anticipate.

• Patches to remove cheese risk overcorrecting and damaging depth.

• Limiting mechanics to prevent theoretical cheese reduces possibilities.

• Leaving some cheese can reward system mastery, but too much damages competitive integrity.

• Cheese discovery rate increases with larger player bases stress-testing games.

As a result, developers now commonly take steps to "design against cheese":

• Code reviews – Peer feedback helps identify combo or timing risks.

• Internal playtesting – Extensively play and document any observed cheese for patching.

• Public betas – Limited releases allow catching cheese before widespread use.

• Data analysis – Statistical monitoring can reveal outliers in win rates, damage, use frequency etc signaling potential cheese.

• Community feedback – Actively request player reports of perceived cheese during updates and patches.

However, designers still grapple with walking the line between stamping out true exploits while preserving creative freedom in combining game systems.

Notable Cheese Throughout Gaming History

Let‘s look at some especially notorious cheese that left their mark across gaming history:

Age of Empires II (1999)

• The Persian Town Center Rush aimed to destroy opponents in the Feudal Age before they could build an economy.

• While incredibly potent, skilled players eventually adapted with own rush defenses. The cheese became part of the standard meta.

World of Warcraft (2004)

• The "Reckoning Bomb" technique allowed Paladins to one-shot any target using stacked ability damage.

• The combo was quickly deemed an unintended exploit and removed by Blizzard.

Halo 2 (2004)

• Button glitches like BXR allowed breaking weapons behavior for instant kills, disrupting multiplayer.

• Extensive patches tried to stamp out techniques like animation canceling, but issues lingered.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

• Grenade launcher attachment tubes enabled frustrating cross-map explosive spam.

• Eventually addressed via reduced ammo capacity and slower reload times.

League of Legends (2009)

• Twisted Fate and Teleport could exploit teleporting mechanics to backdoor objectives unexpectedly.

• Afterdominance in competitive play, the interactions were reworked to prevent the cheese.

Dark Souls (2011)

• Backstab fishing allowed circle strafing around opponents for unavoidable instant backstabs.

• Latency and hitbox issues enabled the cheese. Later titles adjusted angles and tracking to reduce viability.

Rainbow Six: Siege (2015)

• "Pixel peeking" by operators like Blackbeard exploited camera position to see enemies without exposing yourself.

• Still an ongoing issue, with calls to remove unintentional angles.

And countless other games have faced similar cheese reckoning moments.

Closing Thoughts on Gaming‘s Cheesy History

Cheese has embedded itself into gaming culture over decades of players aggressively optimizing and combining game systems in unexpected ways. While disruptive, cheese also represents the passion and creativity of gaming communities as they dissect rulesets and mechanics for every possible advantage.

The relationship between players and developers in this cheese "arms race" helps drive ongoing innovation and new tactics. Learning to adapt to cheese is now an expected skill at the highest competitive levels in many games.

So while its origins may seem silly, cheese has had an undeniable impact across the evolution of gaming. The next time you grumble at an opponent‘s "cheap tactics", know you‘re taking part in one of gaming‘s most intriguing metagame cycles!

Does this deep dive help shed light on the history and controversies surrounding one of gaming‘s most unique terminologies? Let me know your own thoughts and experiences with cheese down below!