Cheat codes
are
codes that can
be entered into a
video game to
change the game's behavior. The practice of cheat codes and secrets in
a video
game was started in the
Atari 2600 game
Adventure.
Afterwards codes were implemented and used by
game developers
to
playtest
certain aspects of their games; for
example, a common use of a cheat code is to skip to a
level in a
game.
In
moddable games,
such cheat modes are often left in released titles specifically
for modder use.