Imposters Aren’t The Only Issue Among Us Players Should Be Worried About
In November of 2018, Innersloth Studios couldn't have imagined the success their game, Among Us, would achieve in 2020. The small three-person development team had a small, loyal fanbase at the time, a fraction of what it became in 2020.
Back in 2018, problems arose if 700 people were simultaneously playing Among Us, clogging the servers and making it impossible to connect. Nowadays, Among Us can boast up to 1.5 million concurrent players at a given time. The sheer number of players the game boasts now is incredible - especially considering its humble beginnings.
Also, make sure you check out our incredible guide on all the Among Us Characters!
Click to enlargeWhile many of these players simply wish to have fun, there are a select few that wish to do the opposite. These players rely on cheating and hacking to make the game more fun for them - at the expense of everyone else. These players can exist in both closed friend groups and online play, however, they are more likely to be a nuisance online. In a closed friend group or server, cheaters can spoil the imposter's identity for the whole party. This is annoying, but considering this would have to be done via direct message, it would be very easy for the group to discern who the cheater was. For this reason, it is strongly encouraged to play with a friend group that wishes to keep the spirit of the game alive.
Click to enlargeIn the realm of public play, this kind of trust definitely cannot be established. All it takes is one cheater in a public group to ruin the fun for everyone. These cheaters aren't limited to just one bag of tricks - they have an entire onslaught of cruel tricks at their arsenal. They can change player names at will (potentially telling the group the imposter's identity), kill every player simultaneously, add extra imposters, change kill cooldown, and even give enhanced vision. These numerous hacks all run outside of the game in a separate program or application that then displays these effects in matches in real-time.
These cheats have no real benefit to the game or the hacker, for that matter. Among Us offers no rewards nor incentives for winning. The most a cheater would have to gain is the satisfaction of pulling off a hack, ruining a fun game of Among Us for the numerous people in the group. Once a hacker wreaks their havoc on an unsuspecting group of players, they are simply propelled into another game, where they can do the same to another group. They can essentially perform these manoeuvres until they grow tired of doing so, as there are no systems in place to capture cheaters and put an end to their mayhem.
After the meteoric rise of Among Us from an underground cult hit to 2020 summer blockbuster, the team at Innersloth cracked down on their game's development. The developers knew they had wanted to add additional features to their game, but knew that doing so might affect the game's code, making it impossible to run. They knew that key changes such as account setup and anti-cheat were important, but thought a sequel to Among Us would better suit those ideas. However, once Among Us took off, Innersloth canned the ideas for a sequel, deciding to take a closer look at the code and work on making Among Us more fun for players.
One of the first things that the team is looking into is an account system for Among Us. Currently, players don't have accounts - they are recognised only by a temporary screen name. This anonymity makes cheaters able to blend into a crowd and make a swift getaway if needed. This also makes it difficult to moderate Among Us matches, as players can't properly identify the cheater with only a screen name.
Click to enlargeAccording to programmer Forest Willard, once an account system is in place, reporting and moderation systems can be built around it. If the hacker has an identity, it will be easier for players to inevitably snuff them out.
Not only is Innersloth working on an account system, but they are also working on their servers. Willard hinted that the team would be working to strengthen their servers, putting programs in place to detect and block hacks. This means that the programs used by the hackers, if recognised as a threat by the server, could be deemed useless once these changes roll out.
Click to enlargeThe developers are also looking into client-side cheat protection, as well. This makes sense, as many smash-hit games must resort to anti-cheat once their following grows to astronomical proportions. Fall Guys made headlines only a few months ago after it donned Fortnite's anti-cheat platform. Among Us might need the same treatment, as it rose to the same heights as Fall Guys, and in turn, attracted a slew of hackers and cheaters.
It is refreshing to know that Innersloth is looking into these vital changes to the game - and even more exciting to see where these changes will take Among Us. Until these changes are implemented, public games will continue to be a free-for-all. Not only will players have to worry about an imposter, but also potential hackers as well. Players might have more fun sticking to games within private friend groups, at least for the time being.
Images via Innersloth Studios