Glitches in Video games: What are the causes?

A Glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a temporary fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the electrical and computer based industries, in circuit bending, as well as among players of video games. More generally, all types of systems including human organizations and nature experience glitches. Glitches, are definitely one of the most infamous problems we face while trying to play our favourite games. Although used interchangeably with a bug, a bug differs in the fact that it is a mistake in the code or ideal chain of events and might prove more fatal to the system than a glitch at large. In Bugs, the underlying fact is that it is an error in the programming process which might be hidden and potentially mess up the ideal process which the developers desired for the game. But in a glitch, the process is going as planned by the developers and suddenly develops a fault, which might have not been shown during the testing phase of the game as programmers usually test under controlled conditions. In most cases a glitch is usually used as an euphemism for a bug, which is a factual statement that a programming fault is to blame for a system failure. Here glitches are seen as minor. Today, glitches are definitely a pop culture in mainstream gaming today and games have been created specifically for glitches.

1.0: Brief history of the word Glitch (Etymology):

According to Wikipedia, some reference books, including Random House's American Slang, claim that the term comes from the German word glitschen ("to slip") and the Yiddish word gletshn ("to slide or skid"). Either way, it is a relatively new term. It was first widely defined for the American people by Bennett Cerf on the June 20, 1965 episode of What's My Line as "a kink... when anything goes wrong down there [Cape Kennedy], they say there's been a slight glitch." Astronaut John Glenn explained the term in his section of the book Into Orbit, writing that;

Another term we adopted to describe some of our problems was "glitch." Literally, a glitch is a spike or change in voltage in an electrical circuit which takes place when the circuit suddenly has a new load put on it. You have probably noticed a dimming of lights in your home when you turn a switch or start the dryer or the television set. Normally, these changes in voltage are protected by fuses. A glitch, however, is such a minute change in voltage that no fuse could protect against it.

2.0: An example of a glitch mechanism:

Supposing we create a machine that changes an English words to its equivalent in Spanish. As a programmer, we invent an initial chain of command;

[Insert English word]         ->    [Spanish result]
[Confidence]             -> 1; [Confianza]
[Computer]               -> 2; [Computadora]

[Toothbrush]             -> 3; [Cepillo de dientes]

Now, to make this device commercially usable, we add two other languages to increase efficiency, German and French. Watch how the device gets more complex.

[insert English Word] ->    [Spanish result] [German result] [French result]
[Food]                -> 1; [víveres]        [Essen]         [Aliments]

[Phone]               -> 2; [Teléfono]       [Telefon]       [Téléphone]

[Taxi]                -> 2; [Taxi]           [Taxi]          [Taxi]

So here's where the problem sets. Cognates. Cognates are words that are alike in different languages. This feature is inadvertently inherent in language systems but our device may not recognize at the instance. It might cause severe problems, as the device might think cognates can be used in any situation, leading to in accurate results. To counter this, we use checks to eliminate any probability of errors by Cognates.

[insert English Word] ->    [Spanish result] [German result] [French result][Add check->

[Bananas]             -> 1; [Plátanos]       [Bananen]       [Bananes]      ''Cognates'']

There might be other problems we might face down the line, such as synonyms, antonyms, idioms etc. and so on, but proper testing and good use of checks will eliminate practically any error incurred in the life span of this device. It appears we have won this battle.

3.0: Causes of Glitches in Video Games:

 Buffer overflows aren't the only causes of a game glitch. There are also other reasons for the bugs and glitches we encounter in the games we play. Let's explore them.

3.1: Game Engine limitation:

  A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. The leading game engines provide a software framework that developers use to create games for video game consoles and personal computers. Now, in this case an Engine isn't a single software, it is a collection of programs and tools used by a developer in producing a game or an application. This means that an engine might be fundamentally reused when necessary. Such as in Medieval 2 Total war, it uses the same Engine as Rome total war. Fallout 4 uses the same engine as the Elder scrolls V: Skyrim. The knack here is that the software is constantly changing, which means it has to be altered suitably to fit the developers needs. Bethesda announced previously that it would use the same engine in fallout 76 for the upcoming Elder scrolls VI game. This lead to an uproar among gamers as Fallout's latest game is riddled with infamous game breaking bugs and glitches. While this isn't the case, as the word engine is actually a misnomer. But the main fact is that re-using the same engine might cause problems if not properly constructed and released.

When Assassins creed unity was in the works, ubisoft showed footages of the game boasting how they built the engine from scratch...Unfortunately after the release Glitches like this became numerous needing patches as big as 2.0gb to fix them. 

3.2: Hardware Incompatibility: 

The PES 2020 flying player glitch, usually affecting MTK powered phones...

  Just as the game engine and the command lines are software related causes of glitches, hardware also comes into play in the creation of glitches. When a game is released, the developers usually release an article called the recommended/Minimum requirements for running the game at optimal gameplay. While it doesn't mean games with lower specifications wont be eligible to play, there's a reason the developers pegged those exact specifications. Using a lower powered device can bottleneck the program and might result in problems due to a host of reasons, such as rendering of the graphics and displaying the mechanism. We recommend to use the optimal gaming set-ups to avoid problems arising from the reason.

3.3: Exploring places and features not intended or scrapped/removed by the developers:

Surely, that building wasn't made for the dinosaur now was it?

  Not all intended gaming features and environments make it to the final phase or cut of production. Just like in movies production, films get cut and some scenes removed due to a number of reasons, such as due to improperly made scenes or perceived controversy and so on. This is frankly the same for video games. Some video game developers also remove features from the final cut. Also in movies these features might be later released as behind the scenes or directors cut exclusives, in video games it might be left in the game files and can be viewed again by either modding or just changing a few things. Some can be really interesting and brightens up some new opportunities for a fresh gameplay.

The downside here is that in gaming these features are often unfinished and glitchy and have the potential to break your game. The developers certainly know exactly why they removed those features, and definitely its up to you to take the risk to explore and see for yourself what holds.

3.3: Unrealistic physics, mechanics and effects:

Video games go through a lot of hassle to appear realistic. From your favourite open world games like Grand theft auto to your go to sports games such as FIFA and NBA, they all employ mechanisms similar to real life in order to logical. But the trick here is that all of those mechanisms such as the Physics, audio rendition, effects Etc. must be created from scratch with lots of checks in order to emulate what we have in real life. Now, a complex system like Physics has a lot of factors to be considered, such as Gravity, collision, thermodynamics and so on.

Now, Glitches due to Game physics can happen for a number of reasons:

• Inaccurate mathematical models of physical laws.
• Faulty or insufficient collision detection algorithms.
• Improper property values assigned to game objects.
• Lags or latency in client-server interaction.
• Rendering inaccuracies in the graphics engine.
• Any number of other programming mistakes (aka "bugs")

As for Game mechanisms and effects, when we talk about gaming mechanisms we talk about the system in which the game is defined to take place or make use of. In the elder scrolls games, an NPC(Non player character) who is hungry might either steal or beg from the player or other NPCs. Complex games with different systems in place might encounter glitches if these systems are not thoroughly checked and tested properly. In effects, we mean the results of actions taken by the player in the system. A gunshot at a metal object wont probably give the same sound as a tree or stone. A female gaming model would most likely talk and interact in a feminine way as a male model would. This means that a lot of accuracy is needed in order to achieve that sense of authentic gameplay if realism is a goal.

3.5: Weapon against Pirates and cheaters:

Yes you read right! some sneaky developers actually include these glitches as a measure against players who would try to pirate or cheat in single/multiplayer games. Making an actual developer sponsored glitch is not hard really, as its just the same as making a feature for the game. These elements are often more deadly than the real glitches themselves and can freeze, break or practically render your game useless much to the dread level of the developers. The solution here obviously is to buy the original verified copy from the producers or from trusted sellers such as Steam, GOG and amazon. And also stop ruining online multiplayer games with cheats.

4.0: Disadvantages of Glitches:

Since glitches are not usually intended, they can quickly take the bad factor and pose a lot of problems in the play through of the gamer. While not broad in true sense, they are still diverse in nature. Lets explore them:

4.1: They can be Game-breaking and annoying:

Some glitches can limiting to the game progress. These game-breaking errors may be the functional defects of the items or objects and the freezing or crashing of the game itself. This will stress out players especially if they’ll get helplessly killed by an opponent or lose a round. You lost a Total war 1000 vs 300 army siege because your men just randomly ran from place to place while under fire from the enemy arrows? Lost a game save of about 30+ hours just because your inventory doesn't show up anymore and progressive items were in there? these sadly can break a game and cause unbearable loss to conscious minded player, especially one on an Iron man save. Not to talk of smashing the PC or controller out of anger due to these glitches. then that's literally Game breaking!

4.2: They can be Scary or disgusting:

Nah, that's not the Rodd Reiss Titan....That's a Glitch from MLB: The show 17!

  If your game isn't a horror or thriller title, there's is definitely no reason what so ever to include frightening glitches! Ughh..... Some glitches are certainly very horrifying in the sense that its a drastic shift in representation of a normal phenomena to a newer and a bit stranger image. Three eyes instead of two, Demon babies instead of cute diaper clad ones, headless pedestrians you name it.

4.3 They can mess up graphics and certain UI elements:

Glitches certainly do not affect only gameplay mechanics. Sometimes graphics and in game texts can be victims too. Clipping through objects might more popular than the others, but most times certain textures and fonts can be scrambled and some times lead to a crash or a game break.

5.0: Advantages of Glitches:

Glitches some times can be useful to a player trying to finish or enjoy a game. Due to the spontaneous nature of glitches, its safe to say that some can actually change the gameplay of a particular title....in a good way!

5.1: They can be helpful (Exploits):

Glitches sometimes can help to complete a harder level or gain items easier by subtle manipulation of the video game mechanism. In this case, its called an Exploit. There's a high chance a defect was left unnoticed in the game, and when a player discovers it, he can use it to either get higher items or it maybe spontaneous and the player uses the opportunity to complete a level.

Developers sometimes might get wind of the discovery and might release a patch in order to rectify it as many games today have in-game purchases, and they certainly don't want players getting those items for free. Also some good players(like me) doesn't like cheats or exploits at all in their games.

5.2: They can be Amusing and funny:

Literally.....

What better way there is to brighten up an already boring gameplay other than a random funny, harmless glitch? Some glitches are out rightly hilarious. Although it might be subjective as some players might consider it annoying or irritating.

5.3: They are capable of making the gameplay better and opening up new options and features!:

Not all features and even game titles were thought of directly by developers. Some were actually as a result of a rather interesting glitches that the developers decided to add to the next title or released as a update to an existing game. There are some famous game titles and features we know that actually have their origins in glitches. So that means we should thank glitches then Heh?

5.3.1: Grand theft auto series:

Grand theft auto is certainly one of the most popular and successful game titles ever to brace consoles and Computers alike. GTA 5 had a development budget of about 250$ million and is the best selling piece of entertainment ever. A pretty great achievement right? But this title actually originated from a glitch in a racing game called ''Race'n'Chase'', made by a company called DMA Design, where the police would try to ram the player as if their lives depended on it. What happened was that during every chase, a swarm of AI controlled police cars would ram into the player's car and destroy it. The game testers and developers really loved this concept. They started to ignore the main missions and intentionally started chases.


The developers decided to cash in on the idea. They redesigned the game so that you could only play as a criminal, refined the AI system of the police vehicle system to include it into the gameplay mechanics. Thus Grand Theft Auto was born. DMA Design would later become the company we now know as Rockstar North.

5.3.2: Team fortress spy class:

Back when Team Fortress was just a simple Quake modification in 1996 and before Valve got its hands on it and made the World’s No. 1 War-Themed Hat Simulator™, there existed a rather peculiar bug. The bug caused players to show up as the colour of the opposing team, thus causing them to appear as members of the enemy team.


While it could have been patched, it ended up inspiring the mod’s creators to create a new class, one based on disguise and deception, one all about fooling enemy players and then stabbing them in the back (literally).And thus, the Spy class was born. When the mod was re-released a year later as Quake World Team Fortress, the Spy was officially added to the roster, forever giving us the nine mercenaries of Team Fortress we all enjoy today.

5.3.3: Ermac in Mortal Kombat: 

Back in the SNES days, glitches were the rumours of the playground, from Mew hiding under a van to unlockable characters in fighting games. Ermac stood tall amongst them all, as both a glitch and a lie from gamers. Unofficially showcased in Mortal Kombat, Ermac was a red recolour of Scorpion and was linked, by fans, to a name in the audit menu “ERMACS.” A shorthand version of Error Macro, Ermac was sought after by many a gamer.

While Ermac started off as a glitch, fan speculation led to his character being immortalized, in more ways than one. The developers saw the creations and love for this character, who did not exist, and went into creating a new character based on them all, Ermac, who appeared in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. With control over souls, even being made up of many souls, Ermac was given his own move set and aesthetic, becoming a main character as the series went on.

5.3.4: Goat simulator, A game made for Glitches!:

If you've seen ANY of this game at all, you know what I’m talking about. The point of the entire game, is the glitches. Mess with them, exploit them, whatever the heck you want to do. You even get achievements for completing certain glitches!

So that ends our article on the causes of video game glitches. what do you think of glitches? funny, weird or annoying? have you encountered any before? let us know in the comment section.