Since I can't figure this out from research definitely enough I'll take 2 scenarios to elaborate what I know or believe I know and what I don't know.
Constant things in all scenarios:
a. The game is on a website.
b. The game is a flash game.
c. Playing the game and your score affects your points/tokens for your account.
d. You are always only editing stored values in memory that reside on your own machine, NOT hacking the server etc.
Scenario 1: Not illegal I believe.
The game is on a website where the virtual currency is points, and there is no money associated with these points. Having 100,000 points is worth the same monetarily as 1 point. You play a flash game and use memory editing tools to change a memory value stored on your own machine to change your score to a very high level. End result: 100,000 more points.
Scenario 2: Unsure of legality
The game has two virtual currencies, we'll call them points and gold. Points can not be bought or sold, gold can only be bought from the company through payment or taking surveys on their site's partners. Playing a flash game online only gives you points unless you add one gold to play. If you pay one gold then you can win other people's gold that they put into the pot if you have the highest score of all of them. So you load up the flash game on their website, and use a memory editor to change your score before submitting your win. If you play for free, you can win points, if you play for gold, you can only win if you have the highest score of the people in the pot. Either way, using a memory editor to get the high score or more points.
What is important I believe is that you are not gaining access to their server, are not reverse engineering their software, and are not editing packets of data being sent to their server. What is being edited is values stored in your computer's memory.
So, is the first scenario legal as I assume, and is the second scenario illegal or legal in the United States?
Constant things in all scenarios:
a. The game is on a website.
b. The game is a flash game.
c. Playing the game and your score affects your points/tokens for your account.
d. You are always only editing stored values in memory that reside on your own machine, NOT hacking the server etc.
Scenario 1: Not illegal I believe.
The game is on a website where the virtual currency is points, and there is no money associated with these points. Having 100,000 points is worth the same monetarily as 1 point. You play a flash game and use memory editing tools to change a memory value stored on your own machine to change your score to a very high level. End result: 100,000 more points.
Scenario 2: Unsure of legality
The game has two virtual currencies, we'll call them points and gold. Points can not be bought or sold, gold can only be bought from the company through payment or taking surveys on their site's partners. Playing a flash game online only gives you points unless you add one gold to play. If you pay one gold then you can win other people's gold that they put into the pot if you have the highest score of all of them. So you load up the flash game on their website, and use a memory editor to change your score before submitting your win. If you play for free, you can win points, if you play for gold, you can only win if you have the highest score of the people in the pot. Either way, using a memory editor to get the high score or more points.
What is important I believe is that you are not gaining access to their server, are not reverse engineering their software, and are not editing packets of data being sent to their server. What is being edited is values stored in your computer's memory.
So, is the first scenario legal as I assume, and is the second scenario illegal or legal in the United States?