Video game glossary
This is a glossary of video game terminology.
0-9
- Describes completing a game on a single credit with the usual compliment of starting lives, which is usually quite difficult, instead of using multiple continues, which anyone can do. Mostly refers to games of arcade origin. Also referred to as one-credit clear, one-coin clear, and various other similar terms. Abbreviated to 1CC.
- Color data where each pixel can be stored in a single bit. This typically yields eight pixels per byte.
1-on-1
- A single player versus another single player. Typically used when both players are humans instead of AI. This match up may be varied in any manner: 2-on-2, 3-on-3, 1-on-2, etc. Sometimes written "1V1." See also "versus."
- An Engrish form of the term, "extra life."
- Short "1-credit completion."
1V1
- Short for "one-versus-one." See "1-on-1."
2-bit color
- Refers to displays which require two bits per pixel and can therefore display up to 4 unique colors at a time. See also "color graphics adapter."
2D
- Refers to something existing in two spacial dimensions, typically graphics, but may also describe a game world. 2D graphics may be rendered as a vector or bitmap. Also written as "2-D."
2.5D
- Refers to something existing in two spacial dimensions, but appearing as though it's in three dimensions. Often applied to games which use early 3D engines which didn't have full 3D capabilities as well games which use an isometric view, or a game with a first-person perspective that is rendered with 2D bitmaps. In more recent years, the term is used for games which use a 3D engine, but use 2D visuals and mechanics.
3-screw
- The revised release of Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges which had three tamper-proof screws holding them together (see "gamebit") and two plastic latches at the top to account for the eliminated fasteners.
3½-inch diskette
- A three-and-a-half-inch-wide diskette with a hard plastic shell. Primarily used on home computers around the 1980s to 2000s. Replaced by the CD-ROM.
3D
- Short for "three dimensional." Anything existing in three spacial dimensions, typically graphics composed of vectors, but may also describe a game world. Also written as "3-D."
- A fifth-generation entertinament console.
4-bit color
- Refers to displays which can display up to 16 unique colors at a time.
4-way joystick
- A joystick with four directional inputs that is specifically designed to prevent more than one directional input from being activated at the same time. Used in many early arcade games that didn't need diagonal movement like Pac-Man. This differs from an 8-way joystick which allows two neighboring directions to be pressed at the same time.
4K
- A display resolution of 4096 × 2160 pixels.
5-screw
- The original release of Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges which had five Phillips screws holding them together.
5¼-inch diskette
- A five and a quarter-inch-wide floppy diskette. Primarily used on home computers around the 1970s to 1980s. Replaced by the 3½-inch diskette.
6502
- See "MOS 6502."
8-bit
- A term used to describe hardware that uses an 8-bit CPU or bus, or games designed to simulate the style of games released on such hardware.
8-bit audio
- A non-specific term which typically refers to any audio played on an 8-bit device, the majority of which used programmable sound generator which have very distinct timbres.
8-bit color
- Refers to displays which can display up to 256 unique colors at a time, typically chosen from a color space of many more possible colors.
8-inch diskette
- An eight-inch-wide floppy diskette. Primarily used on computers around the 1950s to 1970s. Replaced by the 5¼-inch diskette.
8-way joystick
- A joystick with four directional inputs that allows up to two neighboring inputs to be activated at the same time to allow for diagonal motion in the game. This differs from a 4-way joystick which only ever allows one directional input to be pressed at a time.
8K
- A display resolution of 7680 × 4320 pixels.
- Refers to displays which can display up to 32,768 unique colors at a time.
16-bit
- A term used to describe hardware that uses a 16-bit CPU or bus, or games designed to emulate the style of games released on such hardware.
16-bit audio
- A non-specific term which typically refers to any audio played on an 16-bit device, the majority of which used FM synthesis which have distinct timbres.
- Refers to displays which can display up to 65,536 unique colors at a time.
- Refers to displays which can display up to 16,777,216 unique colors at a time.
32-bit
- A term used to describe hardware that uses a 32-bit CPU or bus, or games designed to emulate the style of games released on such hardware.
- Refers to displays which can display up to 16,777,216 unique colors at a time as well as an 8-bit alpha channel.
64-bit
- A term used to describe hardware that uses a 64-bit CPU or bus, or games designed to emulate the style of games released on such hardware.
100%
- Describes completing everything possible related to an aspect of a game, or an entire game. See also "completionist."
- A number common in 8-bit video games due to technical limitations of the hardware.
720
- Refers to a display resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels. Often described as 720p, for progressive display, or 720i, for interlaced display. At the time, it was also called "high definition" or "HD," though few would describe it as such now.
1080
- Refers to a display resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, also called "full HD." Often described as 1080p, for progressive display, or 1080i, for interlaced display.
A
A-pose
- In 3D modeling, a pose where a humanoid figure is standing up with their arms out at a downward angle so their body shape resembles an uppercase letter A. See also "T-pose."
AAA
- Refers to a high-budget development studio or games developed by them. Vocalized as "triple A."
abandoned
- When development ceases on a video game. Reasons typically include the inability to find a publisher willing to back the development costs, or an inability to find a way to make the game enjoyable.
- Video games or software which are still protected under copyright, but are no longer sold by the copyright holder. Gamers typically don't have an ethical problem pirating abandonware since, as they claim, the copyright holders won't lose money since they aren't trying to sell the title anyway. "Abandonware" is not a legal term, and still constitutes breaking the law.
ability
- Any action, move, act, etc. a character can perform. There are many different ways of handling abilities from having them intrinsic to the character, needing to be learned, requiring points to use, having a cool down, etc.
ability points
- Points that are spent when a character performs an ability tied to the points. Often abbreviated to AP.
abstraction
- The process of taking an idea and distilling it down into something that can be represented in a video game. For example, physical hand-to-hand combat can be abstracted into pushing a button for attack and another for defend, while a person's health can be abstracted into a numeric quantification called HP.
AC adapter
- A power adapter typically used to plug in otherwise battery powered devices. Prior to long-life rechargeable batteries, AC adapters were sold for most portable video game platforms.
accessory
- In games where players can have equipment, accessories typically refer to secondary items like rings, amulets, and various other baubles; contrasted with weapons and armor. Accessories typically affect stats or offer forms of magical protection not seen in regular weapons and armor.
ACE
- See "arbitrary code execution."
achievement
- An award for the completion of a special task within a game, or the process of getting said award. Also known as a badge, trophy, medal, etc. Achievements add an additional and more frequent sense of accomplishment to a game than the game's ultimate ending.
- A genre of video game described by an action mechanic, that is, games which requires quick thinking and fast reflexes in order to succeed.
- A genre of video game described by the literary and film genre of action, that is, a fast-paced story with rapid resolution of conflict, often through fist fights and shootouts.
- A hybrid genre of action and adventure. These games have exploration and an adventure narrative paried with action mechanics thoughout the game.
- A genre of video game where statistic-based character development is mixed with fast-paced combat mechanics.
- The breakdown of the label, especially on second-generation Activision cartridges.
activation code
- A copy protection system where the owner of a game uses an activation code to prove ownership of a game.
active LCD
- A liquid crystal display where the display elements can readily change as needed like those used by the Game Boy and Game Gear. This is opposed to a "static LCD."
- A puzzle which requires the player to actively interact with it usually due to it changing dynamically or a short time limit. Contrasted with a passive puzzle.
active time battle
- A combat system based delays in between actions rather than turns. Each combatant can perform actions based on a speed-like stat. This form of combat is like a hybrid between turn-based combat and the combat seen in action games and requires players to take a more active role in the process.
adaptation
- A work of media that is based on an existing work from a different form of media, or the process of creating one. For example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone video game is an adaptation of the novel of the same title. See also, "crossmedia" and "licensed."
adaptive scalable texture compression
- A lossy graphic compression format used for textures based on Color Cell Compression. Although it doesn't compress as well as JPEG, it can decompress much faster, so it's more ideal for weaker hardware.
add-on
- See "expansion."
adult
- A category of video game designed for adults which has erotic or pornographic content.
- A genre of video game in which the player leads a character on an adventure. Often subdivided into text adventures and graphic adventures.
- A video game engine developed by Sierra On-Line and first used in King's Quest and their subsequent graphic adventures until it was replaced by Sierra Creative Interpreter.
- A portmanteau of "advertisement game." A game where one of its main purposes is to advertise for a product or service
aesthetic
- A style of art, game play, or philosophy a designer is trying to present in their game.
AFK
- Short for "away from keyboard." A message left by players so other players online will know they are unable to respond at the moment. See also "BRB."
agency
- A measure of how much the player's decisions affect the game world. If the player has a high degree of agency, their actions will have a significant effect on the game world, but if the player has a low degree of agency, their decisions will not alter the trajectory of the story.
aggro
- Short for aggravation. An amount of attention from a hostile enemy. AI-controlled enemies are typically programmed to attack the player who cause them the most aggro. This can be exploited by players by having the character with the most defense take aggro from a powerful foe so their weaker comrades don't have to deal with them.
AGI
- See "Adventure Game Interpreter."
agile development model
- A game development model where less emphasis is placed on planning out exactly what the game will be like. Instead, developers frequently design and playtest demos in an attempt to find what works best and use feedback from the testers to guide the game's progress. Developers usually prefer this method because it makes it much easier to change game play elements that don't appear to be working, but publishers rarely like this model because it's much more difficult to figure out how far along a game is in its development cycle, so it's harder to plan for advertising and distribution. The agile development model, because it is more adaptive, tends to result in games that are more enjoybale and is contrasted with the waterfall development model.
AI
- See "artificial intelligence."
AI vs. AI
- When an AI faces off against another AI. Some games allow this as a feature, particularly sports games which allow you to serve as "coach" for the AI. Other games use this as the basis of their game play and expect players to program their own AIs to battle each other.
aimbot
- A program that automatically aims for the player. This makes it much easier to hit targets, but, unless it's built into the game, is typically viewed as cheating.
aimed bullet
- A bullet which is fired by something which first aims at a target. This is contrasted with "static bullet" or "blind bullet."
air unit
- A combat unit which can fly, hover, etc. Air units are contrasted with ground and sea units and typically are not affect by terrain and have a stronger defense against ground units, though weak to anti-aircraft weapons.
alert
- Something which graps the player's attention to warn them of danger or signal needed involvement. Alerts may take the form of pop-up dialogs, sound effects, haptic feedback, and the like.
aliasing
- When a player uses a name different from what they normally use in order to hide their true identity.
alignment
- A measure of a character's philosophical outlook. In Dungeons & Dragons it measures their respect for authority and their morality, though other games may use alternate forms.
all levels
- Describes beating a game including all of the optional levels. A more complete run than a no warps run.
all-rounder
- A character type with evenly distributed attributes. Doesn't excel in any category, but isn't a detriment in any either.
ally
- An NPC who helps the player.
alongside dialogue
- Dialogue that it presented during active game play instead of having to pause the action with or using a cutscene.
alpha (development)
- A stage in game development where the game is still being produced, but enough of it has been completed that it can be played to ensure it's fun and balanced. During the alpha stage, a player can typically pay the entire game from beginning to end, but will probably encounter bugs, incomplete assets, and a lack of optimization. The stages prior to alpha may include "prototying" and "pre-alpha," while the stages after alpha may include "beta" or "open beta."
alpha (graphics)
- See "transparency."
alphamap
- A map or mask of alpha transparency. When used in texture splatting it may be referred to as a splat map or weight map.
Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller
- One half of the GPU of the Atari 8-bit family and the Atari 5200. This chip processes black and white background graphics while the "CTIA" or "GTIA" handles color and sprites.
alt
- Short for "alternate." A secondary character used by a player when they don't want to or are unable to play their main character.
- A fiction genre which is set in a world where a major historical event turned out differently.
- The combination of video game elements with and traditional real world game elements. Often abbreviated to "AR."
alternate win conditions
- In a game with more than one way to win, all conditions to win that are not part of the "primary win conditions," are alternate win conditions.
ambient occlusion
- A technique for determining how exposed a point is to ambient lighting, and thus how light or dark it should be based on its location in the scene.
analog stick
- A small analog joystick controller, usually part of a gamepad.
- Refers to the operating system created by Google, the software which runs on it, and the devices which use it.
Angus
- A chip in the Amiga family of home computers which controls RAM access for the CPU and other chips as well as the "Blitter" and "Copper."
animator
- A visual artist who works specifically with the motion of objects in a game. Animators are divided into 2D and 3D animators. 3D animators add movement to 3D models while 2D animators work with pixel animation. Animation is a very time-consuming process because it is very hard to make motions both fluid and realistic.
anti-aliasing
- Any process which reduces the distortion known as aliasing. In video games, this typically refers to graphics and describes a smoothing process which eliminates sharp edges or Moiré patterns that occur when textures are scaled.
anti-piracy
- A method for preventing a game from being played by someone who obtained it illegally. See also "DRM."
ANTIC
- Short for "Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller."
any percent
- Describes beating a game by completing what is necessary to see the ending sequence. Usually written, "any%."
AOE
- See "area of effect."
Apogee model
- A sales model where a game is sold in multiple episodes, typically three, and the first episode is freely distributed as shareware, but the subsequent episodes must be purchased.
app
- Short for "application." A game that is self-contained and easily distributed across its target platforms, usually from an online store.
- Relating to the company or any of the hardware or software they've sold. Depending on the context, this could refer to one of their computers, like the Apple II or Macintosh, the OS used by those computers, or devices like the iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc.
APU
- See "audio processing unit."
AR
- An abbreviation of "augmented reality" or "alternate reality."
arbitrary code execution
- Causing a game to run custom software it wasn't intended to run, typically by exploiting a bug in a very specific way.
- A place of amusement which houses arcade cabinets or electro-mechanical games.
- A video game machine in a dedicated cabinet.
- A design philosophy seen most commonly in video games sold for arcade use rather than console, computer, or mobile platforms. Notable features of the arcade design paradigm include brief play sessions based on time or lives, very little learning curve, spikes in difficulty, high score lists, and head-to-head competitive play. Arcade platforms tend to have the smallest install base.
arcade game
- A game designed to be sold and played in arcades, or, a game designed in the "arcade design paradigm."
- A proxy for currency which only has value in an arcade and cannot be refunded. Arcades switched from using money to using tokens to trick players into spending more than they normally would. Tokens have largely been replaced by magnetic cards at major arcades.
arcane magic
- A school of magic practices my mages, sorcerers, and classes of that nature which focuses on dealing damage, creating illusions, and the like. It is often contrasted with divine magic.
arced weapon
- A weapon which, when thrown, travels in an arc. Many players find it difficult to aim and hit targets with such weapons.
area
- See "level (map)."
area of effect
- The region affected by something, often abbreviated to AOE, and typically used in strategic combat. For example, an grenade explosion may have an 25 foot radius AOE, or a wizard may cast a darkness spell with an AOE of a cube with 100 meter sides.
armor
- A measure of something's defensive capabilities, or equipment which increases defensive capabilities.
armor class
- A metric which measures a unit's armor. Initially used by Dungeons & Dragons, but the term has been used in many other games since.
ARPG
- Short for "action role-playing game."
ARPU
- Short for "average revenue per user."
ARPPU
- Short for "average revenue per paying user."
arrange mode
- A game mode which uses the same maps, but with a different placement of enemies and items. Typically refers to shoot 'em ups, and usually used to make the game harder.
arranged
- Video game music that has been arranged for different instruments, typically those which are of a higher quality than the original hardware could provide.
- Any of the various arrangements for arrow keys on a keyboard. The most popular is the "upside-down T."
- A genre of video game where the goal of the developer is less about entertaining the player and more about making them feel certain emotions similar to the goal of an artist.
artifact (compression)
- An unwanted aberration which becomes more noticeable as higher levels of lossy compression are used. Common in graphics and sound.
artifact (item)
- An rare item, typically in a fantasy setting, which usually has magical or similarly unique powers.
- An entity in the game that is controlled by a program instead of a human player or the process of doing so.
- An economics term used to describe purposely creating less of a product than is demanded in order to artificially inflate the product's value. Nintendo has been accused of creating artificial scarcity of their consoles for decades.
- A genre of video game where players lob projectiles at each other's character.
artist
- A blanket term for anyone who creates art for a video game. This may include visual artists, auditory artists, actors, writers, and the like.
aspect ratio
- The ratio of vertical to horizontal resolution of a video display. When graphics are displayed on an aspect ratio different from what they were designed for, the result is a stretched or squished image.
- A family of low-level programming languages used to write code very similar to a CPU's machine code. Used extensively throughout the 1970s to 2000s to write games for console platforms and for driver-related software in computer games.
asset
- A video game development term which refers to a single aspect of the game. For example, 2D graphic, a 3d mesh, a texture, an animation, a sound effect, etc. The term "asset" is typically used to refer to something that can be stored in a file, so graphics and scripts are assets, but algorithms and data formats are not.
assist (design)
- Giving the player help when they're having a difficult time. For example, if the player dies several times in a level, the game may assist them by letting them start the level with a power-up.
assist (scoring)
- In the statistics of video games, an assist is usually awarded to a player who helps another player earn points.
- Refers to the American video game company, and the many video games and video game consoles they sold, especially the Atari 2600.
Atari shock
- The Japanese term for the video game crash of 1983.
- A computer-controlled demonstration of game play used to entice people into playing the game. Attract modes were created for arcade games as a way to attract potential players by showing demos of game play, often focusing on the more technologically advanced aspects of the game. Attract modes also usually showed the game's title screen, high score list, and some backstory, while also serving as a screen saver. Although console games don't really need an attract mode, many game designers included them to make the game feel more like an arcade release, and sometimes designers would cleverly reveal minor hints or secrets in the attract demo for those who bothered to watch them. The home line of Atari 8-bit platforms included an attract mode which cycled colors in order to prevent burn-in.
attributes
- Various values that describe an entity (character, monster, object, etc,) in a game. The term is often used interchangeably with "stats," but many games and players treat them differently.
audio
- Anything related to sound in a game including music, sound effects, and voice.
audio adapter
- The components necessary to produce sound for a video game platform. This usually includes an audio processing unit (APU) and the memory it needs to function. Most video game platforms have a built-in audio adapter, while many computers support adding additional audio adapters in the form of sound cards.
audio designer
- Someone who creates sound effects and music and implements them into a game so they work in harmony with each other and the game as a whole. Also known as a "audio engineer."
audio processing unit
- The circuitry on a video game platform that processes audio including music, sound effects, and speech.
- A way of conveying some information to the player through sound. Common usages include a scream of pain when you've hit an otherwise invulnerable opponent, a change in tone when checking for a secret door, etc.
- A game which superimposes game play elements over the real world. This often results in a meta game, but may be a full-fledged game. Often uses cameras on phones, tablets, or laptops to perform this task or other hardware like EyeToy or Kinect. Typically abbreviated to "AR."
- In a shooting game, when the game automatically aims at a nearby target thereby helping the player score hits. Some games include a limited form of this as a feature, especially when transitioning from a mouse to an analog joystick, but this is also a common form of a cheat.
auto bomb
- A game mechanic found in shooters where, instead of a player dying from a hit, the game instead forces the player's character to use a bomb (if they have one). This is often preferred over dying and losing the bomb anyway.
auto-fire
- In shooters, an ability which allows a weapon to be fired continuously without having to repeatedly press the fire button. However, in many shooters, the rate of fire while using auto-fire is slower than what is possible compared to a player very quickly mashing the fire button.
auto map
- A map that is automatically generated by the game for the player to view.
auto run
- A feature in a game which keeps the player in run mode rather than walk mode to expedite travel, or one where the player sets a point of destination and the game automatically moves the player to the location while frequently updating the pathfinding.
- When the map scrolls on its own outside of the player's control.
- When an input system repeats the same input on a loop after the initial input. For example, in many games, if you hold down the input button for shooting, the game will keep repeating the shooting action. Sometimes there is a slightly longer delay on the initial input before the repeated input beings at its normal speed.
automatic transmission
- In games which feature driving, a transmission that automatically shifts gears for the player, as opposed to a manual transmission.
autosave
- When the game automatically saves your progress without you needing to do so. Designers usually have the game autosave before a significant event.
avatar
- A representation of the player inside the game. Sometimes used synonymously with "player character," although its popularization by the Ultima series caused it to frequently be used only when the character in the game is specifically meant to refer to the player transported into the game world. The term originated in Hinduism when the gods manifest in human form.
average revenue per user
- In commercial games, this is the amount of money the average player will spend on a game. It's used in accounting calculations to see how much money a game is making, and how much it will expect to make over time.
average revenue per paying user
- Similar to "average revenue per user," but excludes users playing for free, and focuses solely on paying users.
AY-3-8910
- A programmable sound generator developed by General Instrument. It has three pulse wave channels and a noise channel. The most widely used PSG, utilized in hundreds of arcade cabinets, and several video game consoles, home computers, and other electronic devices. Other model numbers include AY-3-8912 and AY-3-8913. Was further developed into Microchip's AY8930/P and Yamaha's YM2149.
AY-3-8912
- A variant of the "AY-3-8910."
AY-3-8913
- A variant of the "AY-3-8910."
B
- Often abbreviated to BOB or BOTB. Refers to what is printed on the back of a boxed game. Without any other knowledge of the game, potential buyers used what was printed on the back of the box to gauge the quality of the game, and, as such, box designers used them for advertising. The text often over-sold the game, and the impressive screenshots were often from superior ports or cut scenes, not the typical game play the player would see.
backstory
- The series of events that have led up to the current point in the game's story. Often delivered in the manual, through an opening text crawl, or similar exposition.
backup
- A copy of video game media (diskette, CD-ROM, etc.) or the process of making a copy, to ensure the original is kept safe. Some nations allow for the owner of any software to make and use a single backup provided it is not shared with anyone else. Also refers to backing up files generated by a game (save states, configuration files, etc.)
- A video game platform which can run games designed for a previous platform.
bad dump
- A dump of a ROM that wasn't made properly. It may have the wrong header settings, be missing data, have corruption, use a larger ROM size than is necessary, etc.
bad ending
- A ending sequence of a game which doesn't present a positive outcome, as opposed to a good ending.
balance
- A measure of how well a game juggles multiple internal aspects like difficulty and entertainment or the strength of two factions. Designers often look for a balance between these aspects to ensure a fairness and enjoyment of the game. If a game is extremely hard, most players will find it frustrating, and, if it's too easy, most players will find it boring. Similarly, if one faction is "over powered" compared to the others in a competitive game, the vast majority players will only choose that faction, and leave the others unplayed.
- A genre of video game where the player controls a paddle which must hit a ball.
ban
- To prevent a player from taking part in a game or online community. Bans are typically implemented when a player brakes the rules. Ban may be temporary or permanent. A permanent ban can be referred to as a "permaban."
bank switching
- A process where a system bus switches between multiple banks of memory in order to have access to more memory than it normally could. Bank switching is used in many video game platforms. For example, the system bus of the Nintendo Entertainment System could address a maximum of 8 KB of graphics ROM. However, if a game used bank switching, it could switch between multiple banks of 8 KB ROM. While it couldn't address these at the same time, it could switch between a different bank for each level resulting a more variety over the course of the game.
barrier
- Anything which prevents access to an area such as a wall, locked door, force field, etc. Used to keep the player contained until the designer wants them to have access.
base damage
- The amount of damage something deals solely by itself, not factoring in buffs or debuffs, special abilities, power-ups or the like.
base game
- Describes a game with nothing more than it initially shipped with, excludes any "expansions," "downloadable content," or the like.
- A programming language whose name stands for "Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code." It was the most popular language for the homebrew gaming community from the 1970s to 1990s. Games were frequently distributed in magazines or books as code that needed to be typed in.
BASIC game
- A game written in the BASIC programming language. Typically of lower quality than commercial games and distributed for free as open source.
- Additional volatile memory kept active through the use of a battery. Typically used in consoles which used ROM cartridges before they had hard drives like the NES and Genesis.
battle resurrect
- Resurrecting a dead character while still in combat, often abbreviated to "brez." Battle resurrecting in much more risky than resurrection outside of battle because the user is more likely to "fizzle." Many games feature an item, ability, and or spell that causes battle resurrection, and it is typically handled by healer-type classes.
- A genre of video game where the player controls a character who beats up other characters. Also called a "brawler" or, when the characters wield weapons, a "hack-and-slash." This genre tends to fit both the mechanic and narrative forms of the "action" genre.
beginner trap
- Something that results in a bad outcome with no way to know it's bad until you fall for it. As the name suggests, it's a trap for beginners; only after being burned by it, the player will know to avoid it. An form of "fake difficulty."
- A game with a scrolling background where the player's character can only scroll the map left or right as though they were riding along a conveyor belt.
beta
- A stage in game development where all the principle work is done, but it still needs to be tested for bugs and balance issues. Promotional advertising ramps up at this point. Stages prior to beta may include "alpha" or "pre-alpha," and stages after beta may include "open beta" or "going gold."
best testing
- See "quality assurance."
bezel
- On an arcade cabinet, it's the area surrounding the display. Bezels are typically decorated with art befitting the game.
big box
- Describes early video game boxes which were frequently much larger than those from the 2000s when computer game companies began shipping them in smaller boxes similar to the size of console games. The larger boxes were often mostly empty space, but occasionally necessary to fit larger manuals, maps, posters, and trinkets.
billboard LOD
- A flat 3D surface which is always rotated to face the camera. The lower polygon count makes is far less GPU intensive, but the lack of shape makes it only usable at a distance.
billboard sprite
- A sprite in a 3D environment which doesn't have art to allow it to be seen from multiple angles, so it is always drawn to face the player. The wider a billboard sprite is, the more it has to rotate to face the player, and the more fake it looks.
BIOS
- Short for "Basic Input/Output System." Firmware for a device that handles low-level functions like self-tests, handling the boot process, and communication with the hardware.
BIOS font
- A font that is included in the BIOS of a platform. When memory constraints were very tight, game developers would often forego adding a custom font to their game and simply use the platform's BIOS font to display text. This resulted in many games for the platform using the same font and giving it a common look and feel. Nearly all 8 and 16-bit home computers had a BIOS font, many had several different ones for each display mode. Fewer consoles had them, but include the Astrocade, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and various others.
bird's eye view
- See "top-down."
bit
- Short for binary digit. The smallest amount of information a computer can process. Typically viewed as 1 or 0, on or off, true or false, yes or no.
BITBLT
- Short for "bit block transfer." Describes quickly moving data in memory from one location to another, and is typically used to move bitmapped graphics from a buffer to the screen or another buffer. Masking usually takes place at this time.
bitmap
- A mapping of information to bits. In video games, this is typically the mapping of pixels to bits in order to store graphics.
black and white
- Typically refers to "1-bit color" or "monochrome."
black box
- Describes the first set of games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the USA which were released in mostly black boxes.
black magic
- Spells which primarily deal with offense and dealing damage.
blast processing
- A marketing gimmick used by Sega's American advertising agency which doesn't refer to any hardware that was ever actually used in games. The term later became synonymous with useless marketing jargon designed to make something sound impressive when it isn't.
blit
- Short for "block image transfer." The process of moving a block of data from one memory bank to another, typically from a display buffer in main RAM to the video RAM. Used to decrease screen flicker.
blitter
- A software routine for performing a blit, or a hardware function of the Amiga's "Agnus" chip.
- A video game genre where game play predominately based around pushing blocks.
- A game mechanic which requires the player to move around blocks, usually as part of a puzzle.
- An optical disc capable of storing data which can be read from it with a laser. It was used as the primary video game media of home computers from the 2010s to 2020s as well as several video game consoles.
blue magic
- Any magic which uses the special abilities of monsters. Popularized by the Final Fantasy series.
blue screen of death
- A colloquial term for the system failure screen of the Windows operating system. It is often triggered by an overheating CPU or GPU, bad RAM, or faulty driver. Since 3D gaming typically taxes all of these system, it is often the cause of a blue screen of death. Often abbreviated to BSD.
Bluetooth
- A wireless technology used since the 2000s by a lot of video game platforms.
- A video game rendition of a board game.
bomb
- A weapon used in many games which does more damage and at a larger range than your normal weapons.
bonus
- An additional positive result typically awarded when the player does something beyond what was expected.
bonus stage
- A stage separate from normal game play where the player play a minigame where they can gain extra points or lives and is typically safe from dying.
boost
- Quickly accelerating something's momentum, usually the player's character. Depending on the game, boosting can be done by using an item, power-up, aspect of the environment, etc. It also refers to speeding through a game by purposely taking damage, see "damage boost."
booster pack
- In collectible games, it refers to a small, typically randomized, addition to the collection. Most commonly used in the video game adaptions of collectible card games and miniatures. A much larger pack is called a "starter pack."
boosting
- Paying someone else to level up a character for you. Wealthy players will often do this when they don't have enough free time to play games which require a large time investment. Elon Musk caused a scandal when he claimed to be one of the best players in the world for multiple games, only to expose himself as a booster when he lacked a basic understanding of the game. Similar to "twinking."
boot (players)
- To remove a player from a game, typically because they are being disruptive or their ping is so high, it's causing lag. If a booted player returns without correcting their problems, they may be banned.
boot (process)
- The process of starting an electronic device. So named because the device is pulling itself up by its boot straps. The boot process can be divided into a "cold boot" or "warm boot."
bootleg
- A game made for a platform without permission from the platform's owner, often circumventing DRM. Typically made by a company and differs from a "homebrew" because bootlegs are made for platforms that are still being supported.
- A particularly difficult enemy who guards the end of a stage or a section in a game.
boss fight
- A battle against a boss.
- Having to re-fight some or all of the previous bosses from earlier in the game, often in a single long combat.
boss timeout
- A mechanic where, if a boss remains alive after a set amount of time, they simply leave rather than wait for one of you to die. Although this is nice for trying to stay alive, the player typically isn't awarded points when the boss leaves after the timeout, so it hurts a high score run. This is also used during a scripted fight against an invincible boss.
- When the player is tricked into thinking they have defeated the boss, only to have it replaced with something much worse.
bot
- Short for "robot," often used to refer to an AI-controlled character in a game.
boundary
- An impassible area in a game world used to keep the player within the region defined by the designer. These often take the form of impenetrable walls, invisible barriers, lethal areas like rivers of lava, and the like.
box art
- The graphic art seen on the exterior of a box. Since video game distribution has largely become digital, box art has been replaced by title cards.
branching dialogue
- A dialogue system where the player can choose from various options to take different routes in the conversation. Commonly used in visual novels and dating simulators, but pioneered in role-playing games.
- A type of character in a game that relies heavily on hand-to-hand combat.
- See "beat 'em up."
BRB
- Short for "be right back." Used so other online players will know that someone has left the game but will return shortly. Similarly used is AFK, short for "away from keyboard," though this applies more to video games played on a computer.
bread and butter
- In competitive multiplayer games it describes a special move or strategy that player performs frequently and consistently.
break
- A problem with a game that is so severe it ruins the experience for the player, possibly by making the game unwinnable. Unpatched bugs and exploits can break a game. See also "soft lock."
brez
- Short for "battle resurrect."
- A video game played in a Web browser.
BSD
- Short for "blue screen of death."
buff
- Something which increases the power of a character. An example would be a potion of strength which temporarily increases a character's strength.
- When data is written to an area of memory that cannot hold it resulting in a bug.
- A coding oversight the results in behavior undesired by the developers. Also called an error or glitch.
build (character)
- In games where players are allowed to customize their characters, a "build" describes what qualities the player is trying to accentuate. For example, they may focus on powerful ranged attacks and maneuverability allowing them to evade enemies and strike from a distance. Games where you focus more on the customization of equipment may instead use the term "kit" while games which focus on modern weapons may use the term "load out."
build (software)
- A specific release of a game. Usually during development, a game will be built hundreds, if not thousands of times, and each build will be denoted with a version number, date, or both. See also "version."
- The 3D engine developed by 3D Realms for Duke Nukem 3D and subsequently used for about a dozen other titles.
bullet canceling
- A mechanic where, when an enemy is killed, all their projectiles disappear from the game with them.
- A sub-genre of shooter where the player is expected to avoid a large number of enemy projectiles. In Japanese, it's referred to as "danmaku."
bullet herding
- The process of moving your character around the screen so that the enemy bullets which are fired at you concentrate in small areas, thus leaving the rest of the screen relatively free from them, offering more ways to escape fire.
bullet sponge
- See "damage sponge."
- A primitive form of combat where you simply bump into enemies to attack them rather than press an attack button. Popularized by Japanese games like Hydlide and Ys.
bunny hopping
- Making frequent short jumps. Often to make your character harder to target by opponents, but also to exploit maximum movement speeds in many games.
burn-in
- The process in which a television or monitor is damaged by showing the same high-intensity display for a prolonged period of time. The term "burn-in" is used because the image will still be seen even after it's no longer displayed, as though it has been burned into the screen. Burn-in is common in CRTs, rear-projection, plasma, and OLED displays, but not as common in LCD displays. Early video games, like those developed for the Atari 2600, had special modes to cycle through colors in order to prevent burn-in.
business model
- The economic model used to generate revenue for a game. Most early games were sold as a product, but other models now exist like shareware, subscription, adware, and micro-transactions. The variation of payment models have led to derogatory terms like "pay-to-win."
busywork
- An activity in a game which doesn't accomplish much. Repetitive tasks that create only very small incremental changes like grinding are busy work, but so is having to read through long drawn-out dialogue in a large branching tree. Requiring the player to do busywork tends to lead to boredom, so it should be limited.
button mash
- To quickly and repeatedly press a button on a controller.
byte
- A unit of information which is made up of several bits. In the early days of computing, bytes were made up from various numbers of bit, but most manufacturers have settled on eight (also known as an octet). When in a byte, bits are usually not meant to be interpreted as individual pieces of information, but combined to form a value from 0-255. The precise interpretation of this value is dependent on the program using it.
C
- A programming language which is particularly popular in video game development. In the 1980s, most professionally made computer games were developed in the C language until it was supplanted by C++.
C012294
- The model number of Atari's "Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit," AKA POKEY.
calibration
- A process used to ensure the accuracy of control devices by comparing the current value to a know standard. Primary used for analog joysticks and touch pads.
camera
- The player's view into the game world. In 2D games, it typically means what is rendered to the screen, while, in 3D games, it describes what is rendered to a view, even if it is not actually drawn to the screen. How the game tracks the camera is defined by the programmer.
- When a poorly programmed camera causes the player to mess up. Especially common in early 3D games, and a form of "fake difficulty."
campaign
- A single large story broken up into a collection of scenarios. Similar to an "episode" being broken up unto a series of "missions," but this term is preferred for fantasy settings.
campaign mode
- See "story mode."
camping
- Remaining at a certain area in a game. In versus mode, camping is typically done to protect an area from attackers, rack up a high number of frags by having a clear view of a high traffic area (especially a spawn point), or waiting until other players injure each other and then finishing them off. Camping is often looked down upon and some games punish campers by revealing their location to all other players. When not in versus mode, camping is usually referred to as "grinding" or "farming."
canceled
- When a publisher stops funding a developer to make a game or hardware, so the developer must cease development.
- Purposely cutting an animation short, or resetting an in-game variable earlier than usual in order to perform actions faster than normal. Canceling often involves exploiting a bug. In the Smash Brothers series it is known as Z-canceling.
cannon fodder
- A military term which describes soldiers who are expendable. Often used to describe weak units in a strategy game a player doesn't mind sacrificing. See also "grunt."
canon
- Aspects of a game that are part of the official story, as opposed to non-canon.
cantrip
- In a fantasy setting, a very weak magic only capable of minor effect. Sometimes referred to as level 0 magic because it is weaker than level 1 magic.
- A major Japanese video game developer.
- An arcade board developed by Capcom, often abbreviated to "CPS." Released across three versions, CPS, CPS II, and CPS III.
captions
- Dialogue written to the screen just like closed captions in film. Game which have both spoken dialogue and captions often let you disable one of the other.
capture the flag
- A form of multiplayer where teams try to capture an object, often a flag, that is located in the opposing team's base and bring it to their own base. Based on the traditional game. Often abbreviated to CTF.
caravan mode
- A game mode, typically applied to shoot 'em ups, which features a series of competitive segments. These are often difficult, timed, and scored to rank the best players. The name comes from the 1985 Hudson All-Japan Caravan Festival, a competitive gaming series in Japan.
card
- Could refer to a "ROM card," "memory card," "reference card," or "registration card."
- A video game rendition of a card game.
carry
- Players who do more work on a team than others are said to "carry" the less useful members. Players who are being carried are looked down upon by those who are carrying them, and may be booted from the team. See also "twinking."
cart
- Short for "cartridge."
cartridge
- See "ROM cartridge."
cartridge swap
- Removing a ROM cartridge from a console and replacing it with another while the system is still running. Typically to corrupt the console's memory leading to interesting results.
cartridge port
- A connector where a ROM cartridge can be plugged in. Common on 8 and 16-bit video game platforms.
cartridge tilting
- Deliberately interfering with the connections of a ROM cartridge, often by tilting one side so the contacts aren't fully connected, in order to cause glitches in the game. Tilting the cartridge too much will cause the game to crash or the console to reboot, but just enough will corrupt small portions of the game in a way similar to a corrupter. Cartridge tilting is done to add a twist to existing game play.
case
- An protective covering or carrying device for a, usually portable, game console. Cases are usually made out of plastic, rubber, or silicone. Also refers to the exterior portion of a home computer.
cassette
- See "cassette tape."
cassette tape
- A double-sided magnetic tape housed in a plastic shell with two reels. Data can be stored on it or read from it with a tape recorder. It was a popular media for storing video games, especially in the Japanese and European markets during the 1980s. It was made obsolete by the 3.5" floppy disk.
casual game
- A genre of video game that can be easily picked up and played at a leisurely pace without much training or commitment. The game play usually has very shallow learning curve and limited controls or possible actions. Casual games typically auto-save the player's progress and can be ended at any time without negative consequences and are usually designed for portable gaming platforms or web browsers so they can be played at any time.
casual gamer
- Someone who plays video games for fun, but doesn't take them very seriously. Contrasted with a "professional gamer."
Cat 5
- Short for Category 5, a type of twisted pair cable used for networking video game platforms together through Ethernet. Usually uses RJ45 connectors.
- A video game genre which revolves around the player trying to catch moving objects.
cathode-ray tube
- The older "tube" style of television or monitor which uses an electron emitter to excite phosphors painted on the back side of the tube. Most games developed in the first six video game generations were designed under the assumption the player would be using a CRT.
- An optical disc format created by Philips. Also refers to many of the CD-i consoles or video games.
- An optical disc capable of storing data which can be read from it with a laser. The data is formatted according to the Yellow Book standard. It was used as the primary video game media of home computers from the 1990s to 2000s as well as several video game consoles. Replaced by the DVD-ROM.
center of gravity
- A game designer term (based on the physics term) used to describe a game's primary focus. Designers often try to determine what a game's center of gravity will be, and then build outward from it asking if the additions compliment or detract from the center of gravity.
- The part of a circuit board which performs the bulk of the processing. CPUs usually take the shape of integrated circuit microprocessors. Typically abbreviated to "CPU."
CERO
- Short for Computer Entertainment Rating Organization, a video game content rating system used by Japan for video game consoles.
CES
- See "Consumer Electronics Show."
- Short for Color Graphics Adapter, a display technology developed by IBM to give color display to IBM Personal Computers.
challenge mode
- A common game style where the player is expected to play the existing game but with additional challenges like less time, fewer items, strong opponents, and the like. Often synonymous with "hard mode."
channel selector
- For platforms that connect to a television through RF output, a switch which lets the user decide which channel on their television the video game signal would be sent to. Common channels for NTSC platforms were 2, 3, and 4. This is sometimes labeled "high and low," and sometimes and analog dial instead of a switch.
chaotic cooperation
- In cooperative games, this refers to players who are trying to achieve the same goal, but haven't developed or practiced strategies together, so they aren't as effective at it. This is contrasted with "symphonic cooperation."
character
- A representation of an in-game entity which has or appears to have agency. If the player can control the character, it is a "playable character," otherwise it is a "non-playable character" or NPC. NPCs may include allies, enemies, background characters, and the like. Entities without agency, like scenery, buildings, and the like, are not considered characters.
character advancement
- Various methods which increase the stats of a character. These may include leveling, training, meditating, etc.
character creation
- The process of creating a new character and deciding its attributes. This typically includes the character's appearance, but might also include other attributes like race, class, stats, skills, etc. This is common in character-centric genres like role-playing games.
- A feature in some games which allows a player to import a character or party of characters from a previous game. While this can create cohesion from the story of one game to the next, it also may create setbacks as different games use differing systems of stats and skills.
charged shot
- In shooters, a weapon that allows the player to charge up their weapon in order to shoot a projectile that is more powerful than normal.
charisma
- A character attribute or unit attribute which typically affects how well they interact with other characters or units.
cheat
- The process of bypassing or subverting a game's rules, software or hardware that allows a player to do so, or a person who cheats. A cheat is similar to an "exploit," and often used interchangeably, but not exactly the same, as an exploit doesn't technically violate any rules.
cheating artificial intelligence
- When the AI-controlled opponent doesn't have to abide by the same rules as the player.
checkpoint (navigation)
- A location on a map that a player is expected to reach, typically as part of a mission.
checkpoint (video game racing)
- The next location the player must reach before time runs out.
- A semi-unique value used to verify that some information is accurate. Often used to guarantee that a file was downloaded properly, or that a ROM dump is good.
cheesing
- Repeatedly using a tactic in a game, especially one which doesn't require much skill or is overpowered, especially in fighting games. For example, repeatedly using Ryu's hadoken in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. Cheesing is not the same as cheating, as it falls within the allowed rules of the game, but it is still generally frowned upon because it's annoying to the player on the receiving end and it doesn't result in interesting game play. When cheesing remains commonplace because it's so effective, it is an indication the game is improperly balanced.
chiclet keyboard
- A keyboard which uses a single flexible sheet over a membrane keyboard to give the keys some tactile feedback. Typically associated with lower quality computers in the 1980s. The name is derived from the fact that the keys look similar to Chiclet brand chewing gum.
- See "complete in box."
cinematic
- See "cut scene."
- A video game genre which mixes cinematics and platformers. They typically use rotoscoped animation for characters and make heavy use of cutscenes.
circlestrafing
- Walking sideways around a target while facing it and firing upon it. The movement pattern allows the player to fire on their target while simultaneously dodging counterattacks.
circuit board
- The electronic board inside video game platforms and cartridges on which the chips are soldered.
clamshell
- Describes a case which can open and shut on a hinge, like a clam's shell. Describes plastic cases like those used for the Genesis, as well as some handheld devices like the Nintendo DS.
clan
- A group of players or their characters who belong to an group (either in-game or in real life). Some games have additional options for players to affect others in their clan. Also referred to as a guild.
clan war
- A violent dispute between two or more clans. Some games have special options for clans who are at war with each other.
class
- A specific type or category of character which has attributes or abilities befitting it. There are classes common to specific settings, for example knights and wizards in fantasy settings, medics and soldiers in military settings, etc. Classes are typically used in role-playing games, but also show up in various other character-centric genres.
- A video game genre where most of the game play consists of the player performing menial tasks, like repeatedly clicking a button.
client
- Computer platforms that connect to a server.
client-side prediction
- In networked games, a way to reduce latency by having the client attempt to predict what the server will so it can show the player instant feedback. If the prediction fails, the player's character may be snapped or smoothed to match the server. First used in Duke Nukem 3D.
clip
- The process of preventing an entity from going through something which is solid, or the bypassing of such a process.
clone
- A game that is very similar to an existing game, so much, that it is clear the designers used the original as a basis. As long as the clone doesn't use the copyrights of the game it is based on, it's not illegal, though many players find such games to be in poor taste.
closed system
- Games where the resources are effectively fixed, often because those things which generate resources, like monsters, do not respawn. Closed systems can create long-term problems because, if the player makes a lot of mistakes early on and spends resources unwisely, they may end up putting themsleves into an "unwinnable state" much later in the game. Contrasted with the far more popular "open system."
cloud gaming
- A form of gaming where an Internet-based server handles the heavy load. In cloud gaming, the player's inputs are sent to the cloud computer handle's the game's processing and rendering, then sends an audio/video feed to the player's device. All the game's assets are stored on the cloud, so there is nothing to download, and the player just gets a audio/video feed, so they don't need any specialized hardware that the game may require. However, lag continues to plague cloud gaming.
clutch
- When a player is outnumbered in a multiplayer game, but they're still able to defeat all their opponents and win the round.
cocktail
- A style of arcade cabinet that doubles as a table. Unattached chairs are placed around it and the surface is typically made of a shatter-proof glass.
code wheel
- A wheel-shaped device similar to a decoder ring and used as copy protection. They were typically printed on paper or cardboard and contained many different codes. Most of the codes would be obscured by the wheel, and only a handful would be visible through cut out windows. To operate them, a game would tell the player to turn the wheel to a specific position, then read the code visible in a particular window. These shapes were chosen because they required more effort to duplicate than other methods.
coin door
- A locking door at the front of an arcade machine which gives access to the coins. Often the same as the service door which houses the coin slots and coin return chutes.
cold boot
- When an electronic device receives power with its components have little or no residual energy from recently being on. As opposed to a "warm boot."
Coleco
- Anything related to the Coleco company or its various video game products. Coleco was a major gaming company during the first and second generation of video games.
- A genre of video game where the player is expected to amass a large assortment of hard-to-find objects, and, in many cases, use their collection to challenge other players. This could include video game adaptions of collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering, miniatures like HeroClix, or games that began as fully digital like Pokémon.
collectible (item)
- Anything in a game which a player can collect.
collector's edition
- A special release of a video game meant to be collected. A collector's edition typically comes with higher-quality documentation and often a special trinket. See also "special edition."
- When two entities in a video game collide, that it, occupy an overlapping area in game space.
- The area around a video game object which is capable of colliding with something else. Collision boxes often do not match the shape of the shape of the entity they are applied to. In early video games this was almost always a box due to hardware restrictions, but later games employed circles, complex polygons, and, in the move to 3D, 3D polygons.
- The process by determining when two game entities collide. Many different methods have been devised over time, each with different benefits and shortcomings. Poorly designed collision detection causes game entities to exhibit undesired behavior like walking through or getting stuck in solid objects, falling through the floor, taking hits when they aren't visually near another entity, etc.
color artifact
- An unwanted visual aberration seen in early color displays. Clever programmers often took advantage of these artifacts to produce graphics not thought possible by the designers of the hardware.
color cycling
- Shifting the colors in a palette. Early 8 and 16-bit games often used color cycling to create the illusion of animation without having to draw different graphics.
color killer
- An electric circuit which would eliminate the color burst signal of a video transmission, thereby converting color video to black and white. In early computers, a color killer was useful for making text more legible by eliminating the fuzziness created by the color signal, especially on the Apple II line. Monochrome text-based games played on a color monitor benefited greatly from the use of a color killer.
Color Television Interface Adapter
- One half of the GPU of the Atari 8-bit family. This chip processes color and sprites while the "ANTIC" handles background graphics. It was later upgraded to the "GTIA." It is often abbreviated to "CTIA."
combat waltz
- The act of quickly moving toward and away from enemies so you can hit them and they, instead of attacking, use their action to approach you. In a large areas, you can quickly circle around your enemy and avoid most of their attacks. This was a particularly popular tactic in RPGs modeled after Dungeon Master. Some players view this as an exploit, though later games seem to have had their difficulty calibrated to expect this behavior from players, so, those who don't utilize it will quikly find themselves overwhelmed. The term originated on the CRPG Addict.
combo
- Short for "combination." A set of actions performed in a series. Players are often awarded a bonus for performing combos, a bonus which usually increases geometrically with the combo. Common in fighting games and rhythm genres. In shooters they are often called hit combos or kill combos.
- A genre of video game which incorporates humor, satire, jokes, and various other comedic elements.
commercial
- A software distribution model where a game must be purchased before it can be played.
- Anything related to the Commodore company or the hardware they produced. In the early 1980s, Commodore was one of the primary developers of the home computer. Their Commodore 64 remains the best-selling single computer model in the USA.
competition cartridge
- A special cartridge used in a professional competition. They are usually multicarts of existing games modified to fit the needs of the competition. Because a very small number of them are produced, they are often highly sought out by collectors resulting in extremely high price tags.
competitive
- Any multiplayer game where players play against each other rather than "cooperative."
compile
- The process of taking a video game written in a human-readable code and converting it into machine-readable code. This is a one-way process, but, with a lot of time and effort, machine code can be reverse-engineered back to source code in a process called "decompiling."
- An open boxed product with all the items it had when it was new, including manuals, registration and warranty cards, advertisements, etc.
Complex Sound Generator
- A programmable sound generator developed by Texas Instruments. It features a single audio channel which can produce a sine wave, pulse wave, or noise. Used in several arcade cabinets, most notable Space Invaders, and the ABC 80 home computer.
completionist
- A gamer who tries to complete every aspect of a game 100%. For example, unlocking all hidden content, getting every achievement, seeing every ending, etc.
component video
- An analog signal format which separates the video signal into three channels which results in a clearer picture than composite. It usually uses cables with RCA connectors. Many 16 and 32-bit video game platforms used this for video output. Although the plugs are colored red, green, and blue, only a digital signal uses RGB, an analog signal uses YCbCr, but still has RGB plugs.
composite color
- A special mode of the CGA card which took advantage of the color artifacting present in the composite video signal to display 16 unique colors at the loss of half the horizontal resolution. This is contrasted with RGB mode, which had crisper graphics, and double the horizontal resolution, but only 4 colors. This was a common display mode in games written in the Adventure Game Interpreter.
composite video
- An older analog signal format for NTSC, PAL, or SECAM video using a cable with an RCA connector. As the name suggests, everything aspect of the video signal is merged together in a composite signal. Many 8 and 16-bit video game platforms used this for video output.
- A design philosophy seen most commonly in video games developed for computer platforms rather than arcade, console, or mobile platforms. It is the oldest video game design paradigm, though the arcade design paradigm is based on electro-mechanical games which predate computers. Notable features of the computer design paradigm are more emphasis on text, interfaces built around the mouse or keyboard, more niche titles, and more complex game play. For the first several generations of video games, computer games had a much smaller install base than consoles, though cross-platform compilers have helped shrink the gap.
computer game
- A video game designed for a computer platform, or, a video game which follows the "computer design paradigm."
concurrency
- The number of players connected to a single game. The advent of minicomputer networks at businesses and universities in the mid-to-late 1970s saw games with as many as 32 and 64 concurrent players, while home microcomputers of the 1980s and 1990s usually topped out at 8 or 16. When the Internet gained popularity, "MUDs" and "MMOs" started to allow for hundreds and then thousands of concurrent players. Concurrency is similar to "simultaneous," but simultaneous typically refers to multiple players sharing a screen.
conditional rule
- A rule in a game that changes depending on other variables. For example, Pac-Man normally dies when hit by a ghost, but, when he eats an energizer, the rules temporarily change to allow him to eat the ghosts instead. Conditional rules help make a game more dynamic.
conduct
- See "self-imposed challenge." This variant of the term comes from "Rougelike" games.
- A home video game platform designed primarily to play video games. This differs from a portable video game platform, or a home computer. The term "console" typically refers to the primary unit of a home video game system where the bulk of the hardware is housed.
- A design philosophy seen most commonly in video games developed for console platforms rather than a computer or mobile platforms. For the first few generations of video games, most console games followed the arcade design paradigm, but, as consoles matured, game designers began to embrace new design ideas and the console design paradigm grew into its own. Notable features of the console design paradigm are very large budgets, mass-market appeal, fairly simplistic game play, interfaces designed around a game pad. Consoles have a much larger install base than computer or arcade games, but ever since the widespread use of smartphones, have been eclipsed by mobile platforms.
console game
- A video game designed for a console platform, or, a video game which follows the "console design paradigm."
- How home video game consoles are grouped throughout history. The criteria is quite arbitrary and is typically based on release by the best-selling hardware. Typically, each subsequent generation is more powerful than the previous.
- Refers to aggressive marketing campaigns between competing video game companies. Popular console wars included Nintendo and Sega in the 1990s and Sony and Microsoft in the 2000s.
constitution
- A character or unit attribute which typically affects how hard they are to hurt or kill. Often correlated with energy or health units.
constraining rule
- A rule within a game that limits a player's actions creating boundaries, restrictions, and the like.
- A game mechanic in which the area where the player can move their character about safely decreases over time. This is often done with spiked walls that move inward, a ceiling that crushes downward, a deadly liquid which rises from the ground, and so forth. Like with time limits, constricting spaces create tension, but they also make the game harder as the safe region decreases.
consumable
- Describes items which disappear when used, as though they were consumed in the process (e.g.: food, potions, etc.)
Consumer Electronics Show
- A major electronics trade show held each year in Las Vegas since 1967 where many computer and video game companies reveal their latest hardware.
content descriptor
- A visual aide used by some content rating organizations to depict certain types of content present in video games. Examples include nudity, violence, and drug use.
content rating
- A grouping system handled by a governing body designed to inform parents of possible objectionable content in a game. Examples include the ESRB, PEGI, IARC, etc. Despite their intentions, content ratings invariably lead to censorship.
- After getting a game over, the act of returning to the game while maintaining some or all of your progress. Arcade games require the player to purchase an additional credit to continue, while games made for the home market usually offer a limited number of continues.
- A point in a game from where the player will no longer be allowed to continue if they get a game over.
control panel
- On an arcade cabinet, it's the surface where the controls (e.g., joysticks and buttons) are mounted.
control scheme
- How the player controls their character in a game. Common control schemes include "driving controls," "tank controls," "twin-stick," "flight controls," etc.
- Any input device used to control an aspect of a video game. Examples include a joystick, gamepad, keyboard, mouse, flight yoke, pressure sensitive mat, etc.
conventional memory
- The first 640 kilobytes of RAM on an x86 Intel computer system (also called the lower memory area, or LMA). Although the CPU could access 1 MB, only the first 640 KB were available for software and hardware, the remaining 384 KB (called the upper memory area, or UMA) was reserved for system use. The initial Intel-based Personal Computers made by IBM topped out at 1 MB of RAM, and programs accessed the first 640 MB in "real mode." Additional RAM became accessible with the release of the 80286, but it had to be accessed vie "protected mode."
conventional rule
- A rule in a game that follows the expectations of the genre. For example, gravity is not a conventional rule in a top-down action game like Pac-Man, but it is a conventional rule in a platformer like Donkey Kong. Some of the more unique games alter conventional rules like in VVVVVV, which is a 2D platformer, but the player can alter gravity. A conventional rule is similar to "creative constant," but the latter is more fundamental.
conversion
- A video game port where the porter must almost completely reprogram the game to work on a different platform. This usually occurs when the platforms are so different it's not possible to reuse any source code, but it could also be because the owner of the source code will not or can not share it. This is different from a "source port."
- A product which allows one arcade cabinet to be converted to playing a different game, typically at a much lower cost than buying the new cabinet outright.
cool down
- The length of time a player must wait until the next time they can do something. Cool downs are often applied to special moves in order to prevent the player from spamming them.
co-op
- See "cooperative."
cooperative
- Any form of multiplayer where the players work together for a common goal rather than "competitive."
Copper
- Short for "co-processor," a component of the Amiga's "Angus" chip which executed video-specific programs in parallel with the CPU in order to offload work from the CPU resulting in faster video processing.
copy
- A duplication of a file or the act of duplicating a file. Copying is a common practice when making a backup of a game disk, a save game file, and the like. Similar to a "dump" or "rip."
copy protection
- A deliberately misleading term for "copy prevention."
- Any of the many methods game developers use to try and prevent people from making copies of their games. Some of these methods include requiring the player to type a specific word from the manual, code wheels, using non-standard hardware, writing data to media in an uncommon way, and so forth.
copyrightable content
- Refers to the parts of video games that can be copyrighted. This is often the key area of debate when video game companies sue each other for copyright infringement. Like when Data East sued Epyx over their clone of Karate Champ.
copyright infringement
- A legal crime where one entity duplicates the copyrighted material of another entity, typically to profit off the duplicate.
CORPG
- Short for "competitive online role-playing game."
corrupter
- A device used to purposely corrupt an area of memory where a video game is stored. This is used during the reverse engineering process to help map where specific areas of the game's data are stored by observing what is changed after the area is corrupted. For example, if you corrupt an area of the the game's memory, and it changes the appearance of the character sprite, you can assume that area you corrupted contains the character's bitmap graphics. The Game Genie is a popular hardware-based corrupter, but modern emulators now feature software corrupters.
cosplay
- Short for "costume play." Refers to dressing up in a costume designed to look like a character from fiction, but, in this context, like a video game character.
counter stop
- See "max out."
cover art
- Refers to the art on the cover of a game box or case. Early video games were notorious for having gorgeous cover art that looked far more impressive than the game itself.
cover disc
- An optical disc included with a magazine which is usually filled with game demos, shareware software, and various other programs.
cover shooter
- A sub-genre of the shooter where the player has their maneuver their character behind various forms of protective cover while shooting back at their opponents.
- A, usually brief, length of time after a player moves their character off the ledge of a platform before consequences begin. For example, during this time, the player may be allowed to jump even after they've technically left the platform, or gravity may not affect the character, etc. Coyote time is added to increase the player's perceived control of the game, though it may also be added for comedic effect. Named after the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote who was often animated running out over a ledge and not immediately falling.
CPU (hardware)
- Short for "central processing unit."
CPU (AI)
- Often used as shorthand for a computer-controller player (AKA artificial intelligence) in the 8 and 16-bit eras.
CPU vs. CPU
- See "AI vs. AI."
crack
- A modified version of a video game where copy protection or DRM has been bypassed, or the process of making a crack. Named after safe-cracking. A game which has its copy protection disabled is described as being "cracked."
crack introduction
- An introduction added to the beginning of a game by the cracker who defeated the game's copyright.
cracker
- A person or group of people who crack video games.
cracktro
- Short for "crack introduction."
craft
- Building something in a game from constituent parts. Many games include crafting, especially sandbox games, sometimes in the form of a minigame.
crash (game)
- When a game stops unexpectedly due to a flaw in the design of its hardware or software. See also "soft lock."
crash (economics)
- A rapid decrease in video game sales. Historically, there have been multiple crashes, the most notable being in 1983 in the USA when many companies went out of business and were replaced by Japanese companies.
creative constant
- A core aspect of a video game. Something so fundamental that, were it eliminated, the result would no longer be a video game. For example, all video games have to be displayed through an electronic visual medium (otherwise they are not "video" games). They also have to have rules and goals (otherwise they are a toy not a game), and they have to create enjoyment (otherwise, they are a task or a chore). A creative constant is similar to a "conventional rule," but the latter isn't as fixed.
credit (unit)
- The cost of a single play for an arcade-style game. Usually, paying for one credit will buy the player multiple lives (or attempts). For many years a credit was synonymous with a quarter, but inflation increased the cost of play, so games would charge more than $0.25 for a credit. Many arcade games let you purchase additional credits before and during game play. If the game supports it, buying a credit after a game over lets you continue where you left off. Although the term originated with pay-to-play arcade games, it was carried over into many home games as well.
credit feeding
- The process of continually putting credits into an arcade game in order to make it all the way through a game. Essentially the opposite of a "1-credit completion," and a common way to see the ending of a "quarter muncher."
credits
- A cut scene which displays the names of the game's production staff. Typically displayed at the ending of game, or, sometimes the beginning, just like with films. Also called a staff roll.
critical
- A special type of attack which does more damage than normal. Typically occurs randomly, though the game may include ways to increase their likelihood. Can also refer to a condition where a character is extremely close to death. Often shortened to "crit."
- See "multi-genre."
crossmedia
- The adaptation of an existing work of media into a format different from the original. For example, a video game based on a book or a movie based on a video game. Similar to "transmedia," which occurs when a new form of media is added to a franchise in a new form of media. See also "adaptation."
crossover
- A game which combines the characters or settings of two established franchises. For example, Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 is a fighting game which includes characters from several franchises owned by either company.
- Video game platforms which can play games designed for a competitor's platform. Also called "crossplay."
cross-platform multiplayer
- Games which support multiplayer regardless of the platform used by the players. For example, one player may be using a PlayStation and the other may be using Windows, but they can still play the same game together.
crossplay
- A combination of cross dress and cosplay. Dressing as a video game character of a different gender.
CRPG
- Short for "computer role-playing game." Refers to early role-playing video games designed to run on home computers rather than video game consoles. CRPGs tend to have rules more closely related to table-top RPGs.
CRT
- See "cathode-ray tube."
crunch
- The time during game development when developers work overtime to try to finish the game before the deadline. This usually occurs late in development as the deadline draw near and is a symptom of unreasonable deadlines, poor management, or both.
- A family of video game engines initially developed to run FarCry, but later generalized to run many different games.
CSG
- Short for "Complex Sound Generator."
CTF
- Short for "capture the flag."
CTIA
- Short for "Color Television Interface Adapter."
currency
- Anything that functions like a currency in a game, i.e.: it can be used to buy or trade for resources. Currencies in games can be obvious: dollars, gold coins, and the like, but may also include implicit currencies like "happiness" or "karma" which are used behind the scenes in equations.
customer satisfaction
- The justification a buyer seeks after purchasing a product. In video games, customers are satisfied when the enjoyment they receive from the game meets or exceeds the cost of the game.
customer validation
- The endorsement from players game designers seek, often during the testing phases, to ensure their game is on track to be enjoyable.
cut
- A spliced segment of a video recording. Often evidence of cheating when recording a record attempt.
cut scene
- A narrative scene which carries the story forward or conveys some information about the game world. Cut scenes are typically outside of the player's control. If the player is expected to exhibit control, it's probably a "quick time event."
- A sub-genre of shoot 'em up which incorporates cute graphics. A portmanteau of "cute" and "shoot 'em up."
D
- Short for "directional pad."
D-subminiature
- A family of connectors used in a wide variety of video game platforms.
- A 15-pin (two rows with eight on the top and seven on the bottom) D-subminiature connector used on IBM-compatible home computers for connecting joysticks. This caused it to frequently be referred to as a "game port." It was also used on several video game consoles as an expansion port including the Famicom, Atari 5200, Jaguar, and others.
daily
- Something published on a daily basis, like a daily puzzle, daily quest, daily board, etc.
daily active users
- The average number of people who play a video game per day. A useful metric to know how popular a game is. See also "weekly active users" and "monthly active users."
- Purposely taking damage in order to get through an area more quickly. See also, "rocket jump."
damage over time
- How much damage something like a weapon or special move can do over a period of time.
damage reduction
- An ability, commonly found on armor, which reduces the amount of damage a character receives. Designers have come up with several ways to handle this including reducing all damage by a percentage, nullifying every nth hit, taking off the first n points from each hit, reducing to zero any damage from a weapon +1 or less, and so forth.
damage sponge
- Something which takes an obscene number of hits to defeat.
- A common trope where a woman, often a princess, needs rescuing, usually by a man.
- A subset of rhythm games where the player is expected to dance.
- Japanese for "bullet curtain." Describes games where barrages of projectiles are fired at the player. In English, it's referred to as, "bullet hell."
DAS
- Sort for "delayed auto shift." A form of "delayed automatic repeated input" used in games which allow you to shift objects around the screen, common in match-making games.
dash
- A common control mechanic where a player can cause their character to move at an accelerated rate for a short time. When moving in reverse, this is usually called a back-dash. When moving forward, this is commonly an offensive technique, but, when moving backward, it's commonly a defensive technique. It has similarities with a "slide."
- A genre of video game which attempt to simulate romantic dating. They often have erotic or pornographic content.
DAU
- Short for "daily active users."
DCSG
- Short for "Digital Complex Sound Generator."
- A 2-row, 9-pin D-subminiature connector used on a number of 8 and 16-bit video game platforms for connecting controllers including the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Amiga, Master System, Genesis, Jaguar, and more, as well as used by many home computer models for peripherals.
- A 3-row, 15-pin D-subminiature connector most commonly recognized as the VGA connector.
deadzone (joystick)
- In analog joysticks, a deadzone could mean one of two things. It could be an area along the outer edges where the joystick cannot reach. In the past, joysticks had to be calibrated to find their outermost edges and eliminate deadzones, but this is now done automatically. It could also refer to an area around the neutral position of the joystick where the joystick will not measure movement until it goes beyond that area. This is used to eliminate jitter that may come from the noise inherent in analog sources.
deadzone (screen)
- An area on the screen where enemies cannot take damage. In some shooters, enemies cannot take damage at the edge of the screen until they fully move on the screen. In many beat 'em ups, enemies cannot be attacked until they fully walk onto the screen.
death
- Occurs when an entity takes lethal damage, usually by being hit by an opponent or blundering into a hazard. Death for a character is usually more complex than death for an enemy. If the game uses "lives," this will result in the decrease of a life, otherwise, it may result in a "game over."
death-bombing
- In shoot 'em ups, an input mechanic that gives players a brief window after being killed (usually only a few frames) in which they can still activate a screen-wiping bomb or similar invulnerable action to stave off death. Kind of like "coyote time" for defensive moves.
- A form of multiplayer versus mode where players try to frag (or kill) the characters of their opponents as many times as possible while being fragged as few times as possible. When you are fragged, you typically respawn. Deathmatches are won usually by the player or team who first gets to a set number of kills, or, if the game is times, the player or team with the highest number of kills at the end of the time.
- Using death, often by suicide, to have the character warp or teleport to a different place in the game world. Typically used to save time during a speedrun.
debuff
- The removal of a "buff," or a decrease in a character's attributes.
decompile
- A reverse engineering process by which a compiled game is returned to the programming language it was initially developed in.
decoration
- An in-game item or similar object a player can obtain which doesn't offer any in-game benefit, but may still be desirable just to have. This may include things like clothing, jewelry, name titles, and the like. Some decorations are offered only if the player pays a fee or performs a difficult in-game task which offer more prestige.
dedicated console
- A video game console that is dedicated to the games it comes with and cannot be loaded with external games. This includes most arcade cabinets, most first generation home Pong clones, and most early handheld LCD games.
deferred reward
- An award that isn't compensated immediately. For example, a player may tell the game to build a house, but it will take a few real-life hours before it is completed in the game. This may aide in "retention" because it require the player to come back to the game later to check on the progress. Many games also have the option to expedite the process by paying in real currency.
degauss
- Removing an unwanted magnetic field. Most cathode-ray tube displays automatically degauss when turned on, but arcade cabinets were often left on for many days at a time and the magnetic fields of nearby speakers or other CRTs could cause visual distortion. Special deguassing hardware could quickly degauss the CRT while it remained in operation. Some higher-quality CRT monitors featured the ability to degauss while running. Magnetic storage media like diskettes, cassettes, and reel-to-reel tapes can be cleared of data by degaussing them.
delayed automatic repeated input
- When a slightly longer delay occurs before the start of the normal delay between "automatic repeated input." This is built into the keyboard handler of many computer operating systems, but also shows up in the directional movement of a lot of puzzle games.
deliverable
- An asset or feature which is an integral part of a "milestone." If they are not delivered by the developers or artists, the milestone cannot be reached.
delivery quest
- A quest where the player is expected to deliver something to character. Similar to a "fetch quest."
- Redesigning a game so that it can run on hardware weaker than what the original was designed on, an earlier engine, or purposely imposing unnecessary limitations.
demo (attract)
- See "attract mode."
demo (game)
- A limited version of a full game used to advertise for the game. Demos are typically grouped into playable and non-playable demos. A playable demo allows the player to play a portion of a game before ending prematurely, while a non-playable demo shows some of the features of a game but doesn't let the player interact with it. The term "demo" is sometimes used to refer to pre-production version of a game like an "alpha" or "beta" build. See also, "vertical slice."
demo (music)
- An unfinished version of a song for a video game. Often used in alpha builds of a game to give the designers an idea of how the finished song will sound.
demo (technique)
- A demonstration of programming techniques which meant to take advantage of hardware limitations.
demoscene
- People involved in developing software which demonstrates interesting or clever techniques initially not thought possible on the platform, usually set to custom music.
Denise
- The GPU of the Amiga home computer series.
depth
- A measure of how intricate a game is. A game like Pong, has very little going on, so it is lacking depth, while a game with a lot of depth often has many different inter-working mechanics and dynamics.
depth map
- In 3D graphics, a representation of how near or far things are from the camera, typically at the pixel level. Depth maps are used in a variety of tasks like determining which objects are occluded, adding depth of field effects, shadow mapping, and more.
design oversight
- When a designer fails to consider actions the player may take, and it ends up causing a "glitch," "softlock," "sequence break," or similar problem.
- An over-arching design style used in games in order to best reach the designer's goal regarding profit, enjoyment, etc. Common design paradigms include arcade, console, computer, mobile, online, etc.
designer
- A game developer who works on the overall design of a game or subset of a game. This often includes what the game will be about, which mechanics it will use, how things will interact, and so forth.
despawn
- When an entity in a game is removed from memory, either purposely through code, or due to a bug.
destructible environment
- Those things in a video game's environment that can be damaged, broken, or destroyed. Destructible environments are especially common in shooters, beat 'em ups, fighting games.
desynchronization
- When two or more devices are no longer in sync, usually due to latency in client/server models. When desynchronization occurs, the clients must be brought back into sync through snapping, smoothing, or server reconciliation.
deterministic
- Describes games which have predictable outcomes provided they receive the same input, this is opposed to games which feature random elements or do not allow for identical input (usually because humans can't respond with a high degree of accuracy).
development hell
- Describes games that have had serious issues during development which have prevented them from being released on schedule. This often leads to them being described as "vaporware." This can happen in all forms of media, but it is especially problematic in video game development because technology is made obsolete so quickly that, by the time the game is finally released, it may look inferior to the other games being released at the same time.
developer
- The company or individuals who created a video game, especially the programmers, but also including the designers, artists, writers, musicians, and so forth.
dexterity
- A character or unit attribute which typically affects how well they can evade attacks and maintain balance.
difficulty
- A measure of how challenging a game is. See also "difficulty level."
- Discrete levels of complexity that can be adjusted by the player, usually at the beginning of a game, but sometimes during game play as well; for example: easy, medium, and hard. Many games adjust their content based on the level the player chooses, for example, by only showing the true ending when played at a hard difficulty. Some games will automatically adjust their difficulty level based on the player's skill, a mechanic called "dynamic difficulty."
- The maximum difficulty level a game will ever reach, usually after a long time of repeating the same game. Difficulty caps are usually instituted to prevent the game from becoming impossible and overflowing buffers.
Digital Complex Sound Generator
- A programmable sound generator developed by Texas Instruments which can produce three pulse wave channels and a noise channel. Sold under model numbers SN76489, SN76494, and SN76496.
digital restrictions management
- Any methods used by a copyright holder to restrict the use of a product by the owner. This may include preventing the owner from playing the game on hardware that is unapproved by the copyright holder, preventing them from making legal backup copies of their media, and the like. Copy protection is a form of DRM. Copyright holders prefer the term "digital rights management," because it sounds much more positive, but it's really just control the copyright holder has over the purchaser.
digital rights management
- A purposely misleading term which more accurately means "digital restrictions management."
dimensionality
- The different ways in which a player may play a game. A common example is games which allow a player to choose a class for their character which gives them different options for how they approach challenges. A game works best when it has a small number of possible dimensions (usually around 3-5) to accommodate different play styles, but are evenly balanced to prevent "dominate tactics." See also "play style."
DIN connector
- A family of circular connectors which stands for "Deutsches Institut für Normung." Typically used by keyboards on older computers.
- An early technology for creating electronic circuits which mixes analog and digital technology. Used to build the Magnavox Odyssey.
DIP switch
- A binary switch made to fit in a "dual in-line package" slot on a circuit board. These appeared on a lot of video game hardware, especially arcade cabinets, and allow the owner to configure the hardware at a circuit level. Many arcade games from the 1970s-1990s used them to configure setting like when players would receive extra lives and the orientation of the display. They were used less and less as affordable permanent storage became popular and the owner could save the configuration on board.
- A control scheme where the player can very accurately and instantly control entities in the game. This is opposed to "indirect control."
direct sequel
- A game which is set immediately, or very shortly after the previous game ends. For example, Half-Life 2: Episode One takes place only a few minutes after the end of Half-Life 2.
- A control device used to input directional movement to a game device and often abbreviated to D-pad. A directional pad serves a similar purpose as a joystick, but was designed to be more compact, less-likely to break, and operated with just the thumb instead of the entire hand. The most common layout is cross-shaped with four physical inputs for up, down, left, and right. A D-pad is typically designed in a housing with a single piece of plastic that can pivot on a center area which allows two neighboring directions to be pressed at the same time, but prevents opposite directions from being pressed at the same time.
- A subset of DirectX which focuses solely on rendering hardware-accelerated 3D vector graphics on a GPU.
- An API developed by Microsoft to allow programmers standardized access to a variety of hardware.
- A floor or similar structure which falls apart, usually shortly after the player's character walks over it. This game mechanic appears in many platformers. See also, "falling platform."
display
- The "video" aspect of a video game, also called a screen, monitor, etc. For most home video game systems, the display is a television or computer monitor. Portable devices usually have a built-in display.
display adapter
- The components necessary to generate graphics (like a GPU and video memory) and send them to an output device like a monitor. Most video game platforms have a built-in display adapter, while many computers support upgrading the built-in adapter with an additional graphics card.
distributor
- The company which distributes a video game, which usually includes the warehousing, shipping, and monetary transaction. Until digital distribution became popular, it was usually the publisher, but now they're frequently different.
dithering
- The intentional introduction of noise to decrease unwanted patterns from forming when reducing quality. Primarily used when condensing audio and visual recordings. For example, when decreasing the quality of a 48,000 Hz audio recording to 8,000 Hz or when converting a 24-bit color graphic into an 8-bit grayscale graphic. There are many different dithering algorithms.
divine magic
- Often used both as a school of magic and as a system of magic. As a system, it describes magic granted to a clergy-related class (cleric, paladin, monk, etc.) by a supra-powerful entity like a god or angel and often cast by brandishing a holy symbol. As a school, it describes descibes magic which focuses on healing, protection, and the like.
DLC
- See "downloadable content."
DMG-CPU B
- The CPU of the Game Boy. A Sharp LR35902, which is a derivative of the Zilog Z80 with a custom APU.
dominant tactic
- The typical approach a player will take in a game if given the option. Dominant tactics are usually figured out by min-maxers who discover an imbalance in a game and exploit it. For example, a dominant tactic in multiplayer Age of Empires was to choose either Assyrians or Yamato civilizations because they had faster villagers, then rapidly reach the iron age and get access to superior technologies before the slower civilizations could reach them.
donor
- When creating homebrew games for consoles, manufacturers will often take existing cartridge cases from old games, remove the ROMs and labels, and put on new ones. The original cartridges are called donors and are usually games which exist in excess so they are very cheap and unwanted.
Don't Copy That Floppy
- An anti-piracy video created by the Software Publishers Association.
Doom clone
- An early term, prior to the ubiquity of "first person shooter," for games which looked similar to Doom.
DOT
- See "damage over time."
- Using an additional area of memory to prepare graphics before they need to be displayed to the screen. This is used to prevent flicker, tearing, and other visual artifacts.
double density
- Refers to floppy disks which used a different storage method from single density which allowed them to store twice as much information.
double jump
- A common control mechanic where a character can jump once into the air, then jump again while still in the air before landing.
double sided
- Refers to magnetic media (floppy disks, cassettes, etc.) where data could be stored on both sides.
doujin
- A Japanese word which roughly translates to "fandom." It describes people who share an interest or hobby or the work they create. Doujin games are typically homages to existing games or genres.
downloadable content
- Something that is not part of the base game which must be downloaded, often at an additional price. DLC became popular slightly before video games shifted to online distribution as a way to replace physical expansion packs. Few people had high speed Internet access, so the base game still had to be purchased on disc media at stores, but additional content was typically small enough to be downloaded which saved the publishers a lot of money not having to deal with all the packaging. Once downloadable content became more popular, developers started including all sorts of additional content, like optional skins, new items, and the like.
- A genre of video game where the player drives a vehicle. Similar to racing, but that genre requires the player to competing against opponents or a time limit.
driving controls
- A "control scheme" where the pressing up accelerates the player's character, pressing back stops or goes in reverse, and pressing left or right turns the player in that direction.
DRM
- See "digital restrictions management."
drop
- Describes what is left behind when an enemy is killed. See also "loot."
dual joysticks
- A control system which requires a single player to operate two joysticks. This may be through "tank controls," a "twin-stick shooter," or simply because the game needs the extra input options of a second controller.
dump
- A copy of the contents of a memory chip like a ROM or RAM into a file. Dumping is a common practice when making backups of cartridge-based video games. Similar to a "copy" or "rip."
- A genre of video game where the players move through a dungeon environment defeating foes. Common among role-playing games or action-adventures with a fantasy theme.
- An optical disc capable of storing data which can be read from it with a laser. It was used as the primary video game media of home computers from the 2000s to 2010s as well as several video game consoles.
- When the game's difficulty is adjusted during game player to fit the player's skill level and keep them challenged. This is contrasted with static difficulty.
- Lighting in a game that changes and based on what is going on in the game.
E
- Something which is hidden in a game by the developer and meant to be found by the player, like an Easter egg hunt.
editor
- A software tool which allows a game designer to create or modify a game asset. For example, a map editor, graphic editor, etc.
- A genre of video game where the player is expected to learn an academic skill while playing.
- A portmanteau of "educational entertainment." Any form of media, video games included, that educates as well as entertains.
- Short for Enhanced Graphics Adapter, a display technology developed by IBM to give additional color graphics to IBM Personal Computers.
- Short for Electronic Gaming Monthly.
elegance
- A design term which describes making something intuitive and effective while still being minimalist. A user interface may be elegant if a player can simply look at the interface and know what they need to do in order to have the desired effect, while requiring as little interaction as possible. If a player has to search online for how to do something or click through several menus to do something they want to do frequently, the interface is probably not elegant.
- A term popular in adventure games which originally referred to the player, but, as graphical adventure games began including a character, began referring to the character instead.
EHB
- Short for "extra half brite."
- Games which use electricity and mechanical movement, but not a video display. These are very similar to video games and includes pinball machines, sporting machines, and various other arcade games.
- A popular video game magazine.
embodiment
- How continuously something persists in a game world and is able to interact with it. Something which is always present in the game world (like the player's character) is embodied, while something which only shows up briefly and has little to no interaction (like a pop-up dialog) is disembodied.
emergence
- A game has emergence if it affords the player with enough freedom to create new styles of play the designers never intended. For example, the designers of Minecraft never predicted all the amazingly complex things players would build in the game, like Turing-complete computers. The flip side of emergence is the "experience" designers try to convey.
emotional validation
- The sentimentality a player has for a game that serves as justification for them buying and playing it. Players may often buy or play a game, not necessarily because it is well-crafted, but because it makes them feel good about themselves while playing it. Players may buy a game from a franchise they liked in their youth because playing it brings back fond memories, or may play a game because it is LGBT-positive, and they want to help support more games like it.
EMS
- See "Expanded Memory Specification."
- The process by which software or hardware simulates the workings of other software or hardware. That which uses emulation is called an emulator.
encounter
- In an RPG, a meeting of entities. This usually refers to the party randomly meeting enemies in combat, but also refers to scripted meetings with non-hostile NPCs, other player characters, and the like.
end label
- The label one the end of a cartridge so a owner can identify the game when several are stacked together. Some cartridges like the Nintendo 64, lack an end label.
end of life
- When the manufacturer of a platform ceases supporting it. Usually occurs once the platform stops being profitable.
ending
- A cut scene which occurs when a player reaches the end of a game. There are a variety of ending types including a game over, bad ending, good ending, true ending, etc. Some games feature two or more endings.
endless mode
- A game mode without a narrative ending. Instead, the player is expected to keep playing until they run out of lives, time, etc. Endless modes are typically played to achieve the highest score or longest time. Many early arcade games were endless simply because they didn't have an ending.
- See "runner."
engine
- Referring to video game software, it's the core portion which primarily runs the video game or an aspect of a video game. By changing the assets, a different game can be made with the same engine.
- When something is poorly translated into English (typically Japanese). The spelling of the term is a based on the fact that Japanese-to-English translations often suffer from conflating the letters L and R. Engrish is sometimes an example of wasei-eigo. The term is sometimes viewed as derogatory.
- Designing the game's environment to inform the player about what is happening rather than explicitly telling the player through narration. For example, if the player sees a massive door broken off its hinges with huge dents on the exterior side, they will probably infer that the people inside were trying to keep something out, but it was powerful enough to bash its way in.
epic fail
- An especially bad mistake or loss that is notable due to being funny or egregious.
epic win
- An especially impressive success that is notable for how difficult it was, includes an unusual fluke, or something of that nature.
episode
- A large section of a game's complete story, usually broken up into several "missions."
eroge
- A Japanese portmanteau of "erochikku gemu," or "erotic game." A genre of adult video game which includes eroticism or pornography.
error (manufacturing)
- An unintentional mistake in the manufacturing process of a video game product. Errors typically decrease a product's value to collectors, though, a particularly novel error may actually increase its value.
error (programming)
- See "bug."
escort mission
- A mission where the player must lead a person to a specified location while protecting them from harm. Escort missions are typically failed if the person you're escorting is killed or kidnapped.
esports
- Short for electronic sports. Refers to professional competitive video game tournaments where professional gamers compete for money while viewed by an audience.
ESRB
- Short for "Entertainment Software Rating Board," a video game content rating system used by the USA and Canada.
Ethernet
- A family of wired networking protocols used for communicating between devices. Used on computers since the 1970s, but incorporated into home console in the 2000s. Devices are typically wired together using Cat 5 cable with RJ45 connectors.
Euroshump
- Short for "European shoot 'em up." Typically refers to those shoot 'em ups which were developed in the 1980s and early 1990s in Europe for 8-bit microcomputers. These games are usually inferior to Japanese arcade shoot 'em ups.
exclusive
- A video game product that was only released through a distribution network different from the norm. Exclusives typically have a "limited run," which may increase their value to collectors.
exhaustion demon
- A subroutine for managing the level of sleepiness of characters within a game.
Expanded Memory Specification
- A technology (typically abbreviated to EMS) for accessing RAM beyond 1 MB, the maximum of Intel's initial x86 architecture. PC games using an expanded memory adapter (XMA) could take advantage of any additional RAM the PC had, initially up to 4 MB, but eventually up to 32 MB. However, the game couldn't access the additional memory directly, it used bank switching to alternate between smaller sections of the total RAM. EMS was largely made unnecessary by the more usable XMS.
expansion
- Additional content to a game that is not part of the original base game. Expansions are typically made for popular games to capitalize on their success. They were initially sold in stores, often in smaller or cheaper packaging, but, once online distribution became popular, switched to downloadable content. Also called a "supplement," or, particularly in RPGs, a "module" or "adventure."
experience
- The feelings a player receives from playing a game, and the feelings designers are trying to convey to the players of their games based on their "framing narrative." If players frequently have the same experience with playing a game, the game is said to be "experient." The experience the player has in real life is called the "ludonarrative." A game which focuses not on creating an experience, but on letting the player find their own path usually results in "emergence."
experience points
- A value attributed to a character which is increased each time they succeed in a task (e.g., killing a monster, finishing a dungeon, etc.). Usually, when the character earns enough experience points they will be promoted to the next level. The term originated in role-playing games and is still used most commonly in the genre.
exploit
- Abusing a "glitch" or "design oversight" in a video game to a player's benefit. Exploits are similar to a "cheat," however, they don't technically subvert the game's programming.
- A video game genre where part of the enjoyment comes from exploring new areas, items, and ideas. Common to adventure and sandbox games.
extend
- A variant of the term "1-up."
Extended Memory Specification
- A technology (typically abbreviated to XMS) created to supplant EMS for accessing RAM beyond 1 MB, the maximum of Intel's initial x86 architecture. PC games using an extended memory manager (XMM) could take advantage of any additional RAM the PC had, initially up to 64 MB, but eventually up to 4 GB.
- Video game platforms that are designed to accept future peripherals and hardware upgrades.
extra half brite
- A special display mode of the Amiga home computer family which adds an additional color plane for color intensity. This allows the standard 32 colors to be doubled to 64, however, the additional 32 colors cannot be picked arbitrarily, they are fixed to darker versions of the existing 32. The trade off is that this mode is harder to program. Often abbreviated to "EHB."
- The increase of a player's total lives. Usually presented as an object the player must collect, but is sometimes awarded for performing a difficult task.
F
facing button
- A button on a controller which faces the user as opposed to those on the shoulder, rear, etc.
factory sealed
- A game product that is unopened and still retains its original manufacturer seal. This significantly increases its value to collectors.
- A game or section of a game that is hard, not because it requires a particularly clever or skilled player, but because it was poorly designed.
fall damage
- Damage that an entity incurs when they fall from a large height. Such damage usually increases along with the height of the fall. Fall damage is typically added to games in order to add realism.
falling platform
- Anything a character can walk on which falls down when triggered in a particular way, typically when walked on. Falling along with the platform usually results in death, though they are also sometimes used in puzzles. Falling platforms are a staple of platformers. See also "disintegrating floor."
- Something in a game that was added specifically to appeal to the player. Initially, this referred to adding material of an overt sexual nature, even if it didn't make sense in the story, but the term has broadened to refer to anything that will appeal to the fans.
- A setting which uses tropes common to the fantasy fiction genre (castles, magic, elves, etc.).
farming
- Working to gain a lot of a particular thing, like money, items, or 1-ups. Often used interchangeably with "grinding."
- A game mechanic which decreases the rate of progress or reward over prolonged play sessions. Used by governing groups, especially China, to prevent players from spending too much time playing games.
Federation Against Software Theft
- A UK anti-piracy organization.
feeding (competitive)
- When a player keep dying to an opponent's team, they are "feeding" that team's kill count, which is poor gamer etiquette. If a player can't stay alive on their own, they should work in a support role to help better players.
feeding (credits)
- See "credit feeding."
feely
- Something included in a video game which can be picked up and felt. This may include cloths maps, "trinkets," or other physical objects. Feelies are often in a collector's edition.
female
- In reference to a connector, the end with an aperture into which the male end plugs into. When attached to a larger object, the female end is usually referred to as a "jack" or "socket."
fetch quest
- A quest where the player is expected to find something and bring it to the quest giver. Named after a pet fetching an toy.
field of view
- The area of a game world displayed to the player. In a 3D game, the field of view on the camera is sometimes adjustable allowing the player to see more on the periphery.
fiero
- The feeling of exhilaration and pride when you successfully defeat very difficult challenge.
- A video game genre where the player controls a character who fights with another character, usually in one-on-one matches. Similar to a beat 'em up, but it focuses on the complexity of the fights rather than the quantity of the fights.
- The last, and usually most difficult, boss in a game. Also called the "true last boss."
firmware
- Low-level software held in non-volatile memory which communicates with the hardware.
first generation
- Describes consoles from the early 1970s to the late 1970s like the Magnavox Odyssey. These consoles were dedicated systems which didn't support interchangeable games.
first hit
- A bonus for being the first person to score a hit in a multiplayer game. Commonly used in fighting games. Sometimes called "first blood."
first party
- A company which produces products for a video game platform they own. For example, Nintendo internal development team created Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System which they also owned.
first-person
- A perspective where the player views the game world through the eyes of the character they control.
- A genre of video game which combines a shooter with first-person visual perspective.
- A camera which is rigidly fixed to the map or an object in the game to maintained focused on what is important, as opposed to a "free-moving camera."
- A sub-genre of the shooter where the player's character is confined to a fixed area on the screen.
fizzle
- Interrupting a spell or similar ability so that it fails to function properly. In some games, if a spell caster is hit in combat prior to casting their spell, it may fizzle.
flag
- A visual method used by a game designer to quickly and clearly convey information to the player. For example, in a competitive game, having one team colored red while the other is colored blue serves as a flag because the player immediately knows which unit is part of their team or their opponents team. The term is named after actual flags which are similarly used to quickly and clearly convey information through the eyes.
Flash game
- A game written in Flash and played through a Web browser, typically for free or with ads. They began in the late 1990s and were especially popular in the 2000s then declined in the 2010s as Adobe killed their platform.
flashing
- A flashing form of a "visual cue." It's often used to let the player know the flashing thing is important or usable. It is also often used to show how close bosses are to death.
flat shading
- A light shading technique used on 3D objects where each polygon is given a single shading value based on its relation to the light source. It makes the surfaces very conspicuous, but requires far less processing power than Gouraud or Phong shading, and still looks better than no shading at all.
flicker
- A display artifact where a sprite appear to flicker on the screen. This can sometimes be fixed by using double buffering.
flight controls
- An "control scheme" where pulling back on a joystick or pressing down on a D-pad causes the ship to raise in altitude, pressing forward on the joystick or up on the D-pad causes the ship to lose altitude, and pressing left or right causes the ship to bank in that direction.
flight yoke
- A controller designed to function like those used in airplanes. Like a steering wheel it allows for rotation, but it also allows for the controlling of pitch.
flipper
- In a pinball machine, it's the pivoting arm a player can control which hits a ball further up into the table.
floaty
- Describes character controls where the jumping doesn't feel right, usually because the character doesn't jump or fall fast enough or with the right amount of acceleration. Floaty controls are often purposely used when a character is meant to be in water or in outer space.
- A magnetic disk encased in a plastic protective shell and used to store data. The primary media for video games on home computers from the 1970s to 2000s. Over the years, floppy disks were sold in a variety of sizes and densities.
flow
- See "in the zone."
- A form of generating audio seen in a lot of 16-bit video game systems.
FMV
- An abbreviation of "full-motion video."
focus fire
- Describes weapons in shooters which focus most of their damage directly ahead as opposed to a "spread" gun.
fog of war
- A military term which refers to anything happening outside of the player's perception. Many games actually depict this with actual fog. Often abbreviated to "FOW."
Foley artist
- A game developer who creates sound effects for a game.
- The way in which NPCs follow the player character's movements. Examples include party members in an RPG following in lockstep or a ninja shadow performing the same actions of the player with a slight delay.
footsies
- In fighting games, when a player uses weaker long range attacks to safely damage their opponent. See also "kiting."
foreground/background
- A pseudo-3D mechanic used in some 2D platformers where objects can move between the foreground or background layers. Seen in games like Shinobi and Super Castlevania.
- Video game platforms which are designed to run games made for the next generation platforms.
FOV
- Short for "field of view."
FOW
- Short for "fog of war."
FPS (genre)
- Short for "first-person shooter."
FPS (graphics)
- Short for "frames per second."
- Killing a another player's character in a deathmatch. Taken from military slang which refers to murdering a fellow officer, typically with a fragmentation grenade (thus the name) to look like an accident. See also "team kill" and "friendly fire" which are often used interchangeably.
frame
- The length of time it takes for a video game to completely redraw the screen. This time length is variable and is dependent on the frame rate. If a game runs at 60 frames per second, a frame is 1/60th of a second in length.
- A process which prevents a game from running too fast when it's played on powerful hardware. Games are typically used to set to run no faster than 60 frames a second.
frame perfect
- Something which must be done during a precise frame (depending on the hardware, this could be a time frame of only 1/60th of a second). This usually applies to player input in order to pull off an exploit.
- The process of purposely decreasing the frame rate in order to allow a game to play at a faster speed on hardware too weak to support it. For example, a game meant to be played at 60 frames per second could skip every other frame and play at 30 frames per second. By halving the amount of frames that need to be rendered, the hardware won't have to process as much, and the game's speed will increase with the downside of a choppier display.
frame rate
- See "frames per second." Also called "refresh rate."
frames per second
- A measure of how many times a graphic processor can redraw the screen each second. An acceptable FPS is 30, but a mark of a good GPU is 60 FPS. Much beyond that and you're beyond human perception.
framing narrative
- The primary story the game is meant to tell as designed by the game's writer. Framing narratives may have some interactivity, but are essentially predetermined. A good framing narrative will produce the desired "experience" in most players. This is opposed to the "ludonarrative" which is a product of how the player plays the game.
franchise
- A video game idea which has expanded well-beyond a single game. Franchises typically have many games or even multiple game series, as well as novels, albums, comic books, toys, and so forth. Similar to a universe, only the universe refers to the in-game aspect, not just the products.
franchise fatigue
- Becoming tired of playing games from the same franchise.
free
- In tournament games, when a player is able to defeat an opponent so easily, it's as though they had a free victory.
- A camera which moves freely by panning, zooming, etc. as needed to maintain an optimal view of what is important as opposed to a "fixed camera."
free play
- A game mode originally used in arcades where a game which normally requires money to play can be played for free.
free to play
- See "freeware."
- A software distribution model where a games is given away for free. Sometimes, a game's publisher will release a previously commercial game as freeware once it is no longer marketable. Despite the name, many games which are advertised as "free" are more likely to be "adware," "nagware," "crippleware," or some other commercial model in disguise
- When a player inadvertently injures or kills one of their teammates. A troll will probably do so purposely. See also "team kill" which is sometimes used interchangeably with friendly fire. Often shortened to "FF."
- Optimizing graphic rendering by only processing those objects which are inside a character's visual frustum (a polygon which represents their field of view.
FTW
- Short for "for the win." Used as an exclamation of victory.
- Describes actual video rather than video simulated by graphic animation, or a game which makes use of such video. The term was used in the 1990s to promote the use of video in games which was just becoming technologically feasible at the time. The term was largely abandoned after video became commonplace, particularly because of the PlayStation's ability to play it so effectively.
G
gacha
- Drawing an object from a random pool of possible options. The term is a shortened form of the Japanese phrase "gashapon" which itself comes from "gasha" and "pon," two Japanese onomatopoeias. "Gasha" for sound of the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and "pon" for the sound of the toy hitting the dispenser. The similarity with the English phrase "gotcha" is coincidental.
- A sub-genre of shooter where targets quickly move around the screen while the player shoots at them. Subdivided based on perspective: first-person (Operation Wolf and Battleclash) and over-the-shoulder (Cabal and Blood Brothers).
- Any activity with established rules played for enjoyment or competition.
- A video game genre categorized, not by its theme or mechanics, but for how closely it plays to another game. For example, Rogue-like or Doom-clone.
game-breaking
- See "break."
game dynamic
- How various mechanics interact to create an over-arching interactive process to a game. For example, the dynamic of chess is to align your pieces to best take advantage of their unique abilities, while at the same time trying to stymie your opponent from doing the same. If the mechanics work together in a harmonious way, the game will have an enjoyable dynamic which players will enjoy.
- A peripheral made for several 8 and 16-bit video game consoles to change the RAM of a game while it's being played, usually used to make the game easier or give the player unique power-ups.
game jam
- An informal collaboration where several people meet together to create video games.
game literacy
- The ability to know what a game expects from the player based on familiarity with concepts from playing other games.
- The general set of actions a player repeats as they play a game. For example, enter the dungeon, kill monsters until your inventory is full, return to town, sell items, buy new gear, repeat. Not to be confused with a "narrative loop" a "program loop" of the game's code.
- An abbreviated way of telling a player they've reached the end of their play session. This may be due to the loss of all their lives (or attempts), running out of time, etc. in which it's a bad ending, although the term is sometimes also employed when player has won the game to signify when the ending sequence is completed.
- See "DA-15." The DA-15 port was often called a "game port" because, at the time, it was frequently used in computers to connect controllers like joysticks, gamepads, paddles, and the like.
game-specific insert
- A game insert which is included only in one specific game. This may include a poster, map, or similar trinket. This is contrasted with a "publisher-specific insert."
- The study of mathematical models as they apply to the playing of games, particularly strategy games played by agents who want to win.
gamebit
- An informal name for special socket bits or screwdrivers which fit the patented tamper-proof screws used in many Nintendo cartridges and consoles. They come in sizes of 3.8 mm or 4.5 mm.
GameMaker
- A video game engine primarily designed around 2D game development.
gamepad
- A video game controller meant to be held by both hands in a horizontal alignment which, at the very least, has a directional pad and facing buttons, but may also have shoulder buttons, bumpers, analog sticks, and various other input devices.
gamer
- A person who frequently plays games or is part of gaming culture.
gamer regret
- The feeling of discomfort people get when they realize how much time they've spent playing games rather than being in some other way productive.
Gamergate
- An online harassment campaign throughout 2014-2015 led by Conservative male gamers primarily attacking female game developers and critics. Although the harassers claimed their goal was ethics in gaming journalism, they mostly just complained that minorities were introducing progressive concepts into games by adding non-sexualized women, people of color, and LGBT characters. The harassers spent most of their energy making rape threats and death threats to women and exposing their private and personal information to the public. The name is a play on the political Watergate scandal.
games as a service
- See "subscription."
gamify
- The process of gamification, that is, to apply game elements onto something that doesn't typically have them. For example, a boss may gamify a process at work in order to make it more appealing to workers.
ganked
- To be defeated by superior numbers. Commonly used in MMOs when a person is ambushed by several other players. However, if a player wins despite being ganked, they have "clutched."
genlock
- Short for "generator locking," a technique which causes the video output of one device to become synchronized with the video of another source. Often used in devices whose GPU is divided into multiple sub-processes.
genre
- A category or group of similar video games. Genres are often made based a game's mechanics, themes, settings, play style, etc.
generation
- An arbitrary grouping of video game consoles and handhelds over time. Generations are grouped less by the capabilities of the hardware or the time between releases, and more by which other consoles they competed with in sales.
genre fatigue
- Occurs when a player repeatedly plays the same genre of video game and becomes bored with it.
GG
- Short for "good game."
- A company which develops video games while letting other companies take credit for them.
- Short for "giblet." When a creature is blown up and their body explodes into a pile of "giblets." Coined by Adrian Carmack during the development of Doom.
GL
- Short for "good luck."
glass cannon
- Describes a character with a high attack power, but little defense.
glitch
- See "bug."
- A visual or auditory cue to let the player know they can advance in the game map. They are used in games where advancement is prevented until the player accomplishes some task. Once the task is completed, the cue is used, and the player can once again continue.
god game
- A game where they player plays a character with god-like abilities, and is sometimes literally a god. For example, Populous.
- A free cross-platform video game development engine.
gods of RNG
- Anthropomorphic gods of randomness. When hoping for good luck, plays may say something like, "pray to the gods of RNG." See also "rngesus."
goldbox
- A series of video games published by SSI in boxes with gold-colored packaging, most of which had a Dungeons & Dragons theme. Also, the engine used to run said games. Also, any game which plays in a similar manner.
gone gold
- When development on a game has finished and it is ready to be packaged and distributed.
good ending
- The ending of a game which has a positive outcome as opposed to a "bad ending." A good ending is often the same as a "true ending," but not always.
goomba stomp
- The act of jumping on an enemy to injure it. Popularized by stomping on goombas in Super Mario Bros., but seen earlier in Springer, and in a more disputed form in Joust and Bump 'N Jump.
GOTY
- Short for "game of the year."
Gouraud shading
- A light shading algorithm used on 3D shapes to make them look smoother by interpolating color from the vertices of the polygons. It yields much better results than flat shading, but is inferior to Phong shading.
GPU
- Short for "graphics processing unit."
graphic (design)
- A visual image, typically used to denote those used to promote a video game like on the cover of a box, a marquee, promotional material, title card, or the like.
graphic (display)
- An image displayed on a video screen, usually built from a bitmap or vectors.
- A sub-genre of the adventure game which relies heavily on graphics to describe the environment.
Graphic Television Interface Adapter
- One half of the GPU of the Atari 8-bit family and the Atari 5200. This chip processes color and sprites while the "ANTIC" handles background graphics. Often abbreviated to "GTIA." The GTIA is an upgrade of the earlier "CTIA."
graphical user interface
- A game which uses graphics for most of the interface with the player. Usually though icons, simulated buttons, and the like. This is in contrast to the older text interface.
- An circuit board containing a display adapter. See also "display adapter."
graphics processing unit
- An electronic circuit specifically designed to generate and process graphics. GPUs are a component of a display adapter. Typically abbreviated to GPU.
- A display which consists solely of multiple levels of gray. The exact number of gradations is dependent on the technology, but the brightest is typically referred to as "white," and the darkest as "black." Not to be confused with "monochrome."
grazing
- A mechanic in shooters where the player is rewarded for purposely keeping their character close to enemy bullets.
green book
- Refers to the technical book which describes the standards for the CD-i (compact disc interactive) format, which is green. Also refers to the CDs made for CD-i players.
- A play on "grayscale." A display which only uses shades of green like the Game Boy.
- A video game genre and mechanic where the player must isolate areas of a grid to control them.
griefer
- See "troll."
- Repeatedly performing a task in a game, typically to increase experience points and levels, but the term is also used for acquiring items. A player may grind for hours killing monsters in the hope that one will drop an especially rare item. Often used interchangeably with "farming."
ground unit
- A combat unit which cannot leave the land and is therefore affected by terrain. Ground units are contrasted with air and sea units.
grunt
- In strategy games, refers to a low-level unit which is incapable of dealing or receiving much damage. See also "cannon fodder."
GTIA
- Short for "Graphic Television Interface Adapter."
- A form of "fake difficulty" common in poorly-programmed text adventures where the player has a good idea what they need to do, but can't guess the precise wording the designer expects. In the conversion to graphic adventures, a similar issue surfaced called, "hunt the pixel."
guild
- An in-game group of players who frequently play together as a team. Most MMOs have built-in features for setting up and running guilds to make the process easier for the players involved in them.
H
hack
- A modification to a video game which changes the behavior of play in a manner not intended by the original developer. A video game which has been so modified is described as having been "hacked."
hacker
- A person or group of people who create unofficial game modifications. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "cracker."
- A video game theme where the characters use weapons to defeat their foes. Often a form of beat 'em up, although sometimes used to refer to any game where characters use bladed weapons.
- A visual aberration which occurs in 3D games when a texture isn't drawn and results in an appearance not unlike that of a hall of mirrors.
HAM
- Short for "hold-and-modify."
- A generic term for hard or hardest difficulty settings in a game.
hard reset
- Resetting an electronic device by completely cutting power to it so that it must reboot entirely. This is very similar to a "cold boot." As opposed to a "soft reset."
hardware
- Physical electronic devices that perform a task usually run by software communicating through firmware.
hardware decoder
- A circuit specifically designed to decompress and decode compressed media so it didn't have to be done with software. Some video game platforms feature hardware decoders, for example, the original PlayStation had a hardware decoder which could decompress a video stream.
hardware scaling
- A circuit specifically designed to resize graphics so they don't have to be resized with software. Several 16-bit video game platforms had hardware scalers.
hardware sprite
- A "sprite" that is controlled by the GPU, as opposed to a "software sprite." Hardware sprites are faster to work with, but the programmer has less control over them.
hardwired
- Wires that are attached to a video game console or computer that cannot be removed, typically controllers or power cables.
hblank
- Short for "horizontal blank."
HD
- Short for "high definition."
HDMI
- Short for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, a type of connector and protocol used for transmitting audio and video information. Used on many video game platforms from the mid-2000s on.
head-banging
- A slang term for the sound a disk drive makes when it has to read from various locations on a disk in rapid succession. The frequent movement of the read arm creates a banging noise. This was more common with games as they more frequently used copy protection that required a lot of disk reads.
headless
- A computer system which doesn't have built-in software, not even a BIOS, so they cannot boot on their own. Common for consoles during the 8 and 16-bit era, e.g.: the Atari 2600, NES, and Genesis.
headphone jack
- Most portable video game platforms have a headphone jack which fits a 3.5 mm plug.
heads-up display
- A user interface where information is drawn over what the player's character sees. In real life, it is an early form of augmented reality.
health
- A measurement of a character's vitality. Often synonymous with life units, but can also describe status ailments like poison or disease.
heavy
- A unit which can deal and receive a lot of damage. See also melee and tank.
hex
- Short for hexadecimal, a base-16 number system commonly used by computer programmers instead of the base-10 decimal system used by most people. Hexadecimal is preferred in low-level programming because it more-closely reflects the bytes and bits of the hardware.
HF
- Short for "have fun."
hi-fi
- Short for "high fidelity," as opposed to "lo-fi" or "low fidelity." Originally used to refer to an expensive stereo, then anything with high quality sound with minimal distortion, then broadened to refer to high quality audio or video signal.
- A genre of puzzle game where the player must find objects hidden in large scene.
hidden-surface determination
- The process of figuring out which surfaces are not visible from a character's perspective so they can be excluded from the rendering process in order to optimize graphic rendering.
- A usually very small area in a game map or on the screen where the player is guaranteed to be safe from injury. Usually the result of poorly-written AI or path-finding algorithms.
- A mechanic where the game tries to identify a player exploiting a hiding spot and adjusts how enemies attack in order to compensate for them.
high definition
- A vague term used to describe a resolution higher than the current standard definition. In the 2000s, it was commonly used to describe a video display of 1,280 × 720. Typically used for video display, but sometimes used for audio or other topics.
high density
- Refers to floppy disks which used an improved storage method from double density which allowed them to store even more information.
high fidelity
- A very professional recording or rendition with as few imperfections as possible. Initially used in music recording, but can also be applied to any sound recording, graphic scan, digital photography, etc.
- The higher resolution of a GPU which supports multiple resolutions. The precise resolution was determined by the GPU. Games designed in high resolution were typically viewed as superior as it was typically more difficult to take advantage of the high resolution mode. The term was common with early home computers. Used in opposition to "low resolution." Also written as hi-res.
high score
- The highest score in a game, often saved by the player's initials in a top 10 list.
- A publication which consists primarily of hints on how to improve a player's ability to play a video game or games. Usually not as comprehensive as a "strategy guide."
hit box
- A rectangular region where collision detection is carried out.
hit/miss ratio
- The ratio of attacks that hit versus miss and a measure of the player's aim. Also called "hit percentage" when displayed as a percentage.
hit point
- See "life (unit)."
- An instant check for a hit toward a target, as opposed to processing the actual physics of a fast moving projectile. Used to shortcut more complicated physics, typically used in a bullet from a gun.
hold-and-modify
- A special display mode of the Amiga computer line which allows it to display 4,096 unique colors on the screen at once instead of the usual 32. The trade off is that the display is blurrier, slower to refresh, and harder to program. Often abbreviated to "HAM."
- A multi-purpose microcomputer designed to work in the home environment and often used as a video game platform.
homebrew
- An unlicensed game made for an obsolete console, usually by an amateur developer.
hook
- An aspect of the game that will quickly entice players to try a game, like the lure on fishhook. Hooks are usually based on something striking like unique game play or beautiful graphics or music. Publishers prefer to publish games with a good hook because it makes advertising the game much easier.
horizontal blank
- The brief time when the electron gun of a CRT is resetting to the left of the screen. Programmers will try to perform graphic changes to the scan line during this time.
horizontal orientation
- Arcade games where the monitor is installed in the same horizontal orientation as televisions, so that it is wider than it is tall. As opposed to "vertical orientation."
horizontally scrolling
- A game or section in a game which scrolls only along the horizontal axis instead of the vertical axis. Also called "side-scrolling."
- A narrative genre meant to induce fear or terror in the player.
hot seat
- A two player game where players alternate between a single control system when they are the active player.
hotkey
- A keyboard button set to perform a task that would otherwise have to be performed with a different input. For example, pressing Ctrl+S to save instead of moving the mouse cursor up to the menu, clicking file, then clicking save. Similar to a "macro."
HP
- Short for "hit points."
HUD
- Short for "heads-up display."
- A subroutine for managing hunger in games which require characters to eat. Similar to a "thirst demon."
- A form of "fake difficulty" in graphic adventures where the player is expected to click on a very small area of the screen, sometimes no bigger than a single pixel, in order to interact with it. A similar problem to "guess the verb" in text adventures.
- A visual or auditory cue used to let the player know they're running out of time. Used to encourage the player to expedite their progress.
- A genre which combines two or more distinct genres into one, like action-adventure. Similar to multi-genre, but, in multi-genre, they are kept separate.
- Games which are similar to Hydlide. Usually featuring very simple real time bump combat, limited inventory, and primitive graphics.
hyper system
- A mechanic used in shoot 'em ups where a gauge is charged up over time, and, when activated, puts the player's character into hyper mode. While in hyper mode, the character's attacks are magnified, typically by being larger, faster, and doing more damage, and the character may become invincible or invulnerable.
hyper tapping
- Bing able to press a button or d-pad direction at a very fast rate. Used when the "automatic repeated input" is too slow.
I
- Short for "invincible frames" or "invulnerable frames." The precise number of frames for which a character cannot take damage. Often used by the speedrun community when talking about purposely taking damage in order to "damage boost."
IARC
- Short for International Age Rating Coalition, a video game content rating system created to appeal to all nations.
- Relating to the company International Business Machines, or the computers they produced.
IBM-compatible
- A term used to describe home computers designed to run software and use hardware that was initially designed for the IBM Personal Computer line.
icon
- A small graphic used to symbolize something. Most games designed to run in an operating system with a graphical user interface have an icon for starting the game. Games which use graphical user interfaces often have many icons within them. Some games almost exclusively use icons for their graphics, making them "iconogrpahic."
iconographic
- An art style where much of the visuals are displayed as icons instead of trying to bother with realistic scale, lighting, or perspective. Many early tile-based computer RPGs use this style, like the first five games in the Ultima series, but it was also common in games made for early GUIs like Windows 3 and Macintosh Classic.
- A series of 3D video game engines developed by id Software. id Tech 1 was built for Doom, 2 for Quake, 3 for Quake III Arena, 4 for Doom 3, 5 for Rage, 6 for Doom (2016), and 7 for Doom Eternal.
- The animation of a character after it hasn't been doing anything for a while. These are often humorous and fourth-wall breaking where characters look at the player impatiently, get annoyed, fall asleep, or the like.
IGT
- Short for "in game time."
IL
- Short for "individual level." Used by world record seekers to describe playing only a section, often a single level, of a game instead of the entire game. This is usually done as practice for hard sections in a game, but is sometimes done to set a world record just on that section of the game.
immersion
- Like with other forms of fiction, immersion is the process of making the player feel as though they're really part of the narrative. A game that is very immersive will make the player feel as though they exist within the game world.
imposter LOD
- A lower polygon count 3D object used when the camera is far away so the lower level of detail won't be noticed. Helps to decrease the load on the GPU.
in-game
- Anything considered to exist within a game. In-game entities typically behave according to the rules of the game's world and don't act as though they know they're in a game (unless the designer wants to break the fourth wall).
in-game time
- A length of time measured by a timer inside a game. This can be an important distinction because many games, even those which name their time unit a "second," don't use the same duration as a real life second.
in-house
- A company or team owned and operated by a video game company. See also, "second party."
in the zone
- When you're hyper focused on a game and playing it very well regardless of distractions or setbacks. Also called "flow."
incremental
- A game mechanic where progress is made in small frequent discrete improvements.
- The steady increase of difficulty that occurs within a game.
indie
- Short for "independent." A form of video game development and publishing that is performed by a small group independent from a major video game company.
- When an entity cannot be damaged, but is still solid and may experience knock-back.
- A control scheme where the player can't directly affect entities in the game. Examples of indirect control include giving generic commands or modifying the terrain to redirect entities. This is contrasted with "direct control."
inertia movement
- A character movement mechanic which incorporates inertia requiring the a character at rest to accelerate to their top speed or decelerate back to a stop. This contrasts games where a character instantly, or near-instantly reaches their top speed.
input
- Anything that the a game accepts from outside its programming. This is almost exclusively decided by the player from their controls, but could also be additional information from sensors or other devices on a network.
- Storing commands the player sends to a game in a temporary holding area to be processed when the game next allows it. A typical application is jump buffering in platformers which accepts a new jump command as the character is falling so, even if the player presses the jump button slightly before their character lands, the game will still process the input, and make the character jump again.
input random
- Refers to randomness sent to the player entirely outside of their control. Which cards a player is dealt in poker is an example of input random. This is contrasted with output random.
insert
- Anything that is included in a video game's box other than the game media and manual. This includes things like posters, registration cards, and the like. Inserts are typically sub-divided into "game-specific inserts" and "publisher-specific inserts."
instakill
- When a character is killed regardless of their health. For example, from falling into water.
instalock
- Choosing a character or team in a multiplayer game where only one player may play as that character or team in order to prevent an opponent from using it. This is usually done either because a player desires that character or team, or, because they know the another player is particularly skilled at that character or team, and they don't want them to play as them.
- An 8-bit Intel CPU released in 1974 which was used in some very early home computers.
- An 8-bit Intel CPU which game rise to the x86 architecture. A variant, the 8088, was used in several popular IBM computers like the original model IBM PC and PCjr.
intellectual property
- Information owned by a company that is or may be subject to copyright law. Often shortened to IP.
intelligence
- A character or unit attribute which typically affects how many new ideas they can learn and how easily they learn them. In fantasy settings, this is often correlated with magic use.
Interactive Multiplayer
- A family of entertainment consoles developed to run 3DO software.
interlacing
- A display term which describes drawing only half a screen's lines per refresh frame using an interlacing pattern of skipping every other line. On one frame, all the odd lines will be updated, on the next frame, all the even lines will be updated, and then it repeats to the odd lines. This is contrasted with progressive which updates every line in every refresh. Most CRTs and early LCD screens used interlacing.
interquel
- A game whose story is set between two sections of a single existing game. Interquels are typically used to flesh out events that were skipped over in the previous work.
- When an entity cannot be damaged, and damages other entities when they collide.
- When an entity cannot be damaged, and doesn't damage other entities when they collide.
IPX
- Internetwork Packet Exchange, a network protocol used in early home computer multiplayer games.
IRL
- Short for "in real life." Used when talking to someone online and describing something unrelated to a game.
iron sights
- Aiming a gun using its physical alignment markers as opposed to a scope or laser targeting device.
isometric
- A form of third-person perspective where the player views the game from a raised vantage point, typically 45°, and at a diagonal angle, also typically 45°. Such games are usually technically "axonometric," meaning not all of the angles are viewed equally, but isometric has stuck.
J
jail bars
- Refers to the visible changes in brightness in vertical stripes seen in the display signal of Commodore 64 and 128 computers, an artifact of their VIC-II GPU.
jailbreak
- Circumventing the DRM on a device to allow it to perform at its full potential.
jiggle physics
- When parts of a character's body are given bouncy movement. Typically refers to the breasts of female characters, a form of fan service, but could also refer to hair, or other similar body parts.
- A controller modeled after the joystick of an airplane consisting of a moveable shaft attached to a base. Most joysticks allow for movement left and right and forward and back, while some also allow for rotational motion. Joysticks can be digital or analog. Joysticks are typically paired with buttons, triggers, throttles, and hat switches for additional input. Most early video game controllers were joysticks, but they were replaced by the gamepad in the mid 1980s. Joysticks made a partial come back with the advent of 3D gaming in the mid 1990s, though in the form of the much smaller analog stick. Full sized joysticks are now really only popular for vehicular combat games, especially flight simulators.
- See "input buffering."
jump scare
- In horror games, when something jumps out at the player to scare them.
K
K/D
- Short for "kill/death ratio."
kaizo
- A Japanese word meaning "modification" or "reconfiguration." Used to describe extremely complex and difficult custom maps for a game, especially Super Mario World, which require the player to know the quirks of the game engine a play with a high degree of precision in order to win.
keyboard
- Any peripheral which has a large number of keys or buttons, typically including keys for the 26 letters of the alphabet. Nearly all home computers rely heavily on a keyboard for input, but many video game consoles have optional keyboards. If the device has just number keys, it's typically referred to as a keypad.
keypad
- A peripheral which has a set of 0-9 number keys and often a few other symbols. Several consoles in the second generation of video games featured keypads on their controllers. Most games designed to run on cell phones prior to touch-screen smart phones expected keypad input.
keyword dialogue
- A dialogue system which uses keywords to continue topics of conversation. These words are stored in the game and, when entered by the player, issue the proper response. Some games keep the keywords secret and require the player to determine them on their own, other games will highlight keywords words or add them to a list of possible topics. Most of the games in the Ultima series made use of keyword dialogue systems.
kick
- See "boot."
kill quest
- A type of quest where the player is expected to kill a specified enemy.
kill/death ratio
- A statistic in competitive games of how many opponents a player killed to how many times they were killed themselves.
- Reaching a point in a game where the player is guaranteed to die, typically due to a bug.
- Killing an enemy just before another player was about to and thus getting the benefit of the kill without having to take part in most of the combat. Typically frowned upon in the games which allow it.
killer app
- A game that is so successful that it helps sell consoles.
king of the hill
- A form of versus multiplayer where players try to occupy a space in a map, often at the top of a hill, for the longest length of time.
kingmaker
- The person who makes the decision in a "kingmaker scenario." Also referred to as the "spoiler."
- When a player in competitive play, who cannot win, gets to decide who among the remaining players will win. Kingmaker scenarios are typically undesirable as they allow an inferior player to decide the outcome, so they are not usually purposely implemented in games. They are typically the result of a poor use of game mechanics and rules.
kiosk mode
- A special mode used by some video game platforms when they are expected to run unattended for demonstration purposes. In kiosk mode, the user is allowed to use certain features, but they are locked out of any functions which might modify the system. There is usually a password which can be entered to exit kiosk mode.
kiting
- Remaining distant from an enemy so they can't hurt you while attacking them with a ranged weapon. Often used to defeat an enemy that is too powerful to defeat in melee combat. The term is derived from the act of flying a kite.
- Describes how a character is uncontrollably pushed when they are hit or injured. Knock-back is employed by game designers for multiple reasons. It may be used to punish the player for taking a hit, that is, to potentially knock them off a platform or into another hazard, but it is also a helpful way to push a character outside of the enemies collision box. Knock-back can be exploited for a damage boost.
known good dump
- A copy of a ROM that is known to be accurate.
- A button sequence consisting of ↑, ↑, ↓, ↓, ←, →, ←, →, B, A. It was created by the company Konami initially to award the player extra lives, and was used in several popular games made by the company. Because of this, other developers began implementing as well, and it has now been included in dozens of games and game-related projects.
L
lag
- A slowdown in a game. This may be caused by the hardware failing to render the game at full speed or a network connection failing to transfer data fast enough for smooth game play. A player who connects to a multi-player game with a slow connection may also cause lag for the rest of the players.
lap
- A complete circuit of a closed track. Races on such tracks usually require multiple laps. Also used to describe getting an entire lap worth of distance ahead of an opponent, i.e., to "lap" an opponent.
Laserdisc
- An early optical disc storage media used in arcade cabinets.
last hit
- A mechanic where the person to score the final blow on an enemy receives a reward. In multiplayer games, a last hit system encourages "kill stealing."
last man standing
- A "deathmatch" mode where the victor is the player who is the last to remain alive.
launch
- The stage in game development when a game can be bought. Any bugs found after this point must be patched in post-production.
launch title
- A game the is available to be purchased the same day a platform is released.
lawnmowing
- The systematic navigation of a game map which ensures the player visits every tile to ensure they don't miss any secrets. Common in early RPGs, especially those with an auto map which make the process easier. The name is derived from the process of mowing a lawn in which you don't want to miss a spot.
LCD
- Short for "liquid-crystal display."
- Typically refers to video games which use a "static LCD" like a Game & Watch rather than those with an "active LCD" like the Game Boy.
- The speed at which a game requires players to assimilate and understand new concepts, so named as if it were plotted on a graph. A shallow curve gives the player ample time to figure out new concepts, while a steep curve requires the player to learn many new concepts in a short amount of time. Part of balancing a game means ensuring that most players will not become bored with a curve that is too shallow or overwhelmed with a curve that it too steep. Games often incorporate tutorials to make the initial learning curve less steep.
LED
- See "light-emitting diode."
legacy sequel
- A game which is set long after the previous game. For example, Ultima VII: The Black Gate is set 200 years after the conclusion of Ultima VI: The False Prophet.
let's play
- A recording of someone playing a video game, typically with commentary.
level (stat)
- A general measurement of a character's total power. Levels are often tied to the accumulation of experience points.
- A discrete section of a game world. Many different synonymous terms are used, often to fit with the theme of the game, such as stage, area, round, map, zone, section, scene, etc.
- The maximum level or advancement that a character can obtain.
level down
- The lowering of a character's level. This often occurs due to being touched by life-draning undead monsters, or curses.
level of detail
- Various methods for dynamically adjusting the level of detail in a game in order to maintain a desired frame rate on weak GPUs or take advantage of strong GPUs. This may include imposters and billboards to decrease load, or higher polygon count 3D meshes and 8x anti-aliasing to increase quality. Often abbreviated to "LOD."
level range
- Usually applied to quests, dungeons, or instances; the recommended level a character should be before getting involved.
- When a minimum level is required from a character before they can do or use something. Often applied to equipment and special abilities to prevent twinking.
level up
- The process of increasing a character's level. This usually includes incremental raises to various stats.
LFG
- Short for "looking for group." Used in a lobby by an individual who wants to join an existing group of players.
LFP
- Short for "looking for players." Used in a lobby to try to find additional players to an existing game or group.
- A video game which uses existing intellectual property, or the process of securing rights to do so.
life (attempt)
- An attempt at playing a game. Some games only give the player a single life, or one attempt to play the game, while others give the player multiple lives (see starting lives). A life is lost if the character dies in the game, and many games feature a way to increase lives as well (see extra life).
life (unit)
- A unit tied to a character's survival. In most games which use them, being hit by enemies or hazards decreases life units, while finding revitalizing objects increases life units. A character usually starts a game with a set number of life units, and, if they ever reach zero, the character dies. Life units are frequently represented by bar graphs or discrete graphics like rectangles, hearts, or similar shapes. Life units go by a variety of names like health, hit points, energy, and so forth.
light-emitting diode
- A semiconductor which produces light when a current is passed through it. Most video game consoles and computers feature one or more LEDs, usually to indicate when they're on or processing data. Later controllers used LEDs as well for a variety of reason like indicating when they're turned on, connected via wireless, or set in analog mode.
- A video game controller which simulates the function of a gun by using well-timed flashes of light to judge a hit from a miss.
- A game which employs a light gun as a controller.
life steal
- The act of stealing another entities life (health, hit points, etc.) to add to your own. Many games apply this ability to characters or monsters. In fantasy or horror settings, it's typically associated with the undead.
lighting
- A technical system which handles light sources and ambient lighting in the game.
limited edition
- A variant of a video game product which was produced in smaller numbers than usual. Limited editions are often also exclusives.
linear game play
- Games which must be played in strict adherence to a script or structure. The direct opposite of an open world game.
liquid-crystal display
- A display technology which uses liquid crystals. Early LCDs were monochromatic or used gray scale and typically utilized on handheld video games, but when display manufacturers began producing color flat screen televisions and monitors, they became a common display device for console and computer video games. LCDs are less likely to suffer burn-in than other display technologies, but they usually have a high refresh latency which makes it hard to synchronize with player input.
lo-fi
- Short for "low fidelity." Opposes "hi-fi" or "high fidelity."
- In some 8-bit home computers, the colorful flashing horizontal bars seen around the edges of the screen when a program is loading.
- A screen displayed to the player when the game is loading assets from storage into memory. Many loading screens have progress bars indicating how far along they are in the loading process.
localization
- The act of not only translating a game's dialog into a different language, but also refactoring the graphics, sound, and game play to better suit the cultural expectations in which it's being localized to.
localizer
- Someone who works to localize a game. Typically one who is skilled in two or more languages and cultures.
- A physical obstruction that prevents unlicensed access to video game hardware. Often used as a region lock.
- A microchip designed to prevent unlicensed access to video game hardware.
LOD
- See "level of detail."
- A recording of a player beating a game from beginning to end and including most of the game's content. Not to be confused with a "speedrun" or "let's play." While it is sometimes written as two words, "long play," most gamers write it as a single word.
loot box
- An in-game object which, when used, gives the player beneficial items or upgrades. Loot boxes are often expected to be purchased with real money making them a "pay-to-win" feature, and are consumed when used.
looter shooter
- A video game genre which combines shooters with the loot mechanics of RPGs. A popular example is Borderlands.
low fidelity
- A design ascetic which purposely leaves in imperfections. Based on the lo-fi music genre, but can be applied to sound effects, graphic art, or even just the look and feel of a game.
low poly
- An artistic ascetic where objects are constructed from far few polygons than is typical for the time. It is modeled after the 3D graphics in the mid-to-late 1990s when a high poly count wasn't possible. Similar in concept to using low resolution pixel art in a time when extremely high resolutions are possible.
low resolution
- The lower resolution of a GPU which supports multiple resolutions, used in opposition to "high resolution." The precise resolution is determined by the GPU. Games designed in low resolution are often viewed as inferior. The term was common with early home computers. Also written as lo-res.
ludeme
- An element of game play like a "rule" or "mechanic" as opposed to an instrument of game play like the pieces used in the game
ludology
- The study of games and how they are played.
ludonarrative
- The portion of the game's story that is described by how the player plays the game. Because each player plays a game differently, the ludonarrative is different each time a game is played. This is in contrast with the predetermined framing narrative created by the game's writers.
ludonarrative dissonance
- A variation of the term "cognitive dissonance." The disconnect players feel when the actions they take as part of the ludonarrative do not fit with the way their character is described by the framing narrative. For example, committing heinous acts of evil in a game where the player's character is supposed to be a virtuous hero, but the cut scenes still depict the character as good.
M
MacGuffin
- An object which serves as the driving force of a game's plot, but otherwise serves no real purpose. For example, the Amulet of Yendor. A The term was initially coined by Angus MacPhail to describe such objects in films, but has been expanded for all forms of narrative media.
- A portmanteau of "machine" and "cinema," describing movies made using video game engines.
- Refers to the line of computers created by Apple and the software which runs on those computers.
macro
- Setting a programmed series of events to be processed with the press of a button rather than having to do all of the events on your own. Some games have built-in macro systems. For games which don't have macro systems, it is often considered cheating to use them.
macro-dodging
- To avoid an enemy or projectile using a large evasive moves. Contrasted with "micro-dodging."
mage
- A character class which focuses on magic use. Also referred to as wizard, sorcerer, warlock, etc.
MAGFest
- Short for "Music and Gaming Festival," an annual conference held outside of Washington D.C. which celebrates video games and video game music.
magic school
- A grouping of magic by a common theme. Unlike a "magic system" which describes the mechanics of the magic, a school describes what the magic is used for. The two most common schools are "arcane magic" and "divine magic," but many others have been devised.
magic system
- The rules for how magic behaves and is used in a game world. Over the years, many different systems of magic have been thought up like "Vancian magic," "mana magic," and "reagent magic," and the like. Many magic systems are hybrids which combine elments from multiple systems.
- Sort for "Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator," a software emulator of a large variety of arcade games. Since 2015, it also integrated MESS.
main game
- The default game, not including any add-ons, downloadable content, expansions, mods, or the like.
main menu
- The primary menu in a video game, the one the game often starts into and lets you navigate to secondary menus.
main quest
- A game's primary quest, the one which complete's the game's story as opposed to a "side quest."
mainframe
- A term to describe very large, powerful, and expensive computers first produced in the 1950s and used by major corporations and government agencies. Despite their professional intent, many video games were first developed on them.
male
- In reference to a connector, the end with the bare metal protruding out of it which is inserted into the female end. Commonly referred to as a "plug."
mana
- Typically used as a unit of magical ability and synonymous with "magic points." Popualr in "mana magic" systems.
mana magic
- A magic system where spell casters have a numerical stat (often called "mana" or "magic points") which increases as they become more powerful. The spells they can cast have an associated cost, and, when cast, decrease this stat. The character can cast any combination of the spells they know provided they have enough points to afford the cost. The stat can be refreshed, usually by resting or sometimes by other means.
mandatory achievement
- An achievement which a player has no choice but to earn in the process of winning a game. For example, an achievement for finishing the first level of a game. This is contrasted with an "optional achievement."
- An API designed by AMD for rendering hardware-accelerated 3D vector graphics on a GPU.
- A booklet, often included with a video game, which gives useful information about the game. This typically includes fleshing-out the game's story, describing how the controls work, and so forth. Manuals were more popular when games had to be fit into very limited space and couldn't include all the necessary information for playing the game. These days, most games have their manuals built into the game making a printed manual unnecessary.
manual transmission
- In games which feature driving, a transmission where the player must shift gears as they accelerate and decelerate, as opposed to an automatic transmission.
map (item)
- An item in a game which allows the player to see their surrounding area.
map (level)
- See "level (map)."
map (technical)
- A discrete area of a game world stored together in the game's data. Usually, an entire map is loaded into memory and moving from one map to another incurs loading time. In 2D games, the player can typically scroll around a map, but there is a different segue when traveling into a new map (like a fade out). In 3D games, traveling from one map to another requires a bottleneck of some sort like an narrow tunnel, elevator, etc. Some games feature seamless maps which require the game to constantly load and unload chunks of the map as the player moves around them.
- On an arcade cabinet, it's the area facing the player above the monitor which typically includes the game's title. Marquees are frequently backlit to help advertise the game.
mask
- A secondary bitmap used to affect a primary bitmap, usually applied to create regions of transparency, clipping, or other visual effects.
MAU
- Short for "monthly active users."
max out
- To increase a variable to its highest possible level. Often a series of 9s or a power of 2. See "maximum high score."
- The highest score possible in a game. Computers can't hold infinitely large numbers, so all games which keep a score have to restrict them eventually. When this is coded for, the game will usually prevent the score from getting larger or roll back to zero. If it is not coded for, the game will eventually glitch.
- A genre of video game where the game play takes place in a maze.
- A sub-genre of the maze genre where the player must traverse all or most of the maze.
mechanic
- An element of play (ludeme) in a video game that shapes it rules and structure often boiled down to its most basic level. For examples lives, time limits, score keeping and the like.
mechanical keyboard
- A keyboard which uses mechanical switches in each key which offer good tactile feedback. Typically associated with higher-end computers.
melee
- Relating to close combat as opposed to ranged combat. Could refer to a unit without ranged attack, a type of weapon, a class of character which is particularly good at close combat, or fighting which is mostly devoid of ranged attack. Sometimes written in the original French, mêlée.
membrane keyboard
- A keyboard which uses a series of switches covered in a membrane sheet. Offers little to no tactile feedback and is associated with the cheapest quality computers.
memory
- Could refer to "RAM," "ROM," "memory card," or "battery backup."
- An small external device which can store information, usually save game data. Memory cards were frequently used on consoles which didn't have internal non-volatile memory or cartridges which could include battery backups like the PlayStation and Saturn.
Memory Management Controller
- A series of chips created by Nintendo to extend the power of the Nintendo Entertainment System. These chips were embedded in game cartridge's. Often abbreviated to MMC, followed by a number like MMC3.
- A town that exists solely as a series of menus instead of a map which can be navigated. Common in early RPGs like in the first few Wizardry games.
- Short for "Multi Emulator Super System." A software emulator of a large variety of computer and video game platforms. Merged into "MAME" in 2015.
- A game about gaming. For example, many players feel a sense of gameplay from the process of optimizing a strategy to become better at playing a game or simply the process of discussing a game.
Metal
- An API for rendering hardware-accelerated 3D vector graphics on Macintosh operating systems.
- A subset of the action-adventure video game genre, typically presented as a 2D platformer, which focuses heavily on non-linear exploration and frequent combat with minor importance. Often uses power-up based lock-and-key mechanisms.
micro-dodging
- To avoid an enemy or projectile using a very small evasive move. Contrasted with "macro-dodging."
micro-transaction
- A very small payment in a game or the business model of using such payments. Games which use micro-transactions are often free, and try to entice the player into spending a small amount of money many times throughout the process of playing.
- A term used in the 1970s to describes computers small enough to fit on a desktop, like the Apple II, TRS-80, and Commodore PET. Microcomputers sparked home video game design by including BASIC in nearly every unit sold. The term fell out of use in the 1980s since most of the people using them were unfamiliar with mainframes or minicomputers, so they just called them "computers."
- Short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a technology for electronic music. Includes technical specifications for connectors, data transmission, and file formats. Used in a large number of video games, video game platforms, and electric audio devices.
midquel
- A game whose story is meant to take place between two existing games as a sequel to one and a prequel to the other.
milestone
- A major step in the development of a video game.
milking
- Intentionally drawing out a level or fight in order to score as many points as possible from it. A common tactic in score attacks.
min-maxing
- Trying to take the most efficient path through a game by trying to minimize unfavorable outcomes while maximizing favorable outcomes. Often seen as taking the fun out of a game and turning it into homework.
mini-DIN connector
- A family of connectors based on the DIN connector, but smaller. mini-DINs popular in video games include the PS/2 and S-video.
mini RPG
- A game which satisfies all the necessary criteria for a role-playing game, but which can be completed quite quickly.
- An enemy that is more powerful than the generic enemies in a game, but not as powerful as a boss. Like a boss, they typically prevent progress until they're defeated, but defeating them usually doesn't complete a stage or unlock anything special.
- Describes computers from the 1960s and 1970s that were smaller, cheaper, and weaker than mainframes, like the PDP-8 and HP 2100. Minicomputers were usually used by large businesses and universities and students frequently wrote games on them in BASIC. They fell out of favor in the 1980s after microcomputers became popular. The term isn't used much anymore having been replaced with "sever."
- A smaller game within the main game. Minigames are frequently optional and give the player a special reward when they win.
minimap
- A small map of the local area that is usually left on-screen. It can often be expanded into a larger map.
mirror match
- In competitive games, when opposing players use the same character or team.
miss
- A generic term for failing to succeed at a task including dying or getting a game over.
mission (map)
- A discrete section of a game, see "level (map)," often part of a larger story called an "episode."
mission (objective)
- A major objective in game with a military or espionage theme.
- Short for "massively multi-player online."
- Short for "massively multi-player online role-playing game."
- Progress that applies to a game not just in the run you're plying, but to future run as well. Examples include, unlocking a new playable character or causing new items to spawn in procedurally generated dungeons.
MMC
- See "Memory Management Controller."
mob
- A mobile object in a game, usually one which will attack a player's character. The term is typically used in MMOs, elsewhere they're called monsters, enemies, etc.
- Short for "multiplayer online battle arena."
- A design philosophy seen most commonly in video games developed for mobile platforms rather than arcade, console, or computer platforms. Notable features of the mobile design paradigm are the ability to easily pickup and put down the game, interfaces built around touch screens, very simplistic game play. Early mobile games were designed to be similar to console games, just shorter, but, as the design paradigm matured, and battery and touchscreen technology increased, the paradigm came into its own.
mobile game
- A game developed for a mobile platform, or, one which uses the mobile design paradigm.
mod (modification)
- Short for "modification." A modification for a game, or the modified game itself.
- Short for "module," a format of music, or variation of the format, which modulates samples to create music. Also, a song using a module format. Mods are typically created with a tracker. Many video games, especially those out of Europe, use mod music. Although it is rarely described as such, the bulk of SNES games use audio formats similar in style to mod.
mode
- A style or form of game play. Popular modes include story mode, versus mode, and puzzle mode.
- A form of hardware scaling incorporated into the GPU of the SNES and used in games like Super Mario Kart. The SNES has 8 display modes, but the others are standard fixed 2D modes, only mode 7 has hardware scaling and it was hyped a lot in the platform's advertising.
mode 13h
- A graphical display mode used by VGA with a screen resolution of 320×200 pixels in a linear block of memory with 256 color indexes from a 6-bit RGB palette system. This was the most common graphical mode used by games which supported VGA graphics.
mode X
- A graphical display mode used by VGA with a screen resolution of 320×240 pixels using planar memory with 256 color indexes from a 6-bit RGB palette system. This was a less-common and undocumented graphical mode, but made popular because it increased the screen size beyond what VGA was designed to do and allowed for square pixels. Other less common modes included mode Y and mode Q.
modem
- Short for modulate demodulate, a device for converting an analog signal into digital information and vice versa. Used for remote communication between two platforms in order to play multiplayer games. The first modems converted digital information to sound to transfer over voice phone lines. Later modems were designed to use cable line and DSL line which are dedicated digital lines.
module
- See "expansion."
monitor
- A display device. Typically used on computers, although video game consoles may be connected to them because they offer a clearer display than most televisions.
- Refers to displays which consist of only one color. Common monochrome displays were white, green, or amber. Sometimes called "1-bit color." Because grayscale television and photography was often referred to as "black and white," the term "monochrome" is often incorrectly used interchangeably with grayscale.
monthly active users
- The average number of people who play a video game per month. A useful metric to know how popular a game is. See also "daily active users" and "weekly active users."
- A puzzle with a solution so obscure, even when you know the solution, it still doesn't make sense.
- A time when the media and public becomes hysteric believing a video game will bring about the collapse of society. Past moral panics in the USA occurred with pinball machines, Death Race, Dungeons & Dragons, Doom, Grand Theft Auto III. In reality, the US public has always loved violence, gambling, and sorcery, but it has to be in forms we've normalized into our culture.
- A program that monitors player decisions and judges their moral behavior. The results are typically hidden from the player and used to adjust future events in the game.
- A CPU developed by MOS Technology which was used in a large number of video game consoles and home computers.
Motorola 6800
- A low-cost 8-bit CPU designed by Motorola which was used in a number of home computers and served as a base for the hugely successful Motorola 68000.
Motorola 68000
- A very popular 16-bit CPU designed by Motorola which was used in a large number of video game consoles and home computers.
mouse
- A motion-tracking controller originally created for computers, but made for some video game consoles as well.
MP
- Short for "magic points" or "mana points."
- When multiple balls are simultaneously in play in a pinball machine.
- A game which uses two or more distinct genres at different times throughout the game. Similar to a hybrid genre, but the genres are kept separate and not merged.
multi-kill
- A special type of "combo" awarded when the player is able to kill multiple opponents in rapid succession.
- A game which allows two or more players to play. Multi-player games can be subdivided into cooperative and versus.
multiplayer online battle arena
- Often abbreviated to MOBA. A video game genre where multiple players fight in a combat arena over a network. Often employs elements of real-time strategy and real-time tactics. One of the most popular esports genres.
multiple endings
- A game which has more than one ending. This may include bad endings, good endings, and a true ending.
musician
- A game developer who creates music for the game, including ambient music, leitmotifs, the score, etc.
N
- A software distribution model where a game is released for free, but the player is frequently nagged for donations.
narrative
- The story being told by the game. This can be broken down into the framing narrative which is created by the game's writers and the ludonarrative which is created by the player as they play the game.
narrative genre
- A video game genre based on the narrative. These typically follow literary and film genres like action, adventure, drama, and horror.
- Occurs when a player makes it though all of the game's unique content and it loops back around to a previous section. For example, after finishing stage four in Tiger-Heli, the game loops back to stage two. This was a common practice in early video games which didn't have enough memory to create a lot of unique content. Some older games required the player to beat the game through multiple loops in order to see the "good ending." Not to be confused with a "game loop" or "program loop."
nature magic
- A school of magic based on nature and used by classes like druids and rangers. Spells tend to focus on plants, animals, the weather, and other primordial elements.
Nerf
- To weaken something, usually through a software update, in an attempt to balance a game. The term is named after the company which produces soft foam toys for children.
- Replaying a game from the beginning, but keeping all or most of the abilities you gained from the previous play-through.
newbie
- Some who is new to a game or gaming culture. Also written as newb, noobie, noob, n00b, etc.
- The Japanese video game company, also a reference to any of their video game platforms, especially the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Nintendo-hard
- An adjective meaning extremely difficult to win. So named because 8-bit Nintendo games were often especially difficult.
no clipping
- The ability for a player to move their character through solid objects like walls. The term comes from early 3D games where a player's movement would be "clipped" inside the interior region of a wall. No clipping is typically a form of cheating, however, some games incorporate limited no clipping as a power up.
no deaths
- Winning a game without dying or otherwise losing a life. A more challenging way to play a game, especially when combined with no warps or all levels.
no hits
- Winning a game without taking a single hit. A much more challenging way to play a game, especially when combined with no warps or all levels.
No Intro
- A video game preservation community whose goal is to preserve games media exactly as it was originally distributed, without any hacks, trainers, or crack loaders.
no-scope
- Hitting a distant target without using a scope, see also "quickscope."
no miss
- A Japanese way of describing "no deaths."
no warps
- Winning a game without using warps to bypass any levels as a more challenging way to play a game. Not necessarily the same as "all levels."
non-canon
- Anything related to a game that the creators view as being unofficial. Games made by unlicensed developers, works made by fans, etc. are almost always viewed as non-canon. Sometimes a game's creators may decide that older games or unpopular games are no longer canon rather than try to retcon them.
non-playable character
- A character in a game that the player may not directly control. Contrasted with a playable character.
non-zero-sum game
- A classification of games in which one player's benefit is not equal to the other players' detriment, named in contrast to a "zero-sum game." In a non-zero-sum game, there may be a net positive result: one player's gain is more than what the other players lose, or a net negative result: one player's gain is less than what the other players lose.
normalized diagonals
- When moving an object in a game that uses a 2-D grid, having it used about 70% of its normal speed when moving diagonal to prevent the object from moving faster than normal.
normals
- Describes normal actions as opposed to special actions. For example, in a fighting game, if a player defeats the opponent without using any special moves, they won using only "normals."
not-so-RNG
- A random number generator which has rules to prevent it from always acting randomly. For example, it may be designed to prevent too many bad results in a row in order to prevent the player from getting frustrated. Similarly, a poorly-written randomizer which doesn't yield fair results.
NPC
- See non-playable character.
NTSC
- Short for National Television System Committee, one of three popular color encoding systems for analog television (along with PAL and SECAM). NTSC is used primarily by the USA, and Japan.
nudging
- Helping a player move their character through an opening by pushing the character toward the opening. This makes it so the player doesn't have to line up their character perfectly, just close enough. This is typically use with top-down perspective games, but is sometimes used in platformers to help a character jump up into a narrow opening.
null modem
- Communication between two computers directly through a cable. The term stems from remote communication which normally uses a modem for each device, but a null modem setup bypasses both modems by connecting the devices together directly using a modified connector. Many early multiplayer computer games supported null modem communication.
O
obsolete
- Hardware or software that is so old it is no longer useful. Hardware is usually viewed as obsolete when the latest software or games can't run on it anymore, or when the latest hardware no longer interfaces with it. Software is usually considered obsolete when the latest hardware no longer supports it, or, when other software is released with significantly better features.
occluder
- An opaque object that cannot be seen through. When optimizing the rendering process of a 3D scene, it is important to know which objects occlude others.
OCR
- Short for "optical character recognition."
okizeme
- When a player puts additional pressue on an opponent when they're still recovering from a previous attack. Most popular in fighting games when a player continues to attack a downed opponent. The word is derived from the Japanese words okiru (meaning wake up) and semeru (meaning attack), with the s pronounced as a z, thus the spelling.
OLED
- Short for "organic light-emitting diode display."
one more game
- Similar to "one more turn," a term used when players justify playing a game longer than they should by saying they will only play one more game, then quit, although, they frequently still play another game after that. Common with games where each session is pretty short like like versus arena games or rogue-likes. Often an early sign of video game addiction.
one more turn
- A term used by players when they continue playing after they know they should stop. They justify continuing by telling themselves they will play just "one more turn," but they often keep saying it over and over again. Often an early sign of video game addiction. Popularized by Civilization.
one-time activation
- A mechanism to prevent video game owners from selling their game to other people by tying their ownership of a game to a single account and not letting it be transferred.
OOM
- Short for "out of magic" or "out of mana."
OP
- Short for "overpowered."
open beta
- A very late stage of video game development where the game is effectively complete and even internal bug testing from the "beat" stage has wrapped up. At this point, designers turn the game loose on players in the hope that they will find any remaining rare bugs which went unnoticed by in-house testers. Not all development studios use an open beta, as the complaints and reports of from people unskilled in testing aren't very helpful. If a studio does use and open beta, it is usually the last stage of development before a is shipped to distributers and is said to have "gone gold."
open source
- Video games that are released along with their source code.
open system
- Games where additional resources can be created, often through the defeating of enemies or in-game farming. Open systems insure that the player, no matter how many mistakes they may make, will always be able to have the resources needed to finish the game. Constrasted with a "closed system."
open world
- A game where the player has essentially free reign to move around the map where ever they like and may reach objectives unconstrained. This is in direct opposition to a linear game.
- Short for "Open Graphics Library," a cross-platform API for rendering hardware-accelerated vector graphics on a GPU.
opponent
- In versus games, the player you're trying to win against.
optical character recognition
- A process that converts a visual representation of text into digital text. Used in some games to convert hand written input into machine-usable information.
option
- In shoot 'em ups, refers to small objects which remain close to the player's character. When the player shoots, the options also shoot giving the player additional firepower. In some games, they also provide defense by blocking enemy bullets.
optional achievement
- An achievement which a player doesn't have to earn in the process of winning a game, but may go out of their way to do so. For example, an achievement for finishing a secret level. This is contrasted with a "mandatory achievement."
- A game which allows the player to use permadeath rules if they desire.
orchestral
- A variant of video game music performed with orchestral instruments instead of low quality synthesizers.
organic light-emitting diode display
- A type of flat screen television which uses OLED technology. Although they produce a better contract ratio than other technologies, OLED televisions can suffer from burn-in when playing video games.
original release
- How a game was initially released to the public. Many games, especially older popular games, have been re-released numerous times across multiple platforms and are different with each release. Others have many upgrades or patches which change the game play.
out of bounds
- When the player is able to move their character into an area of the game the designers didn't intend for them to be. When this occurs accidentally, it is the result of a "glitch" or "design oversight." When it occurs on purpose, it is the result of an "exploit" or "cheat."
output random
- Refers to randomness based on a player's decisions. A player may choose to have their character attack a foe, and whether they hit and how much damage they do is the output random. This is contrasted with "input random."
over-the-shoulder
- A perspective where the player views the game world over the shoulder of their character; a form of third-person perspective.
overclock
- Setting a processor to run at a higher clock speed than the safe range indicated by the manufacturer. Overclocking a CPU or GPU will increase performance, but, without an elaborate cooling system, likely decrease the life of the chip.
over world
- A region that is on top of the ground, as opposed to an underworld or sky world. Also referred to as "above ground" or "surface."
overlay
- A sheet, usually of plastic, cardboard, or paper, designed to be laid over a controller, keyboard, or screen, to give the player useful information or add to the verisimilitude of the game.
overpowered
- Something in a game that is too powerful and causes the game to be unbalanced. Overpowered things tend to be Nerfed through software patches.
P
- A challenge where the player must beat a game by killing or damaging as few enemies as is technically possible, usually only bosses or scripted enemies.
- A video game that comes bundled with a video game platform as an incentive to buy it.
- A controller, usually taking the form of a rotational dial, used to manipulate a character in a video game. Common for video games in the ball and paddle genre.
- Short for "Phase Alternating Line," one of three popular color encoding systems for analog television (along with NTSC and SECAM). PAL is used primarily by the UK, the nations they colonized, and most of Europe except France.
palette
- The limited number of colors that can be used by an artist to make their graphics. Early games had very limited palettes.
palette shifting
- See "color cycling."
- A graphic which uses the same pixel layout as another, but has different colors. It was common in early video games to use palette swaps because the hardware didn't have enough memory to fit unique art, but, by changing the colors, the graphic could look different enough.
paper doll
- A graphical representation of a player's character wearing the clothes and holding the equipment their character should be holding. Often used in games where the player's character isn't normally viewed in great detail. This was common in iconographic RPGs like the Ultima series. So named because they were often depicted in 2D which made them look like the old children's toy.
- A genre of game meant to mock or spoof on an existing established genre in the same way a parody film mocks existing films.
- When multiple sections of the screen are scrolled at different rates in order to give the impression of distance. Frequently used in horizontal scrolling games. The technology to perform this feature is also used in the wavy effect.
parallel
- A game whose story takes place concurrently with a previous game. Also called a "paraquel" or "sidequel." For example, Half-Life: Blueshift takes place during the events of Half-Life, but through the eyes of another character.
particle
- A graphical effect, usually small in size, which is spawned by a particle emitter and managed by the particle engine. Particles are used to handle explosions, debris, weather, smoke, stars, and the like.
particle emitter
- The part of a particle engine which spawns new particles.
particle engine
- A software library which maintains a system of particles, often including creating them, processing the physics of their movement, drawing them to the screen, and eliminating them when they're no longer needed.
party
- A team of characters in a game. The term is typically used in role-playing games or adventure games with a fantasy setting.
- A puzzle which can be solved passively. That is, the game doesn't enforce short time limits, and the rules and pieces of the puzzle usually don't change unless the player alters them. Contrasted with an "active puzzle."
- A series of letters, numbers, or other symbols which encode information about the state of a game and allow a player to return to that game state in their next game session. Passwords are utilized when saving isn't feasible.
- A bug fix, balance fix, quality of life improvement, or similar upgrade. Usually distributed as a file or collection of files which replace the unpatched files.
patched
- A game which has had a patch permanently applied to it.
- A set of computer algorithms for finding the shortest route from a starting point to a destination (or series of destinations). A popular pathfinding algorithm is A*.
Paula
- The APU of the Amiga home computer series.
PAX
- An annual exposition specifically for gaming, both video and conventional, put on by the creators of Penny Arcade. Originally stood for "Penny Arcade Expo."
- A derogatory term for games which feature benefits that can be purchased with genuine currency. This tends to hurt game balance for those players who don't buy the benefits. The term is a play-on-words of "play-to-win."
PC (computer)
- See "personal computer."
PC (character)
- See "player character."
- A simple speaker attached to computers which typically played very primitive audio.
- Stands for "Programmed Data Processor." A line of minicomputers developed by Digital Equipment Corporation through the 1960s and 1970s including models like the PDP-1, PDP-8, and PDP-12. Many early video games were developed on this line of computers.
PEGI
- Short for "Pan-European Game Information," a video game content rating system used by the majority of the European Union.
perception
- A character or unit attribute which typically affects how well they notice things and how easily they're surprised.
- When the player performs at the optimal level. Depending on the game, this may refer to a single action, a series of actions, or an entire segment of a game. Some games have built-in bonuses for when a player plays perfectly.
- External hardware add-on devices like controllers, keyboards, cameras, printers, etc.
permaban
- Short for "permanent ban." When someone is banned from an online group and will never be invited back.
- When a character dies, they are permanently dead, and the player must begin again with a new character.
persistent world
- A game which continues to function regardless of whether anyone is playing it or not. Persistent worlds are usually run on a server and players connect to the server to play.
personal computer
- Prior to 1981, the term refered to all computers small enough and cheap enough to be owned by the average individual. In 1981, IBM named their first home computer the "Personal Computer," so the term became associated with IBM and compatibles. After the release of Windows 1995, the term almost exclusively referred to any computer running the Windows operating system.
Phong shading
- A light shading algorithm which interpolates points on a 3D shape to add smoothing, highlights, and shadows. Superior to Gouraund shading, but much more processor intensive.
phasing
- Modifications of the game world for a specific character based on the progress of that character. For example, a game may have a mission to prevent intruders from attacking a building. If the character successfully completes the quest, returning to the building later may show it being repaired by grateful owners, but, if the character were to fail, returning to the building may show it razed to the ground. However, only the character involved in the mission will see it this way, if a different character approaches, they will see the attack in progress and start the mission for themselves.
pickup
- A common item which the player may pickup, typically to award them more points, or perhaps a small bonus if they collect enough, but not a power-up. This includes the coins in Super Mario Bros., medals in Raiden, . They are also referred to as "collectibles."
ping
- The time it takes to send information from one computer on a network to another. If the ping becomes too long, the player will experience lag, and may be booted to prevent problems with the rest of the players.
piracy
- The process of sharing commercial copies of a game without paying for them.
pirate
- A person or organization which makes copies of games illegally.
- Short for picture element. The smallest unit of a picture that can be shown on a display device. A graphic is made up of many pixels.
- See, "hunt the pixel."
pixel perfect
- The display of a video game image which is exactly as the game renders it; without scaling, compression artifacts, color correction, etc.
- A condition in a game where the designer purposely ends the game even if the player hasn't died, run out of time, etc. A planned game over is typically used to prevent the player from overflowing memory and encountering a kill screen.
planning
- An early stage in game development. The team figures out what type of game they want to make, what their budget will be, and on which platforms they intend to release. This occurs before any programming or art is made.
plasma display
- A type of flat screen television which uses a plasma technology. Plasma televisions are notorious for suffering from burn-in when playing video games for prolonged periods of time.
platform (system)
- Anything capable of playing video games including hardware or software. The Genesis, Commodore 64, Windows, and Linux are all examples of platforms.
platform (map)
- A part of a map in a gravity-bound game world that objects collide with and may walk on.
- A genre of video game which combines a platformer and a shooter, and typically features a scrolling background. Commonly referred to a run-and-gun.
- A genre of video game where the player controls a character who is gravity bound to platforms across the map. The character can frequently climb ladders or jump to reach other platforms.
- Abbreviation for "Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations." An educational computer system developed through the 1960 and 1970s at the University of Illinois. Many early video games were developed for this system, especially Western RPGs and real time tactics.
play test
- The act of trying out a game to see if it works, the rules are clear, and it's enjoyable. Usually occurs in the prototype stage before alpha or beta testing. One who participates in a play test is a play tester.
playable character
- A character in a game that the player may directly control. Contrasted with a non-playable character.
player
- The person playing the game. In many games, a player controls an on-screen character or object.
player character
- The primary character controlled by the player, as opposed to a "non-playable character." In a game where the player can control multiple characters, they are all "playable characters."
- A cooperatively multiplayer mode where several players try to stay alive in a hostile environment, often by fight AI-controlled opponents. Frequently abbreviated to "PVE."
- Frequently abbreviated to PVP. A multiplayer mode where players are allowed to, or are expected to, fight other human-controlled opponents.
playing alone together
- The phenomena where players (particularly introverts) seek out multiplayer games over single player games. While they still prefer not to interact with other players, they like the fact that there are other players in the same game world.
- Any of the several home video game consoles produced by Sony bearing the name PlayStation: PlayStation, PlayStation 2, etc.
plunger
- In a pinball machine, it's the shaft attached to a spring that must be pulled back and released to set a ball in motion up the shooting lane an into the play field. Typically positioned to the far right on the front of the table.
- A computer small enough to fit into a person's pocket, first manufactured in the 1980s. Early pocket computers came with BASIC which could write and run simple video games, but today's pocket computers are often designed specifically for playing video games.
poggers
- A term of excitement or joy which originated on Twitch.
point-blanking
- Purposely getting extremely close to an enemy in order to damage them faster than you would by remaining at a safe distance. While this lets the player kill them sooner to prevent being overwhelmed by other enemies, it also results in less time to react against their attacks, thus making it more dangerous in the short term.
- Refers to a place in a game (typically adventure or RPG) where the player cannot return to previous areas or those areas are irrevocably altered.
poison
- A common status ailment which typically reduces a character's health at an incremental rate.
POKEY
- See "Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit."
polling
- The process of checking the status of a external device, like a game pad or mouse, to get its current values. Polling is usually performed at regular intervals several times a second in a game's program.
poly
- Short for "polygon."
poly count
- A measurement of the number of polygons used to render a 3D object. Also a count of the total number of polygons being rendered on screen in a given frame.
polygon
- A reference to the shapes used in 3D rendering which uses various polygons. In modern 3D rendering, the shape is almost exclusively triangles, but early 3D rendering often used trapezoids.
popcorn
- In shoot 'em ups, refers to common enemies that are easily defeated and pose little threat. See also, "grunt" and "cannon fodder."
port (game)
- A version of a video game modified to run on hardware different from what the original game was designed for. In the early days of video games when the hardware for each platform was significantly different, every game had to be completely rewritten to make a port (a process sometimes referred to as a "conversion."). Because modern video game hardware is so similar across platforms, its much easier to use nearly identical source code and use a cross-platform compiler to build it on multiple platforms (called a "source port.").
port (network)
- A further segmentation of a network address. Up to 65,536 different ports can exist at a single address and they help designate which traffic is meant to go to which program or device. Some older networked games ran on a specific port (the game Doom famously used port 666), but most modern networked games let the player choose a custom port.
port forwarding
- A process of translating a network address to redirect communication from one address and port number combination to another. Most computers which use routers will have to setup port forwarding if they want to act as a server. The router must be configured to translate the network traffic from a specific port to a different IP address.
porter
- The group or individual who modifies a game to work on hardware different from what the game was originally designed to play on.
post-production
- A stage in game development after the game has been launched when patches for bug fixes are released and any further content like add-ons are released.
postmortem
- A talk where a game developer describes the development process of a popular game after it ceased being popular.
Pot Keyboard Integrated Circuit
- A custom chip for the Atari 8-bit and Atari 5200 which doubled as a "programmable sound generator" and input processor.
POV
- Short for "point of view." Used by players to refer to what they're able to see from their character's location.
POV hat switch
- A directional switch, typically at the top of a joystick, usually used to control the player's point of view. It's called a hat because it is similar in shape to a conical Asian hat.
- An item or power-up found in many games. It typically affects the enemies on the screen or gives the player's character a special attack.
- An electrical circuit which converts the supplied electricity to whatever the device uses. For arcade machines and modern consoles and computers, these are usually built inside the device, but many older or compact devices use an external power supply which plugs into a wall socket.
power creep
- An unbalancing of a game which occurs over multiple updates. Often expansions will allow a character to become more powerful by increasing their level cap or providing them with more powerful items, and this will disturb the balance of existing content.
power loss
- When a player's character suddenly becomes much weaker, typically due to making a mistake. For example, the player causes their character to die and loses all their power-ups. This situation is described by a reducing "skill–challenge relationship."
- An item in a game which grants a player or character abilities better than when they're in their default state. Power ups are often temporary either being eliminated after a number of uses, a length of time, or kept until the player dies.
power up syndrome
- See "power loss."
pre-alpha
- A stage in game development prior to "alpha." Pre-alpha describes a development stage where designers are still making decisions on the direction of the game, programmers are still developing the game, and temporary assets are being built and used. Pre-alpha is sometimes used synonymously with the "prototype" stage.
predicable artificial intelligence
- An AI which always performs the same moves when faced with the same game state, as opposed to an "unpredictable artificial intelligence." Predictable AIs have little to no randomization built into them, so, even if they calculate three moves that are equally good, they will always choose the same one. Because they behave in the same manner every time, they can be exploited by memorizing how they will react in a given state in order to force them to play moves.
prefix/suffix system
- A form of random item generation which applies a variety of prefixes and suffixes to items to give them additional abilities allowing for millions of combinations. Popularized in the Might & Magic series.
prequel
- A game that is developed after a previous game, but its story takes place before it. Prequels are usually created to expand upon concepts or events from the previous game that were not fully developed.
prestige class
- A class that is more difficult to obtain, often due to requiring very high stats, but is objectively more powerful than other classes. For example, a paladin over a fighter.
primary win conditions
- In a game with more than one way to win, this represents the most typical way to win, as opposed to "alternate win conditions." If a game only has one way to win, its win conditions are, by default, the primary win conditions.
prime requisite
- The most important stat for a character class. For example, a fighter's prime requisite is strength, a mage's prime requisite is intelligence, etc.
- An action taken by a player which demonstrates expertise in a game. Also used satirically when a player makes a big mistake.
pro tip
- Also "protip," a game play hint published in early video game magazines, especially GamePro. Also used satirically to describe doing something in a game that's very obvious.
- The generation of something according to a set of rules with some randomness involved. Gives much better results than purely random generation.
producer
- Someone who handles the business side of game development. They typically deal with accounting and budgeting, hiring and firing employees, and ensuring that everything that needs to be done gets done.
product manager
- In video game development, it is their job to ensure the game is being built according to specification. Often employed by the publisher.
production
- A stage in game development where the team begins actively developing the game. Programmers write code, writers finalize their stories, artists create graphics, musicians write music, etc.
professional gaming
- The industry around professional gamers.
professional gamer
- Someone who makes a sustainable income playing video games. Money can be made by streaming themselves playing, or by competing in esports tournaments. Contrasted with a "casual gamer."
profiler
- A development tool which measures how resources are assigned and utilized while a game runs. They are used by programmers to find and correct flaws like slow down and memory leaks.
projection type
- How graphics are projected from the camera. Perspective projection means objects will appear smaller the further they are from the camera, while orthographic means they stay the same size regardless of distance. Typically, 2D games, or 3D games made in a 2D style use orthographic, while 3D games use perspective.
- A loop of code which occurs within the software of a game and usually consists of taking in player input, processing the game state, and updating the screen. Video games are programmed with many program loops including the main loop and a variety of sub-loops. Not to be confused with a "game loop" or "narrative loop."
- An early audio chip seen in most 8-bit video game systems.
programmer
- A game developer who writes the game's source code. They translate what the designer wants into code the computer can process.
progressive
- Describes video displays where every line is updated every refresh frame as opposed to using interlacing.
projectile
- Any object that flies through the game world. It will typically damage whatever it hits.
proof of concept
- A working prototype game developers use to show that a specific idea is possible.
protected mode
- A memory addressing mode use by Intel's x86 CPUs and first introduced on the 80286 and expanded on the 80386. Protected mode supports segmentation, virtual memory, paging, and safe multi-tasking. This not only allows access beyond the 1 MB barrier, but prevents programs from overwriting each others' memory space, a common problem in "real mode." Games written for DOS after the release of the 80286 typically use protected mode.
prototype
- An early stage of development when there is a working model of a game or piece of hardware, but it still uses temporary designs and assets. Prototypes are made to see if the product will be both functional and enjoyable. Also refers to a game that never left this stage. When a game is in this stage, writers create their scripts and storyboard the expected flow. Prototype is sometimes used synonymously with "pre-alpha" and exists during or after the idea stage, but before "alpha" development.
PS/2
- A connector port based on Mini-DIN primarily used by computers for a keyboard or mouse.
pseudorandom
- Something which appears random, but is actually determined. Most random number generators used by video games are pseudorandom and always give the exact same set of random numbers based on their seed value. However, the seed value is usually something very difficult to predict, like milliseconds since midnight, so the game always gives the appearance of random.
- See "programmable sound generator."
- Abbreviation for the PlayStation based on its original code name, "PSX."
- A game where the copyright holder has relinquished their ownership, or never sought copyright, and may therefore be used in anyway by anyone else.
publisher
- The company which sells a video game. Usually includes funding, promotion, and distribution, although these may each be handled by individual companies.
publisher-specific insert
- A game insert which is added by a game's publisher and may include a variety of generic things like registration cards and advertisements. This is contrasted with a "game-specific insert."
pulling
- Luring an opponent away from a safe area to one where they can be defeated more easily, often by exploiting enemy AI.
purist
- A gamer who prefers to play games in their original form with original hardware instead of remakes or in emulators.
- When the player purposely causes their character to take damage. Typically to put their character into an invulnerable state to bypass a difficult section.
puzzle (task)
- Any part of a game which requires logical thinking and memory to devise a plan to achieve a goal.
- A genre of video game based on solving puzzles.
- Short for "player versus environment."
- Short for "player versus player."
pwn
- To have dominance over an opponent. Initially came from the misspelling of "own," but later purposely misspelled. Pronounced "pōne."
Q
QA
- An abbreviation for "quality assurance."
- An abbreviation for "quick-time event."
quad buffering
- Two double buffers, one for each eye, used in virtual reality displays.
quality assurance
- The department where testers ensure a game is well-balanced, bug free, and everything works as expected.
quality of life improvement
- Describes a change to a game which has little affect on the game play or mechanics, but makes the game less annoying. Quality of life improvements are commonly made to the interface, menu system, or similar areas. For example, the original Final Fantasy would only let you buy a single item at a time at a shop which meant buying a dozen potions took a long time, but later remakes included a quality of life improvement where you could buy as many potions as you wanted in a single transaction. Often abbreviated to QOL. Not the same as "balance."
quarter muncher
- An arcade game which requires the player to frequently add more credits, usually because it is so difficult.
quest
- An objective in a story-based game. Often broken down into the "main quest" and "side quests." Side quests are often subdivided based on how they are achived, for example, a "fetch quest."
quest detour
- Putting a quest on hold to perform an unrelated task. Related to a "sidequest," but a player performs a quest detour in order to do something that isn't related to any of the quests they're currently on. For example, acquiring an item that will be needed later in the game, backtracking to pickup something you missed, or just restocking consumable items or selling superfluous equipment.
quick kill
- A term used for killing something, usually a boss, faster than what is normally possible. This is often done by exploiting a glitch.
quick load
- Loading a game without going through the normal loading process. Usually introduced to decrease the length of time it takes to load by not requiring the player to choose a save slot or confirm having not saved their current game. Most games which include a quick load feature also let the player quick save.
quick save
- Saving a game without going through the normal saving process. Usually introduced to decrease the length of time it takes to save by eliminating having to choose a save slot, naming the save game, or confirm overwriting an existing saved game. Most games which include a quick save feature also let the player quick load.
- A moment in a cut scene when a player is expected to give input within a limited length of time.
quickscope
- Shooting very quickly after scoping in and still hitting the target.
QWERTY
- The standard keyboard layout used on computer keyboards.
R
race (attribute)
- A common attribute employed in games with a fantasy or science fiction setting which identifies the biological type of person the character is. Common fantasy races include elf, dwarf, and gnome while sci-fi races tend to use a variety of aliens.
race (competition)
- A task which the player is trying to perform faster than their opponents or within a time limits. Races which occur on a closed track are often broken up into laps.
- A genre of video game where the player attempts to perform a task faster than their opponents or within a time limit. Common races include running and driving a motorized vehicle. Similar to the genre driving, but driving doesn't use competitive elements.
- A technical process where programmers, lacking a frame buffer, draw graphics to a CRT display as the electron gun is refreshing. This requires the programmer to time their program with extreme accuracy, otherwise the display will become corrupt.
radio frequency
- Refers to how early video game platforms connected to a television for output. These platforms typically had RF output and an RF channel selector to choose the output's channel.
ragdoll physics
- A physics model used to simulate a lifeless body in real-time in order to replace a pre-made death animations. These models simulate bones and joints so the body can move in a realistic manner. By using a physics model instead of a scripted animation, there is much more variation.
ragebait
- Tricking someone into doing something by making them angry enough to engage. Often used in video game advertising by showing a video of someone who is bad at a game in order to appeal to competitive gamers to prove how much better they are.
ragequit
- A player ending a game prematurely because the way the game is going is making them angry.
raid
- A group mission where players try to collectively accomplish a difficult task that would be too difficult for an individual, like defeating a super boss.
- A shooter where they character's movement is confined to a predetermined path, as though they were riding on a rail.
- See "random access memory."
- When something happens in an unpredictable manner. Typically the result of a random number generator. Random can be broken into to main types, "input random" and "output random."
- Memory that can read to and written from in a non-sequential manner.
random encounter
- An encounter which occurs randomly. Typically as combat against a monster.
- The generation of something according to random values. Typically gives poor results and procedural generation is preferred.
- An algorithm that generates pseudo-random numbers. Common algorithms for generating random numbers include linear-feedback shift registers, the Park-Miller generator, and the Mersenne Twister.
- The act of making things random. Traditional methods include shuffling, rolling dice, etc. A video game does this by numbering objects then applying a randomizing algorithm.
rank
- A score awarded to players based on their performance. The better a player does (usually by keeping a high kill/death ratio and hit/miss ratio), the better their rank will be.
ranged
- Refers to combat from a distance rather than melee combat. Can be used to describe a unit which has a ranged attack, a weapon that can damage enemies from afar, a class which excels in ranged combat, or combat consisting mostly of ranged attacks.
- A 2D graphic bitmap. Nearly every raster graphic is made up of pixels. This term is out of date as most modern display technologies no longer use raster scanning.
rasterization
- The process of converting vectors into pixels so they can be displayed on a raster screen.
- When the map only scrolls in a single direction and prevents movement in other directions, similar to how a ratchet can move forward, but not backward.
rate of attack
- How many attacks can be made over a period of time by a weapon, unit, character class, etc. Often measured in attacks per minute. When describing guns, it is usually called "rate of fire."
rate of fire
- See "rate of attack."
- A 3D rendering process where, for each pixel that needs to be rendered, a geometric ray is cast into a 3D scene to determine the color of where it eventually settles.
RCA connector
- Short for Radio Corporation of America which designed the connector. A single pin connector used for a variety of older forms of transmission like composite and component video and analog audio.
- Memory that can only be read from, not be written to.
reagent magic
- A system of magic where the casting of spells requires the consumption of an assortment of, typically rare and expensive, materials.
real mode
- A memory addressing mode use by Intel's x86 CPUs. In real mode, all memory addresses always correspond to the actual place in memory as the address. Real mode has a 20-bit segmented memory address space (1 MB of addressable memory) with unhindered direct access by software. This made it very easy for programs overwrite the memory space of other programs, or even the OS and drivers, so Intel created "protected mode." Most early PC video games use real mode.
real-time
- Describes games where entities are processed irrespective to the player's actions. That is, even if the player doesn't do anything, the game will continue. This is contrasted with turn-based games.
- A genre of video game where the player must devise a strategy and carry it out in real time. Similar to "real-time tactics," but more emphasis is placed on building and maintaining a base of operations. Contrasted with a "turn-based strategy."
- A genre of video game where the player must devise a strategy and carry it out in real time. Similar to "real-time strategy," but more emphasis is placed on giving units tactical orders rather than building an efficient base. Contrasted with a "turn-based strategy."
rear-projection television
- A television which uses a mirror to project a display onto a surface larger than that of a CRT and the first consumer-level televisions to exceed 40 inches in size. Early RPTVs would be damaged by burn-in if video games were played on them, but later models used improved technology to prevent burn-in.
reboot (hardware)
- The act of power-cycling hardware, or, as it is more commonly described, turning it off and back on again. Rebooting is typically done after system-level changes have been made to hardware or to fix a problem of unknown origin. See also, boot (process).
reboot (series)
- Occurs when an existing series is abandoned in order to be given a fresh start. Typically occurs when game series has become stale, or when so much time has passed since the last game was released, few remember it. A reboot differs from a remake or reimagining because it doesn't try to remake an existing game, but rather creates all new stories based on the originals.
recording engineer
- Someone who records audio. The goal of a recording engineer is to record audio at the highest quality possible with the equipment they have available, while also eliminating as much unwanted sound as possible. A recording engineer is different from a Foley artist whose goal is to come up with the process to make a desired sound.
red book
- Refers to the technical book which describes the standards for the compact disc audio format, the color of which is red. Also refers to CD-ROM games which have audio tracks in red book audio format, and can therefore be played in a standard CD player.
red ring of death
- A colloquial description for the circular shaped diagnostic LEDs around the power button of the Xbox 360. When there is a problem, one or more of these indicators lights up red. In particular, this phrase refers to three of the four indicators lighting up red which describes a "general hardware failure," often caused by a manufacturing flaw of the console which plagued owners and typically indicated the console was severely broken.
Redump
- A video game preservation community whose goal is to make accurate digital images of optical disc based video games in order to preserve them forever.
reference card
- A card with many game details printed on it. Often included in games which required the player to know a lot of information.
refresh
- The updating of something. Typically a value stored in memory or something on the screen (see "refresh rate").
refresh rate
- How frequently a display screen is completely redrawn. Refresh rate in typically measured in Hertz which indicates how many times a second the screen is redrawn, with a higher number being preferred as it results in smoother animation. A typical television or computer monitor will run at about 60 Hz, although the game may not refresh on every frame. 30 Hz is tolerable, as to go lower, the animation becomes more and more choppy.
- A device which prevents a game from working in a region in which it wasn't designed to work. For example, a game made for the European region may be region locked so that it will not run on a console made for the American region.
- A postcard or similar document included in pre-Internet games where the purchaser could mail their contact information to the game's publisher. While this would often be advertised as a way to get bug fixes for the game, it was usually used by the publisher to send further advertising.
reimagining
- When an existing game is remade, but the story, characters, and mechanics are changed significantly.
release
- Used to differentiate between different games with the same title. This is different from a "port" which is the same game altered to run on a different platform. For example, the animated film Aladdin was converted into three different video games across several platforms. The Genesis release is completely different from the other releases. The term "version" is also sometimes used.
remake
- When an existing game is remade using modern technology and techniques. Remakes may include higher quality graphics, music, voice acting, etc. and even a little retconning, but the story and game play are quite similar to the original work, unlike a reimagining or reboot. Closely related to a remaster.
remaster
- Recreating a game using modern technology, to use higher quality graphics and sound, while also including bug fixes and quality of life improvements, but staying very close to the original story and mechanics of the game, even more so than a remake.
Ren'Py
- A video game engine developed in Python to create visual novels.
render
- The process of converting game information like bitmapped graphics and vectors into a visual display for the player to see.
render distance
- How far in the distance the game will render objects. The further the render distance, the more realistic the game world will feel. When the render distance is short, players will see objects pop into existence which hurts immersion.
- A form of dynamic difficulty where a game replaces the weak enemies in an older area with more powerful enemies to keep pace with the player character's progression thereby maintaining a challenge.
res
- Short for "resurrect."
rescue mission
- A mission where the player must defeat an enemy that is attacking an entity before the enemies destroy it.
reset
- To restart an electronic device to return it to its initial state. May be in the forms of a "hard reset" or "soft reset." All electronic devices have a hard reset, but not all of them support a soft reset.
resource
- Anything that functions like a commodity, i.e.: it can be bought or sold. This can include all manner of things depending on the game, but common examples include timber, food, stone, oil, and the like.
- When a character is brought back to life after being dying. Respawning is typically paired with a punishment like a time delay, reduction in score or stats, or being sent back to a previous "respawn point."
- A place where something restarts after it dies. Often has overlapping functionality with a "spawn point."
rest
- A mechanic popular in RPGs where the party rests to regain lost stats like hit points, stamina, and magic.
resurrect
- To bring a dead character back to life. Resurrection is often differentiated on whether it can be done while still in combat or not.
retcon
- Short for "retroactive continuity." Refers to altering an existing story in order to make it compatible with differences created in a new story. This is typically done to change unpopular decisions or correct overlooked or unpredicted mistakes. For example, in the Ultima series, the heroes of the first three games are unique characters, but, in the fourth game, they're all retconned to be the same person, the hero of the fourth game.
retention
- A measure of how many people return to a game. A successful game will have a high level of retention.
retrobright
- Also written retr0bright, a process used to correct discoloration of old ABS plastic. It uses multiple chemicals and ultraviolet light to restore the plastic to it's original color.
rev
- Short for "revision."
revenge bullet
- In shooters, a final attack made by an enemy when it is killed.
reverse engineer
- A process where a finished product, like a game, console, or peripheral is taken apart to be fully understood so that it can be recreated or easily interfaced with. Reverse engineering is often performed to avoid licensing fees or maintain old hardware which is no longer supported by the manufacturer.
revision
- An updated release of a ROM-based game. An update to game stored as files on a disk is called an "patch," or "update." Also an update to something related to a game like a manual or the box. Companies like Nintendo would label revisions with the text "Rev" followed by a letter, number, or symbol.
rez
- Short for "resurrect."
RF
- Short for "radio frequency."
- A device which converts the signal of a video game platform to the radio frequency signal a television interprets. RF adapters take baseband input from the video game platform, convert it to a radio frequency the TV can interpret and sends the signal to the antenna input of a television. Most RF adapters were also switch boxes which had a connector for an antenna and could switch between game and antenna signals. Once televisions began including composite and component input, consoles stopped using RF adapters and connected directly to the those inputs, however, during the transition period, many platforms still had RF adapters for backward compatibility with older televisions.
RGB
- Short for "red green blue," the primary colors of light, and, the manipulation of which is how color is displayed on nearly all color displays.
RGB mode
- A color graphics mode used by the CGA card which offered crisp graphics, but a very limited color set. Contrasted with "composite mode" which had more colors, but fuzzier graphics.
- A genre of video game where they player is expected to perform an action in time with a song.
Ricoh 2A03
- The CPU used in the Nintendo Entertainment System which includes the system's custom APU. It is a derivative of the MOS 6502. NTSC regions use model number RP2A03, PAL regions have a different clock speed and use model number RP2A07.
Ricoh 2C33
- The CPU used in the Famicom Disk System which includes a custom wave table APU. Like the Ricoh 2A03, it is a derivative of the MOS 6502.
rig
- A heavily-customized computer.
rip (copy)
- A copy of the data on an optical disc, like a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, to a file. Ripping is a common practice when making a backup of a game stored on an optical disc. Similar to a "copy" or "dump."
rip (display)
- An aspect of a game's data that has been extracted from the game and is now stored in a usable format. For example, a graphics rip, sound rip, or text rip. A person who makes a rip is called a ripper.
- An economics term which describes how much someone is willing to risk for a particular reward. Commonly used in game design to determine how much a player is willing risk for a specific reward.
RJ45
- Short for registered jack 45, also seen as RJ45S for registered jack 45 standard. Used most popularly for Ethernet as the connectors for Cat 5 cable.
- See "random number generator."
- A portmanteau of "RNG" and "Jesus." See "gods of RNG."
- The use of an explosion to help catapult an entity further than they would otherwise be able to move. This will probably damage the entity, but the ability to move further than normal may be worth the damage. For example, a character is not able to jump far enough to span a chasm, so they fire a rocket so that it will explode very close to them, and jump just as it explodes. The added push from the explosion gives them more momentum and they span the chasm. This was made popular by first-person shooters, particularly Quake, though it was certainly not the first game to use it. See also "damage boost."
- A genre of video game which is similar to Rogue with features like turn-based actions, procedurally generated maps, random items, permadeath, etc.
- A genre of video game which has similarities to Rogue, but has significant changes from the original formula. They may be real-time, eliminate permadeath, add meta-progression to make the game easier, etc. These changes are typically added to make the games less punishing, so Rogue-lites are typically easier than Rogue-likes.
- A video game genre which focuses on the development of characters in a fictional setting. Based on earlier pen-and-paper RPGs.
rolling
- Lightly pressing a button while quickly rolling your fingers along the back of a controller in order to press the button very rapidly. Often used by Tetris players when the game runs so fast using the built-in "automatic repeated input" is too slow.
- Short for "read only memory."
- An interchangeable card consisting of a circuit board with a thin ROM chip loaded with software, usually encased in plastic, which can be connected to a video game platform which will run the software. From the 1980s to 1990s, this method of distributing video games to home consoles was a less-common than ROM cartridges.
- An interchangeable cartridge consisting of a circuit board with a ROM chip loaded with software, usually encased in a plastic shell, which can be connected to a video game platform which will run the software. From the 1970s to 2000s, this was a primary method of distributing video games to consoles.
ROM dump
- A copy of the data within a ROM.
- See "role-playing game."
rotary joystick
- A joystick that can rotate, typically by being combined with a spinner. Used frequently by SNK in arcade games like Ikari Warriors, Guerilla War, and Time Soldiers.
rotoscoping
- The process of overlaying animation on real life video footage to generate realistic motion. First used in Katareka and later became a staple of cinematic platformers.
round
- See "level (map)."
RP2A03
- The NTSC version of the "Ricoh 2A03."
RP2A07
- The PAL version of the "Ricoh 2A03."
RP2C33
- See "Ricoh 2C33."
RS-232
- Short for "Recommended Standard 232," a serial communication data transmission protocol. Very popular in home computers prior to USB for devices like a mouse, modem, Ethernet, and many others. Usually used a DA-15 or DB-25 connector.
- See "real-time strategy."
rubber band AI
- A form of dynamic difficulty used in racing games where the trailing players are given additional bonuses to help them catch up, the leading players are prevented from doing better, or both. So named because it's as though the trailing player is attached to the leading player by a rubber band which keeps pulling them forward.
rule
- A regulation that players are expected to follow. Breaking the rules often results in a played being accused of "cheating" and may result in a "boot" or "ban."
- Rumors that exist around video games.
run (attempt)
- A single attempt at winning a game.
run (computing)
- To start a game or similar program.
- See "platform shooter."
- A genre of video game where the player controls a character that travels along an course. It's common to require the player to avoid obstacles and collect items.
S
S tier
- The highest rank in a tier list. Unlike the letter grades, S stands for shu, which is Japanese for excellent.
S-Video
- A type of mini-DIN connector used to transmit a video signal. S-Video typically uses resolutions of 480i or 576i. Although created in 1987, consoles didn't start adopting it until the mid-1990s and few consoles had dedicated S-Video jacks. It was superseded by component video and HDMI.
S3 Texture Compression
- A family of lossy compression formats used to compress textures and based on Color Cell Compression. While it doesn't compress nearly as much as formats like JPEG, it is much faster to decompress, and therefore works better on weaker hardware.
SAA1099
- A programmable sound generator created by Philips which has six pulse wave channels and two noise channels. Used in the SAM Coupé and the Creative Music System.
safe area
- A place in a game's world where the player's character can safely wait and not have to worry about being hurt or killed. These are added by the designers to give the player a brief respite in an otherwise hectic game and go by a variety of names like "neutral zones," "towns," and the like. A safe area that inadvertently appears in a normally dangerous area is called a "hiding spot."
- In digital audio, this is the number of audio samples per second. The higher the number of samples, the better quality of playback. Compact Discs use a sample rate of 44,100, while high-end audio hardware typically uses 48,000 which is the maximum the human ear can distinguish. Early audio hardware often ran at 8,000 or 11,025 samples per second, with mid-range equipment running at 22,050 samples per second. Audio engineers will sometimes work at higher sample rates so that less quality is loss during production due to rounding errors, then down-sample to 48,000 for the final recording.
- Applies to games which give the player enough freedom to be creative. So named because it makes the player feel like a kid in a sandbox.
save
- Saving the progress of a game so that the player may return to it later.
save point
- A designated place in a game where the player is allowed to save.
- When the player frequently saves their progress to the point where it interferes with game play.
scaling
- The process of resizing graphics to be smaller or larger than their original size. Some video game platforms feature "hardware scaling" which performs scaling faster than software-based scaling.
scan line
- A horizontal line displayed using a CRT, or the visual spacing between lines seen on a CRT, or the emulation of that visual spacing.
- See "Sierra Creative Interpreter."
- See "science fiction."
- A setting which uses tropes common to the science fiction genre (space ships, aliens, laser guns, etc.).
score attack
- A game mode where the player tries to get the highest score possible before running out of lives or time.
scout
- A class of character or type of unit which is well-suited for reconnaissance typically because it can move quickly and has long range vision. This is usually paired with weak defensive and offensive capabilities.
- A video game engine developed by Lucasfilm Games initially for their game Maniac Mansion, but was later used for a variety of titles.
- A virtual machine which simulates antiquated hardware initially designed to run games designed in the SCUMM engine, but later expanded to include hundreds of titles.
scripted death
- A character that dies according to the game's script. Because of this, there is nothing the player can do (short of exploiting the game) to keep them alive.
scripted encounter
- An encounter which is expected to happen in a particular time or place and in a particular way. Boss battles are usually scripted encounters.
scrolling
- Describes when something appears to visually move across the screen, typically the background of a scene.
- A genre of video game which takes a shooter and puts it in a scrolling background.
SCSI
- Short for Small Computer System Interface, a family of connectors and protocols for sending data.
SCUMM
- A video game engine developed by Lucasfilm Games for Maniac Mansion and used for their many subsequent graphic adventure games. Stands for "Story Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion."
SCUMMVM
- A virtual machine which serves as a hardware replacement making it possible to play over 400 computer games on modern computers. Named after the SCUMM engine.
SDK
- See "software development kit".
- Short for "Simple DirectMedia Layer," a collection of open source hardware drivers written in C which standardizes a way for programmers to access hardware.
sea unit
- A combat unit which is confined by water. Sea units are contrasted with air and ground units.
SECAM
- Short for Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire, one of three popular color encoding systems for analog television (along with PAL and NTSC). SECAM is used primarily by France, the nations France colonized, Russia, and several former members of the USSR.
Second generation
- Includes consoles from the late 1970s to early 1980s like the Atari 2600. Interchangeable games from ROM cartridges became dominate at this time.
second party
- A company which is contractually obligated to produce products for a video game platform's owner, often because they are an in-house developer or owned by the video game manufacturer. For example, Intelligent Systems, though technically its own company, makes games exclusively for Nintendo using Nintendo brands, and often shares staff with Nintendo.
section
- See "level (map)."
- The Japanese video game company, or a reference to any their video game platforms, especially the Genesis.
- Making a game harder than normal by playing with requirements that are not normally part of the game. For example, not being allowed to collect power-ups, playing all optional levels, etc.
senseless difficulty rise
- When a game's difficulty increases even though it has nothing to do with the narrative. For example, in the game Breakout, the player's paddle becomes smaller when they break a brick in the seventh row, and the ball moves faster over time for no particular reason. A senseless rise in difficulty is often viewed as poor game design.
sequel
- A game that continues the story of a previously-released game.
- When something causes the game's scripted encounters to occur out of order. If this occurs accidentally, it is triggered by a "glitch" or "deisgn oversight," if it occurs purposely, it is triggered by an "exploit" or "cheat."
series
- Several games that are related, often forming a coherent narrative.
serpentine
- Moving in a zigzag movement pattern in order to make your character harder to target.
server
- In online games, this refers to the computer which runs the game that players connect to as clients.
service door
- On an arcade cabinet, the front door, often the same as the coin door, which can be unlocked an opened to gain access to the service panel.
set dressing
- Interactive scenery which has no in-game use other than to increase verisimilitude. If the scenery isn't interactive at all, it is usually just referred to as the background.
shadow fight
- A common trope where the player must defeat a shadow version of their character, often as a boss battle. Sometimes called a dark, evil, or negative fight.
shadow mapping
- The process of casting shadows on 3D objects when lighting is present in a game.
- A software distribution model where a game is given away for free and players are encouraged to share it with their friends, but the publisher requests those who like it to become a registered owner by paying a fee.
shoot 'em up
- See "shooter."
shump
- Short for "shoot 'em up."
- Any genre of game where the player shoots at targets.
- A sub-genre of shooter where the player views a scene from behind the character they control and shoots at targets in the scene. Examples include Cabal and Wild Guns. Light gun games are often shooting galleries as well, though they are typically differentiated because the player's character doesn't fire moving bullets and the player doesn't have to maneuver a targeting reticle.
shooting lane
- In a pinball machine, it's the long track above the plunger which the ball must traverse before entering the play area.
shot limit
- The maximum number of projectiles a player is allowed to have on the screen at any given time. Initially existed as a hardware limitation in early games, but is still often incorporated in modern games to limit players.
shoulder bumper
- See "shoulder button."
shoulder button
- A button on the top sides of a controller. Sometimes referred to as a bumper due to their shape.
shoulder trigger
- A, usually analog, trigger on the top sides of a controller.
- A compilation of bad games published in the hope that the quantity over quality will justify the cost to potential buyers.
- A set of items that is shuffled with each new play-through and must be discerned through trial and error.
SID
- See "Sound Interface Device."
side-quest
- A smaller, often optional, quest within the main quest. Side-quests are a good way for a designer to adjust the pacing of a game and increase the amount of content within a game.
side-view
- A perspective where the player views the game world as though they're looking at it sideways from a distance; a form of third-person perspective.
- A video game engine developed by Sierra On-Line first used in King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella and used in all their subsequent graphic adventure games.
- A major video game company which primarily developed and published games for home computers from 1979-2008.
Silliwood
- A portmanteau of "Silicon Valley" and "Hollywood." Refers to companies which blended B-list actors and video games by adding a lot of full-motion video to game such as Night Trap. Many of these games were panned by critics and gamers alike.
sim (genre)
- See "simulation."
Sim (prefix)
- A common prefix used on simulation video games published by the company Maxis.
- A genre of video game which simulates a real world process. Common simulators are management simulators, flight simulators, and various vehicular combat simulators. Often shortened to "sim" due to the popularity of the Sim games produced by Maxis.
simultaneous
- Refers to the number of players that can play a game at the same time while sharing a screen. Early arcade games set the standard for a max of two simultaneous players, but four players wasn't that uncommon. Similar to "concurrency," but that typically refers to players connected to a network rather than sharing a screen.
single density
- Refers to floppy disks which use the earliest technology and store the least amount of data. Later replaced by double density and high density.
sit-down
- A style of arcade cabinet which includes a seat in which the player may sit.
skill
- A special character ability. This may be intrinsic to the character's class, or something they have to learn.
- The change in a game's challenge as the player's skill improves. Depending on how the game is designed, the challenge can remain the same, stay inline with the player's skill, decrease, or increase.
skin
- A set of replacement textures or graphics for an object. When an object is reskinned, it looks different, but functions the same. Skins add more repeatability and customization to a game.
skip
- The process of bypassing a section of a game, usually by exploiting a glitch. Also called a "shortcut" and "sequence break."
- The simulation of the sky within a 3D environment. Over the years, a variety of methods have been used as skyboxes from the earliest use of a single bitmap, to actual 3D boxes, to later domes.
sleep
- A common character state in games often divided into mundane and magical sleep. Magical sleep often prevents the character from awakening even when they sustain damage. Magical sleep is frequently caused by a spell or special ability. Games which feature an "exhaustion demon" require characters to sleep.
- Also cover a "sheath," "protector," etc. A covering which protects video game media. Sleeves are typically made of paper, cardboard, or plastic.
slide
- A common control mechanic where a player can slide their character forward in a crouched or laying position, often to maneuver under narrow ledges. Often used as a defensive maneuver. Similar to a "dash."
slideshow
- A game played at such a low frame rate that it seems like you're watching a slideshow rather than a playing a fluid game.
slingshot
- In a pinball machine, its a device which, when hit by the ball, kicks the ball away from it at a rapid speed. They are usually triangularly shaped and surrounded by a rubber band and placed on either side of the bottom half of the table above the flippers.
slow
- A common status effect in action games. It can be used both as a benefit or detriment. When beneficial, it slows down other enemies or objects they player has to track. When detrimental, it slows down the player's character, their weapons, firing rate, etc.
slowdown
- A drop in frame rate caused by processors being required to perform more calculations than they can in a frame. This results in everything moving slower than what was intended by the designer.
smoothing
- A process to eliminate desynchronization whereby the server tells a client to incrementally adjust something into the correct state. The incremental correction is less abrupt than snapping.
smurf
- Someone who is skilled at a game, but creates a new character and plays among new players at a low level. However, because the person is already very good at the game, they usually route other players around their level.
SN76477
- See "Complex Sound Generator."
SN76489
- See "Digital Complex Sound Generator."
SN76494
- See "Digital Complex Sound Generator."
SN76496
- See "Digital Complex Sound Generator."
snapping
- A process to eliminate desynchronization whereby the server instantly forces something on the client into the correct state. When dealing with position, this results in the object appearing to "snap" into a correct position.
sniper
- A class of character or type of unit which utilizes accurate long range weapons, usually at the cost of low defensive capabilities and a low rate of fire. Also, a class of weapons which are accurate at long range.
- When further progress is prevented in a game due to a "design oversight" or "glitch" and the player must restart the game.
soft reset
- A form of reset that is controlled by an electronic device's firmware which doesn't require cutting power to the device. This allows it to retain memory and reset in a manner different than during a hard reset. This is opposed to a "hard reset."
software
- A high-level program which is usually loaded into volatile memory. Video game and apps are usually written as software.
Software-Controlled Sound Generator
- A programmable sound generator based on the AY-3-8910 developed by Yamaha. Has three pulse wave channels and a noise channel. Model numbers include YM2149 and YM3439.
software development kit
- A set of software tools to work with a particular platform or engine. Often abbreviated to SDK. The creators of most video game platforms also create an SDK for third party game developers.
software sprite
- A "sprite" that is controlled by software, as opposed to a "hardware sprite." Software sprites are slower to work with, but the programmer has more control over them.
- A popular brand of audio hardware owned by Creative Technology which includes sound cards and speakers. Over the years, many computer video games were designed specifically to take advantage of Sound Blaster products.
sound card
- See "audio adapter."
sound effect
- A form of audio which plays to add realism an action or inform the player of something.
Sound Interface Device
- A programmable sound generator used in the Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and SSI 2001 sound card.
source code
- The original programming used by a video game. Having access to the source code makes it much easier to modify a game and learn how the game works which is why source code is typically kept private by a game's developer. Some companies sell their source code to other development groups and others release the source code after it is no longer marketable rendering it "open source."
- A 3D engine developed by Valve for Half-Life 2 and used for hundreds of subsequent games. Initially built off of GoldSrc, a heavily modified version of id Tech 2.
source port
- Porting a game to a different platform while using most, if not all, of the original source code. This is possible on video game platforms with similar hardware, and is different from a "conversion."
spam
- Something which is unwanted or overused. Named after a Monty Python sketch in which a restaurant keeps trying to sell their customers Spam despite their objections, and later applied to unwanted emails. In gaming it is used to refer to anything done in excess to an undesirable degree such as a player repeatedly using a single form of attack in a fighting game, or a player constantly yelling in a lobby's chat.
spawn camp
- To remain near where opponents spawn in order to defeat them shortly after they spawn in hopes of catching them unawares.
- A location in a map where entities enter the game. In versus mode, there are usually many spawn points. In team modes, there is usually a single spawn point per team. Similar to a "respawn point," and sometimes has overlapping functionality.
spawner
- Something which creates new entities in a game.
special ability
- An ability a character possess beyond normal function. Special abilities often take the form of more powerful attacks, powerful effects, and the like. To prevent the character from using them all the time, special abilities are usually limited to a certain number of "uses per day" or have a "cool down."
special edition
- An additional release of a video game that has something unique associated with it not found in the regular release. Special editions tend to have alternate or modified artwork to denote them. See also "collector's edition."
specular highlight
- In 3D graphics rendering, it refers to a bright reflection on an object making the surface appear highly polished.
speed-up
- A common status effect in action games which can be both beneficial or detrimental. When beneficial, it may offer the player better control by speeding up their character's movements or attacks. When detrimental, it may speed up enemies or speed up the player's characters so much they become harder to control.
speedrun
- An attempt to win a game as fast as possible. Speedruns are divided into various categories based on how much of the game is completed in the process (e.g., no warps, any percent, no damage boost). A speedrun played by a computer is called "tool-assisted speedrun." It is sometimes written in its more proper two-word manner, "speed run," but most gamers write it as a single word.
spell
- A particular castable form which magic can take. Spells are common in the fantasy genre and differ from other forms of magic like potions and scrolls in that they are typically reusable.
Spike Video Game Awards
- Often abbreviated to VGAs, a video game award ceremony hosted by the Spike television network from 2003 to 2013.
spin-off
- A game which takes characters already established in an existing game and places them in a different setting.
- An input device like a dial which can be turned infinitely in either direction. Depending on the hardware, the spinner can usually determine which direction it is being turned and how fast it is turning. Used in tube shooters like Tempest and brick breakers like Arkanoid. Often uses similar internal mechanics as a steering wheel.
spinner (map)
- A tile that spins the party around a random number of turns so the player no longer knows which direction they're facing. Common in tile-based pseudo 3D dungeon crawlers like Wizardry and Dungeon Master.
spiritual sequel
- A game which has no direct link to the previous work, and isn't even set in the same universe as the original, but reuses the game's genre, style, and motif. For example, Deltarune is a spiritual sequel to Undertale.
spread
- In shooters, a weapon that shoots multiple projectiles in a spread out manner. Also called "spray" or "wide" and contrasts with "focus fire."
sprite
- A bitmap on a video screen which moves around the screen, is animated, or both. A "hardware sprite" is one in which the hardware controls independent of the background layer, while a "software sprite" is part of the background layer, and must be redrawn as the background is redrawn.
- In graphics programming, it describes a large batch of sprites that are drawn all at once by the GPU rather than individually by the programmer.
- A special type of sprite composite which uses several sprites chained together in order to form a long body capable of varied motion. Sprite chains were created to allow for snake-like movement without needing the large number of graphics that would be necessary for a regular sprite composite. Sprite chains are especially popular for snakes, dragons, worms, and the like.
- Tying multiple sprites together to build a larger sprite. Most video game hardware had severe limitations to the size of their hardware sprites, often only 8x8 or 16x16 pixels. By placing several sprites right next to each other and ensuring they always stay touching, designers give the illusion of a much larger sprite, though it is really just a composite.
- A single graphic with all of a sprite's frames of animation. Often used so developers don't have to keep track of thousands of files. A map of the sprite sheet will contain the X and Y coordinates of each frame. Many old games often have their graphics ripped to a single sprite sheet by the gaming community.
square pixels
- Refers to video displays which use square pixels rather than rectangles or other shapes. The shape of the pixel affects the aspect ratio of graphics designed for such a screen.
SSG
- Short for "Software-Controlled Sound Generator."
stackable
- Buffs or debuffs which compound their effectiveness each time they're applied.
staff roll
- See "credits."
stage
- See "level (map)." A term typically synonymous with a level though it's used less-frequently these days.
stage select
- A selection screen where the user selects which stage they want to play.
stamina
- A player attribute which affects their fortitude, endurance, and energy level.
stand-up
- A style of arcade cabinet where the player is expected to stand in front of it. The most common arcade cabinet style.
standalone sequel
- A game which is set in the same universe as the main franchise, and may feature some of the same characters, but it is not directly related to the previous works.
starter pack
- In collectible games, a large assortment of, typically randomized, new objects for that game which are acquired to help get the player started in the game. A smaller collection is called a "booster pack."
- The compliment of lives a player is given when they start a game.
stat
- A numeric attribute describing a character. The term is often used interchangeably with "attributes," though many games and players treat them differently.
stat death
- When a character is killed because a stat reaches zero despite still having positive life points.
stat eugenics
- In games where character creation is done by randomly assigning stats, the process of re-rolling the stats until you finally get a powerful outcome. Originates from the CRPG Addict.
- When a minimum stat is required from a character before they can do or use something. Often applied to equipment and special abilities to prevent twinking.
static bullet
- A bullet which is fired by something where no attempt is made to aim at a target. Also called a "blind bullet." This is contrasted with an "aimed bullet."
- A game where the difficulty level is set by the designer and doesn't change regardless of the player's skill level. This is opposed to dynamic difficulty.
static LCD
- A liquid crystal display where the display elements are fixed and unchanging like those used in the Game & Watch and Tiger Electronics handhelds. This is opposed to an "active LCD".
status ailment
- Something which affects a player's stats in a negative way.
- A section of the user interface, usually across the top or bottom of the screen, where information about the game is displayed. Similar to a HUD.
steering wheel
- An input device that functions like the steering wheel of a motor vehicle.
- Describes a video game platform with the original hardware from when it was manufactured without add-ons or modifications.
- Being able to injure or kill an opponent by jumping and landing on them. Popularized with Super Mario Bros.
- Any storage media used to house video games. Common forms include ROM cartridges, diskettes, and various optical discs.
story mode
- A play mode which tells a story, also called "campaign mode." Often contrasted against other play modes like versus mode, puzzle mode, and the like.
- A plan used to defeat an opponent or a genre of game which requires the player to develop strategies.
- A publication which describes helpful strategies for winning a video game. Often synonymous with a "hint book," but a strategy guide is usually more in-depth.
strength
- A character attribute or unit attribute which typically affects how much damage the attribute can do in combat and how much weight they can lift.
studio
- A video game development office, usually one owned by a larger publisher. For example, the publisher Activision owns about a dozen development studios.
- Temporarily preventing a player from controlling their character. Usually used as a special attack for monsters or after the character takes a particularly nasty hit. Similar to "knock back."
- A character is said to be in stun lock when they are unable to perform any actions because they keep getting hit before they can do anything. Many games feature ways for the player to put enemies in a stun lock, however, it is often considered unfair by players to allow their own characters to become stun locked.
subscription
- A business model where clients pay a recurring fee in order to play a, usually online, video game. A subscription typically buys access to a single game, but sometimes it pays for a library of games.
- When a player purposely kills their character. Typically far a strategic reason.
suicide battery
- A battery on the Capcom CPS2 arcade board which would ruin the board if tampered with.
suicidal overconfidence
- A common trope where, no matter how powerful a character becomes, enemies will still attack them. For example, the Imps at the very beginning of the first Final Fantasy will still attack the party even very late in the game. Later RPGs began instituting basic enemy AI where monsters will run away from obviously strong opponents.
sum of bests
- When speedrunning, the total time it takes a player to beat a game if you were to add only their personal best times for each section.
super boss
- An exceptionally powerful boss that usually takes many players working cooperatively to defeat.
support
- A category of character classes which are better-suited toward helping other characters rather than directly engage with the enemy.
- Short for Super Video Graphics Array, an unrelated family of display technology developed by multiple companies to give even higher resolution color graphics to home computers.
supplement
- See "expansion."
surplaying
- In sandbox game, performing unnecessary additional tasks that do not benefit you in the game, but are consistent with your character's demeanor. A way for players to inject role-playing into a game that may not have a satisfying amount. Originates from the CRPG Addict.
survival mode
- See "endless mode."
- A mechanism which can switch between two or more different forms of input. In video games, a switch box changes between the signal from a video game platform and a television antenna. Most switch boxes were also RF adapters. Early video games connected to a television by sending an RF signal to a television's antenna input, but this prevents the user from being able to watch television without first disconnecting the video game and reconnecting the antenna. To prevent this, video game manufacturers used a switch box which would have both the video game and antenna connected to it, and the user can switch between either input. The first versions of the switch box required the user to manually switch between them, but later models would use the antenna by default, but switch over to the video game when the console was turned on. After televisions began including standardized input like composite and component, the consoles stopped shipping with switch boxes.
symphonic cooperation
- In cooperative games, symphonic cooperation refers to players who work well together to achieve a common goal. In order to achieve symphonic cooperation, players not only practice together, but they develop strategies where each player follows a role in a larger team effort. Professional gamers and contestants in e-sports practice symphonic cooperation. This is contrasted with "chaotic cooperation."
- A 16-bit arcade board developed by Sega. Followed up by the "System 18" board.
- A 16-bit arcade board developed by Sega to replace the "System 16" board.
T
T-pose
- In 3D modeling, a pose where a humanoid figure is standing up with their arms out parallel to the ground so their body is shaped like an uppercase letter T. See also "A-pose."
tabletop
- A style of arcade cabinet which is designed to sit atop a table.
- When two or more characters are tied to a single player's input so they all move in the same way. This was common in early sports video games before it was possible to handle a separate AI for every other character on the team.
tank
- A type of character or unit that can absorb and deal a lot of damage. Often sent into melee combat to aggro opponents in order to keep them from attacking weaker characters who a better suited for long range attacks or healing. Named after the military vehicle.
- A "dual joystick" "control scheme" where the left joystick controls the left tread of the vehicle and the right joystick control the right tread. So, press both joysticks forward moves the vehicle forward, pressing both back moves the vehicle in reverse, and pressing one forward and one back causes the vehicle to rotate.
tate
- The Japanese word for "vertical." Describes video games, particularly scrolling shooters, with monitors which use a "vertical orientation," and the game scrolls vertically. This is contrasted with "yoko."
- Short for "tool-assisted speedrun."
TCP
- Short for "Transmission Control Protocol," a network protocol used in many multiplayer games which prefer stable communication over the faster, but less stable, communication of UDP.
teabagging
- Mocking an opponent by repeatedly standing and squatting over their character's fallen body to make it look as though the character is hitting the opponent with his scrotum. Named after a teabag being dipped in and out of water.
team
- The players who share a common a goal with you in a multi-player game. Also a form of multiplayer where players form teams to compete against each other.
team kill
- When a teammate kills a member of their own team, typically on accident. See also "friendly-fire" and "fragging" of which the term is sometimes used interchangeably.
tearing
- An unwanted visual artifact where the graphics on the screen are being changed as they're being drawn. This usually occurs in the middle of a refresh making it look as though the screen has been torn. This is solved by using vertical synchronization, however this requires more powerful hardware.
technical requirements
- The bare minimum of hardware needed to run a game. Often listed next to "recommend hardware" which will allow the game to run at a decent refresh rate. Also called "minimum requirements."
technical requirements checklist
- A set of technical requirements that owners of a platform require developers to meet if they want to publish a game on their platform. For example, Nintendo requires all games published on their platforms to clearly display "Licensed by Nintendo" during the game's starting screens. Often shortened to TRC, also known as Technical Certification Requirements (TCR).
TED
- See "Text Display."
Television Interface Adapter
- A chip in the Atari 2600 which generates the display signal, generates audio, and reads controller input.
- A subroutine for managing thirst in games which require characters to drink. Similar to a "hunger demon."
TIA
- See "Television Interface Adapter."
- A ranking system similar to the grading system in Japanese schools. Tiers are S (short for shu, meaning excellent), then the letters A-F, with F being the worst. This results in seven tiers, but, for more granularity, a tier list is expanded by attaching a plus and minus symbol to each tier as well.
- Killing someone by teleporting into the location they're currently at, assuming the game allows for it. Popularized by Doom, though existed in earlier games like ZZT.
teleport
- Immediately moving an entity from one location to another without having to traverse the distance.
television
- A display device which decodes radio frequency signals. Home video game platforms are often connected to televisions a video game platform and the video game console generates an RF frequency in PAL, NTSC, or SECAM encoding. Televisions used to all be CRTs, but they later expanded to rear projection, LCD, and plasma. Today, most television use LCD or OLED technologies. Televisions are typically larger than monitors, but have lower refresh rates and a smaller maximum resolution.
testing
- An aspect of game development where people called testers test a game's programming an look for bugs while purposely trying to circumvent the rules (i.e., break the game). Testers record the results of their tests and report their findings to developers who fix the bugs or rework the game to prevent problems. Like with game development, testing is often broken into alpha and beta stages.
texel
- In 3D graphics, a texel is the fundamental unit of a 3D texture map and is sometimes called a texture pixel. Sometimes confused with a graphic pixel or 3D surface.
- A sub-genre of the adventure game which relies heavily on text to describe the environment.
Text Display
- A chip used in the Commodore 16 and Commodore Plus/4 which doubled as a graphic processing unit and programmable sound generator.
- A game which uses text for player interaction. Since the 1990s, most interfaces are now graphical.
texture
- A graphic that is overlaid on a vector. For example, a wall texture.
texture map
- The instructions for how a texture is applied to a 3D object. Texture maps are broken up into texels.
texture splatting
- A graphic technique for seamlessly merging textures together using an alphamap.
TGS
- See "Tokyo Game Show."
THAC0
- Short for "to hit armor class zero." A stat used in Dungeons & Dragons for how likely a character is to hit and damage their opponent in combat when taking into account their armor class.
thick-walled
- Tiled maps where walls consist of an entire tile. Maps which use this layout are naturally more sprawling, less dense, and require the player to traverse more ground. This map style hurts realism because, if a map tile is meant to represent a ten foot square, every wall must be ten feet thick! Contrasted with "thin-walled."
thin-walled
- Tiled maps where each tile can be surrounded by four thin walls. Maps which use this layout can be more dense, but it also implies that all of the walls are tissue thin. Contrasted with "thick-walled."
third party
- A company, not owned by the manufacturer of a video game platform, which produces products for that video game platform, often without permission from the owner. The name comes from legalese, where someone who is not part of a contract is referred to as a "third party." For example, Activision became the first third party video game developer in history when it started making games for the Atari 2600.
third-person
- A perspective where the player views the game world from the outside looking at the character as though they are a third party. This is opposed to viewing the game through they eyes of the eyes of a character in first-person.
throttle
- A lever or pedal on a controller which is used to control a value in a game, typically the speed of a vehicle. Throttle are typically analog instead of digital.
THX
- Short for "Tomlinson Holman eXperiment," a quality assurance standard used to closely recreate an audiovisual experience. Initially created by Lucasfilm for movie theaters, it has since been adopted by various video game development studios.
TIA
- Short for "Television Interface Adapter."
tick points
- An small and steady increase in score for performing the most basic of tasks, typically just for surviving.
tile (graphic)
- A subsection of a graphic, usually square in shape, and composed of pixels. In the early days of video games, graphics were often limited to small tiles, often 8x8 pixels in size. Larger graphics could be made by placing several tiles together.
tile (map)
- The smallest unit of a tile-based map.
tile-based
- Anything that is composed of tiles. For example, a tiled graphic or a tiled map.
tilt
- A state a pinball machine can be put in as a punishment if the player nudges it too hard. When in tilt, most of the game shuts off, and the the flippers stop working guaranteeing the loss of a ball. Named because tilting a pinball machine will activate the state.
time attack
- See "time trial."
- An imposed length of time within which the player must complete a task. Common in racing games and active puzzle games.
time to kill
- How long it takes to defeat an opponent or an average of how it takes to defeat opponents over multiple rounds.
time trial
- A video game mode where the player is trying to complete a task in the shortest amount of time. Also called a "time attack."
title card
- A static image used to easily identify a particular work of media. Originally used in film where it's called an intertitle, video games adopted them to replace box art when physical boxes gave way to digital distribution.
title screen
- A screen in most video games where, upon starting the game, the title is displayed.
Tokyo Game Show
- A major video game trade fair held in Japan each year since 1996. Often abbreviated to TGS.
- Using a computer to control the input sent to a game in order to beat it faster than humanly possible. Often abbreviated to "TAS."
top-down
- A perspective where the player views the game world from above looking down; a form of third-person perspective.
- Something placed on top of an arcade cabinet, usually title art for a game. Typically used on cabinets whose marquee is not dedicated to a specific game because is uses interchangeable games, like the PlayChoice-10.
torus world
- A consequence of 2D maps which wrap around at the edges. In order for the wrap-around to make sense, the game world must be shaped like a torus, a 3D ring shape.
Tower of Power
- Am informal name for the combined Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and 32X.
- An input device which uses a ball the player can spin around inside a harness. Sensory hardware can usually tell which direction in 2D space it is spinning and how fast it is spinning in that direction. Used in games like Marble Madness and Centipede.
- Music composition software where the composer sets up various tracks, patterns, or loops of music. Common with mod music.
trainer
- A program which allows a player to cheat in a game, typically by adding infinite lives, granting invincibility, or the like. In the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, trainers were typically setup prior to starting a game and would adjust the game's binary or monitor and adjust the game's memory. Later trainers ran alongside the game and allowed the player to alter the game's memory dynamically during the game. The name comes from the fact that these would help a player to train on the game by giving them easier access to different parts of the game.
training
- The act of practicing something inside a game, often used as a way for a character to increase their acumen with a particular skill or used as a step to increase in levels or stats. Not to be confused with simply practicing at the game itself.
transistor-transistor logic
- The use of transistors for logic and amplification to create electronics which can perform calculations. Most of the very first dedicated video games of the early 1970s used TTL instead of CPUs because, although they more difficult to produce, they were considerably cheaper. However, once CPUs became affordable, TTLs became obsolete.
transmedia
- Expanding a franchise by creating a new work in a different media format than was has already been established. For example, making a video game as the sequel to a movie, or writing a book as the prequel to a video game. For example, The Goonies II is based on the The Goonies film, but adds a whole new story. Similar to "crossmedia," which is the "adaptation" of an existing work to a different media format.
transparency
- The part of a bitmap which is not intended to be drawn to create the effect of transparency. When an entire channel is used for transparency, it's typically referred to as alpha.
trial and death
- A play on the phrase "trial and error," where the error results in death. Often a way to get through unforgiving adventure games and cinematic platformers.
trial and error
- A mechanic where the player is expected to try doing something to determine whether the outcome will be good or bad.
trigger
- A mechanism on a controller meant to resemble the trigger of a gun or joystick. Typically digital, though sometimes analog.
trinket
- Also called a "feely," a small item like a figurine, coin, stone, etc., included in a game box to increase its value. Some franchises, like the Ultima series, became popular because they always included trinkets in their game boxes. Trinkets are more likely to be included in a collector's edition.
triple buffering
- Similar to double buffering, but a third buffer is used. While the second buffer is being blitted to the screen, it cannot be updated, so the display adapter must wait until it finishes before it can render the next frame. With triple buffering, a the graphics card begins rendering to a third buffer during this time so it can prepare the next screen.
- Questions of insignificant importance and the genre of video game where the player is expected to answer them.
troll
- A person who plays a game in bad faith with the purpose of ruining the enjoyment of others. Named after the fictional ugly monster.
troll game
- A genre of game purposely designed to frequently frustrate the player through unfair level design.
trough
- In a pinball machine, its a area where a ball falls when it isn't successfully rebounded by a flipper.
true ending
- A game's ending which is meant to complete the story of the game. This is frequently also a good ending, although they may be separate, and usually includes credits.
TTK
- Short for "time to kill."
TTL
- Short for "transistor-transistor logic."
turn-based
- Games where the play is divided into discrete lengths of time called turns where only certain actions, typically for only one player, may take place. This is contrasted with real-time games.
- A genre of video game where the player must devise a strategy and carry it out across a series of discrete turns, typically by managing units. Contrasted with a real-time strategy.
- A genre of video game with a "dual joysticks" control scheme where one joystick moves the player's character in its direction, and the other fires a weapon in it's direction. Popularized by Robotron: 2084.
- A low-level character being given high-level equipment, usually from a high-level character, that the low-level character wouldn't normally be able to acquire on their own. This places them at an advantage compared to other characters around their level whose equipment tends to match their level. The term is often used derogatorily and is based off the slag term "twink" which refers to a smaller effeminate gay man with a larger boyfriend. Twinking is often prevented by requiring minimum stat or level requirements on equipment.
twitchy
- An adjective describing games which require fast reflexes to succeed.
U
UDP
- User Datagram Protocol, a network protocol used in many multiplayer games because of its faster roundtrip communication compared to TCP.
- Short for "ultra high-definition." A display term which describes video systems with a resolution of at least 3840 × 2160.
- An optical disc capable of storing data which can be read from it with a laser. It was used as the primary video game media of home computers from the 2010s to 2020s as well as several video game consoles.
under powered
- Something in a game that is too weak to be balanced. Under powered things tend to be upgraded in patches.
underworld
- A large underground region of a game. Underworlds are common in mythology from which game designers no doubt draw inspiration. They're typically dark and feature dangerous inhabitants. Smaller underground areas may also be referred to as caverns or caves, while underground regions that are hewn are typically referred to as dungeons. Games which feature an underworld typically also have and over world.
undumped
- Games whose ROMs have not been dumped, and, therefore, are at risk of being lost forever. Dumping a ROM is often the first step toward working emulation.
unit
- One of several game piece that can be manipulated by the player, especially in strategy games.
- A popular video game development environment and engine which incorporates many libraries and uses the C# programming language by default.
universe
- Everything related to a video game franchise including the games, books, films, etc.
- Video games that are published on a platform without approval from the platform's creator.
unlock
- To gain access to locked game content (like an optional character or map) or a locked object (like a door or treasure chest).
unlockable
- Something in a game which can be unlocked. This may refer to an object (like a locked door or chest) or additional content (like unlockable characters or difficulty levels). When objects are unlockable they typically require a key or similar object, but, when content is unlockable, it typically requires the player to perform a specific task. For example, winning the game might unlock an additional character with which to play the game again.
unpatched
- A game, asset, or file which hasn't yet been "patched." Sometimes an unpatched game is more desirable because a patch inadvertently breaks something or creates a similar unwanted result.
unpredictable artificial intelligence
- An AI which, when faced with the same game state, doesn't always perform the same move, as opposed to a "predictable artificial intelligence." Unpredictable AIs tend to be more difficult to defeat because you can't exploit them by repeatedly playing them over again an learning their pattern. However, by adding a bit of randomness to their moves, they will sometimes play sub-optimal moves which sometimes makes them easier to defeat in other ways.
unpublished
- Video games or hardware that was completed, but, for some reason, never published.
unpunched
- Those game boxes which have a cut section to hang on a rack, but still have all the cardboard intact. Suggesting they were never put on display. This increases their value to collectors.
- A family of commercial video game engines developed by Epic Games, initially for their Unreal game series, but has expanded into a more generic engine.
unstackable
- Buffs or debuff which do not compound their effectiveness when applied multiple times.
- When it becomes impossible to win a game due to an action of inaction by the player, and they won't notice for awhile, or never. Also called a "walking dead situation" or a "dead end."
update
- See "upgrade."
upgrade (hardware)
- The process of replacing weak hardware with more powerful hardware. It is common to upgrade the hardware in home computers, less so with consoles.
upgrade (mechanic)
- Increasing something's power, typically an item, vehicle, or similar inanimate object. Upgrades are often the result of completing a quest, crafting, or increasing levels.
upgrade (software)
- An improvement in the quality of a program. Usually by patching bugs and adding new features.
upside-down PlayStation
- A low-tech fix to a manufacturing flaw common in PlayStations. The rails holding the laser reader in place in the first PlayStation would wear out over time making it impossible for the laser to read the disc. While the rails could be replaced, it is much cheaper and easier to simply turn the console upside down, which keeps the laser inline with the disc so it works properly.
upside-down T
- A standard keyboard arrow key layout where left, down, and right are on one line, and up is positioned directly above the down key. This is contrasted by less common layouts like a linear (all arrow keys on a single row or column), half key (up and down are half height to fit in a single key's area), tank layout (up and down are on one half of the keyboard while left and right are on the other half), and so on.
USB
- Short for Universal Serial Bus, a family of connectors and protocols designed to handle most data transmission needs. Introduced in 1996, it quickly became the dominant connector for most computers, video games, and electronic devices.
uses per day
- The number of times something can be performed in a day. This is a common way to apply limitations to special abilities. For example, many games only let spell casters cast a certain number of spells per day and require them to sleep before they can cast more. Modern game developers tend to prefer a "cool down" instead.
uses per hour
- Similar to "uses per day" as a means of limiting how frequently a character can do something, but resets every hour.
USK
- Short for Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle, a video game content rating system used by Germany and some areas of Austria.
V
Vancian magic
- A system of magic, initially created by Jack Vance and later adopted by Dungeons & Dragons, where a spell caster has to re-memorize spells from their spellbook each time a spell is cast.
- A pejorative for a game which was announced a long time ago, and the production company claims it's still in development, but still hasn't been released, and there are no plans for it to be released any time soon.
vblank
- See "vertical blank."
vector
- A shape or collection of shapes drawn from lines and vertices in either two or three dimensions. When in two dimensions, vectors often employ curved lines and complex shapes, but, when in three dimensions, vectors typically consist of an object composed entirely of triangles.
vector graphic
- A graphic made up of vectors rather than pixels (which is called a "raster graphic").
vector monitor
- A CRT display device which, instead of using raster lines to draw the screen, uses arbitrary lines to draw shapes. Vector monitors were used in the Vetrex and a number of early arcade games, but are now obsolete.
vehicular combat
- A genre of video game where the player controls a land-based combat vehicle (e.g., tank, truck, motorcycle) and uses it to fight with other vehicles. Although naval and air combat vehicles could be classified in this manner, they are usually placed in their own genres because they have specific mechanics that don't apply to land-based vehicles.
- A trick used by programmers to make an Atari 2600 game appear to have more sprites on a scanline than the hardware supports by alternating scanlines between the sprites. The horizontal bands give the appearance of Venetian blinds. This trick was first used in Video Chess.
version (platform)
- See "release."
version (update)
- Used to denote a specific "build" of a game. Many games go through numerous updates while they're still supported.
versus
- An aspect of a game where a player competes against another, usually human-controlled, opponent. This is opposed to "co-op" or "solo."
versus mode
- A form of play that focuses primarily on competition with another, usually human-controlled, opponent. Popular subcategories of versus mode include "deathmatch," "teams," "capture the flag," "king of the hill," and "last man standing."
vertical blank
- The brief time when the electron gun of a CRT is resetting to the top of the screen. When using vertical synchronization, this is when the video game must refresh the screen.
vertical orientation
- Arcade games where the monitor is rotated 90 degrees so that it is taller than it is wide. As opposed to "horizontal orientation."
vertical slice
- A demonstration of a game that's still in development in order to show the financial backers how the major features are coming along. Often demanded when the backers aren't confident about the game's progress or are unsure what the game is about. The term comes from the idea of showing a slice of food to the potential buyer so they'll know what the inside looks like.
vertical synchronization
- Refers to only refreshing the screen when the display hardware is in its vertical synchronization (or vsync) mode. This is done to prevent tearing.
vertically scrolling
- A game or section in a game which scrolls only along the vertical axis instead of the horizontal axis.
vertizontal
- A game, typically a shoot 'em up, which uses vertical scrolling, but is played on a horizontal display.
VIC
- See "Video Interface Chip."
video game
- An electronic game which is represented primarily in a visual medium.
video game addiction
- A mental disorder where a person feels compelled to play video games so frequently it has negative consequences in their everyday life.
video game crash
- The sudden drop in sales of video game-related products which has devastating effects on involved businesses. There have been several, but the most well-known is the crash of 1983 which caused many US video game companies to go out of business. This was mostly isolated to North America and had little effect the Japanese or European markets.
Video Interface Chip
- A chip used in the Commodore VIC-20 which doubled as the system's graphic processing unit and audio processing unit.
view volume
- The amount of game world that is rendered on screen. Related to camera zoom, "field of view," and "render distance."
- Short for Video Graphics Array, a display technology developed by IBM to give higher resolution color graphics to their line of computers.
VGA connector
- A DE-15 connector originally designed to send VGA data from the video card to the monitor, but saw continued used long after the VGA standard was obsolete. Replaced by DVI and HDMI.
- The in-game economy, as opposed to the real-world economy.
- The creation of a system in software usually to emulate hardware or provide a platform independent environment for software.
virtual purchase
- The act of using real-world money to buy virtual goods. Although this is looked down upon by many gamers, some games allow players to sell their in-game items and characters for real world money.
virtual reality
- The simulation of an environment in a manner that makes it feel real to the user, typically with a VR headset which uses two displays, one for each eye, that are slightly offset from each other to simulate binocular vision. This causes the wearer to feel a stronger sense of immersion in the game world than a traditional display. The immersion is extended when the headset is tracked in 3D space and controllers are used which give haptic feedback.
visual artist
- A blanket term for anyone who creates the visual assets of a game, this includes graphic artists, animators, cinematographers, storyboard artists, pixel artists, sculptors, etc.
- A way to convey some information to the player through something's appearance. Common visual cues include highlighting something important, flashing a boss to know when they're close to dying, putting cracks in a wall that can be destroyed, etc.
- A genre of video game where the player reads a novel. The novel is typically highly illustrated and usually has some level of interactivity.
voice actor
- An actor who performs the voice for a character in a game.
- A graphical unit which exists on a regular grid in a 3D environment. Voxels are typically square-shaped and can be thought of as 3D pixels.
VR
- See "virtual reality."
VRAM
- Short for "video random access memory," and often called "video memory." Memory used solely by the GPU and/or display adapter to store information about the contents of the screen.
vsync
- See "vertical synchronization."
- A cross-platform API for rendering hardware-accelerated 3D vector graphics on a GPU. It was designed to supplant OpenGL.
W
wake up
- How a player responds to an attack that has left them vulnerable. Typically used in fighting games for how a player responds after being knocked down.
- A game which requires the player to move around environments with little interaction. Often used as a pejorative for game which rely on atmosphere rather than action.
walkthrough
- Instructions for completing a game from start to finish. The author is effectively "walking the player through" the entire game. Walkthroughs are often consulted when hints are not enough to help a player get through a difficult section of a game.
wall jump
- A movement mechanic where a player can bouncing off a wall in order to jump higher. This is sometimes the result of exploiting a game bug.
wall-mounted
- A style of arcade cabinet which is designed to be mounted on a wall. This cabinet style didn't become feasible until after the invention of flat-screen displays.
wallhack
- The ability to see objects, or their outlines, through opaque walls. As the name suggests, this is typically the result of hacking the game, a form of cheating, although some games include it as a power up.
warm boot
- Booting an electronic device shortly after it was previously on so that it still has some residual energy in it. As opposed to a "cold boot."
- Something that causes a character to be teleported to another section of the game.
- An area in a game world with a warp. The term was popularized by Super Mario Bros.
WASD
- Referring to the keys on a QWERTY-layout keyboard. When a player is expected to hold the mouse or similar one-handed control device in their right hand, the W, A, S, and D keys are used by the left hand for directional movement instead of the arrow keys. This is an especially common control setup for first-person shooters.
Wata
- A video game certification organization which judges the quality and completeness of a video game product for collectors.
waterfall development model
- A game development model that is broken up into clear sequentially ordered stages such as planning, design, implementation, testing, and distribution. At the completion of each stage, the next one begins, with progress flowing in a single direction, like a waterfall. Publishers prefer this model because it makes it easy to track the progress of a game's development. Although this model typically works well with application software, where the goals are much more obvious from the start, video game development doesn't thrive under such a rigid structure. Much of a game's development requires designers to figure out how to make something fun, which often leads to reworking or scrapping segments when they're discovered, far along in development, to not be enjoyable, and, if the designer is not able to do this, it can result in a game that isn't very enjoyable. The waterfall development model is often contrasted with the agile development model.
WAU
- Short for "weekly active users."
wave
- Describes an attack by a number of enemies at a time. Similar to a level, except the player's character usually remains stationary while the enemies come to her.
wave movement
- A movement pattern where an object moves like a sine wave. A notable example is the medusa heads in the game Castlevania. Many players find it difficult to predict the path of objects traveling in this pattern.
wave table synthesis
- An audio technique where the musician creates an instrument by defining the shape of its sound wave, then uses it to play music. Some audio chips had hardware support for wave table synthesis including the APU of the Famicom Disk System, the Game Boy, and the TurboGrafx-16.
- A graphical effect common in 8 and 16-bit games where background graphics are drawn in a distorted manner. A similar trick is used to create "parallax scrolling."
weekly active users
- The average number of people who play a video game per week. A useful metric to know how popular a game is. See also "daily active users" and "monthly active users."
weighted random
- Random values that are influenced by other factors, typically used to prevent long runs of similar values. For example, if a game uses a random number to determine whether a player hits a foe, they will eventually get a random sequence which causes them to miss many times in a row. Despite this being a product of randomness, the player will probably find this annoying and may think the game is cheating. To prevent this, developers often add various weights to their randomness to ensure that players don't see long runs of similar results, perhaps by continuing to increase the chance of a hit each time the player misses until a hit is guaranteed.
whisper
- In multiplayer games, a "whisper" is used to communicate with as few other players as possible. Depending on how the game's chat system is set up, this may be only characters adjacent to your own, specific players chosen by name, or the like.
white magic
- Spells which deal primarily with healing and defense.
wipe
- A screen transition from one view to another. Borrowed from film.
win
- Occurs when a player successfully completes a game. Also referred to as beat, complete, finish, etc.
win conditions
- The criteria which must be met in order to win a game.
- Relating to the series of operating systems developed by Microsoft.
wisdom
- A character or unit attribute which typically affects their decision-making abilities. In fantasy settings, it is usually correlated with certain magical abilities.
wizard
- A common name for a class or class grouping which uses magic. Often includes, or is similar to, a mage, sorcerer, illusionist, druid, elementalist, warlock, necromancer, etc.
- A trope related to the "damsel in distress," where the damsel, upon being rescued, rewards the player with something romantic or sexual, like a kiss, the removal of clothing, etc. The term was coined by Feminist Frequency.
- A genre which relies on various forms of word play.
world (map)
- The entire area of a game, including all playable and non-playable areas.
world (section)
- A large section of a game, usually divided in smaller sections; see "level (map)." For example, a game may consist of "fire world," "water world," and "air world." World's often go by other names like zone, episode, act, etc.
WP
- Short for "well-played."
wrap around
- Describes maps where continuing past one far moves you to the other far edge. For example, directing Pac-Man into the exit on the far left of the screen will cause him to wrap around and enter on the far right of thew screen. Warp-around maps were also common in early graphic adventures and early RPGs.
X
x-joystick
- A joystick that is mounted at a 45 degree angle in the control panel making it look like an X. Used in games where the player is expected to move only in diagonals, like Q*Bert. Instead of facing up, down, left, and right, it faces up-left, down-right, up-right, and down-left.
- Any of the several home video game consoles produced by Microsoft bearing the name Xbox: Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, etc.
XP
- See "experience points."
XMS
- See "Extended Memory Specification."
Y
yell
- In multiplayer games, a "yell" is meant to communicate a message to the largest number of people possible. Depending on how chatting is setup in the game, this may be everyone in the local area, everyone on the server, or everyone in your guild or on your team. This is often contrasted with "whisper."
yellow book
- Refers to the technical book which describes the standards for the CD-ROM (compact disc - read only memory) format, which is yellow.
yellowing
- The result of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic discoloring after several years of exposure to oxygen in the air. The cases of many home computers and video game consoles were made of ABS so they turn from gray to a dull yellow over time. It can be corrected through a process called "retrobrite."
YM2149
- A model number of the "Software-Controlled Sound Generator."
YM2149
- A model number of the "Software-Controlled Sound Generator."
yoko
- The Japanese word for "side." Refers to video games, especially shoot 'em ups, with monitors which use a "horizontal orientation" and scroll horizontally. Contrasted with "tate."
Z
z-culling
- Determining which objects, pixels, or surfaces are fully occluded in the scene so that they can be excluded from the rendering process. This speeds up the rendering process and allows for more detailed environments.
z-order
- When rendering graphics to the screen, z-order refers to an object's distance relative to the other objects. Objects where are the furthest away (and thus have the greatest z-order) will be rendered first with other objects drawn over top of them to simulate 3D space. The closest object (with the lowest z-order) is drawn last and over top of all the other objects, so it will look the closest to the camera.
Z80
- See "Zilog Z80."
Zerg rush
- Initially named after a strategy from StarCraft where someone playing as the Zerg quickly builds a powerful offensive army to overwhelm their opponent. It has since been generalized to describe any fast and powerful offensive.
zero-day
- Refers to a bug in a game that has not yet been patched. The term describes the number of days since a patch has been made to fix the bug, and, since a patch has not yet been made, it has been "zero-days" since the fix.
zero-player game
- Any game where human players can't take an active role. See also AI vs. AI.
zero-sum game
- A classification of games in which one player's benefit is equal to the other players' detriment. Named as such because if you add the increase from one player to the decrease of the others, the sum equals zero. For example, in poker, if one player wins $100, the other players have to lose $100. This differs from a "non-zero-sum game."
- A popular 8-bit CPU used in many video game consoles and home computers.
zine
- Short for "magazine." Any magazine relating to video games like Nintendo Power or Electronic Gaming Monthly.
zone (map)
- See "level (map)."
zone (multiplayer)
- A large section of a game world sometimes with specific rules and in-game communication limitations.
- An 8-bit home computer developed by Sinclair Research and first sold in 1982. It was very popular in Europe and helped give rise to the computer gaming culture.
ZX80
- See "Sinclair ZX80."
ZX81
- See "Sinclair ZX81."
Links
- gamicus.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Terminology_in_video_games - Codex Gamicus.
- tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VideoGameTropes - TVTropes.
- ign.com/wikis/gaming-terms-lexicon - IGN.
- playstation.com/en-us/editorial/playstation-ultimate-gaming-glossary - PlayStation gaming glossary.
- crpgaddict.blogspot.com/p/glossary.html - Glossary for computer RPGs.
- whatgamesare.com/glossary.html - What Games Are.
- shmups.wiki/library/Help:Glossary - Shoot 'em up glossary.
- ha.com/information/video-game-glossary.s - Heritage Auctions collectors glossary.
- ipdb.org/glossary.php - Pinball glossary.
