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War is a series of organized conflicts carried on by force of arms between two or more nations or groups. Whether it never changes or has already changed is up for debate.
A sequel (also called a follow-up) is a game that carries forward the gameplay concepts, and often the story, of a previous game to which it is officially linked.
Classic form of numbering that gives things a more regal feel.
Video game controversy revolves mostly around the psychological effects that games with graphic violence or sexual content in them can have on players. Other sources of controversy can range from racism, sexism, politics, or religion.
Games that have been banned, or refused a rating for one reason or another.
A television news program, often used to give a wider perspective on the events of the game.
Ahh, eating... We can't live without it, and, apparently, neither can some characters. From snakes to dots, games have odd ways of dishing out their dishes.
Gravity is a physical phenomenon, specifically the mutual attraction between all objects in the universe. In a gaming setting, gravity determines the relationship between the player and the "ground," preventing the player or game objects from flying off into space, and hopefully acting in a predictable/realistic manner.
The Virtual Console is a platform service that first appeared on Nintendo's Wii and later on the 3DS and Wii U. Games from past consoles are emulated to run on the new hardware with the added benefits of system-level save states and other features.
Backtracking is the act of navigating through previously explored areas, usually for the purpose of progressing in an objective-based adventure game. Players who are lost may also backtrack to reorient themselves.
An industry game design convention that's appeared in many games over the years. The fetch quest involves sending the player out to collect a certain number of items, and return them to complete the quest. A staple of the RPG and Adventure game genre.
Simulating the effects of a great variety of poisons, toxins, venoms and nerve agents can lead to many unique and interesting mechanics. A classic trope in games, Poison usually deals small amounts of damage to health over time.
DoT effects are most commonly found in Role Playing Games, and it describes the effects of a gameplay mechanic (often a magic spell) that causes incremental damage over a period of time such as a fire spell leaving someone to continually burn.
Collectibles are items such as coins, rings, gems, packages etc. that can be gathered, usually for some kind of reward, or sometimes to simply beat a level. Often (almost too often) the source of earning achievements and trophies on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Using pre-rendered clay figures to display environments, characters, and objects. Often used to comedic effect.
A centipede-esque creature that made its debut in The Legend of Zelda. Attacking its tail first is recommended to defeat it.
Games involving characters that round up local hoodlums for the good of the community.
Criminals banded together with a common goal in mind. Can range from a band of thugs to the Mafia.
Games that incorporate licensed music from popular bands and musicians for their soundtracks.
Weapons can often be upgraded with new attachments, augmentations, or magical enchantments. These upgrades result in the original item being more powerful than originally intended.
Information on the time honored tradition of killing rats. Killing rats is a much cliched first quest for many western RPGs.
WASD, or WADS, is the most common and often the default setting to move the player character in computer games with a first or third person perspective.
The act of traversing space while attached to a piece game geometry. Sometimes via a rope, or other grapple like object.
Like a critical hit, this is a special action invoked from certain attacks in games or caused randomly on attacks by a character's statistic. It causes opponents to lose the ability to attack back for a certain period of time, and usually invokes the hit character to go into a special animation.
The foil of almost every early RPG lover, these rodents often live in sewers. While most rats are simple targets, games like Ratatouille make them the hero.
Sometimes one playable character just isn't enough.
It's the designer's go-to guy. If they want to steer a player in a given direction they'll lock an in game door and force the player to find a way to either unlock it or find an alternate route.
A shadow is an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object.
The disgusting process in which a character regurgitates the contents of their stomach back into the world, usually performed as a means of purging the body of poisons or intoxicants, but often (in videogames, anyway) used as a means of projectile attack by non-human enemies.
Games that conclude with a screen displaying "The End" or a variation thereof, such as "Fin."
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