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Player vs Environment
Player versus Environment, commonly abbreviated as PvE, is a gaming term that originated in MMOs to refer to gameplay in which players fight against computer controlled creatures or characters.
Appears in 110 games
First appeared in Ikari Warriors
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Splash Damage
Splash damage is a term used in several types of games, most notably in first-person shooter and real-time strategy games, to refer to damage taken by players or objects in the area surrounding a point of weapon impact.
Appears in 96 games
First appeared in Grobda
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Player vs Player
Player versus Player, commonly abbreviated as PvP, is a gaming term that originated in MMOs to refer to gameplay in which players fight against other player controlled characters.
Appears in 226 games
First appeared in Spacewar!
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Expansion
An Expansion brings new missions, modes & new story elements to a full product title. Expansions typically require a full version game to function, but there are also stand-alone packs as well.
Appears in 234 games
First appeared in Kaleidoscope: 7 Man Kounen no Houshi-tachi
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Barrel Roll
A barrel roll is a maneuver in which an object makes a complete rotation on its longitudinal axis while following a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction.
Appears in 76 games
First appeared in ACE: Air Combat Emulator
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Fire Propagation
Games in which fire can spread continuously across the environment or between objects.
Appears in 49 games
First appeared in Megumi Rescue
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Remake
A broad spectrum of games can be described as remakes, from straightforward graphical overhauls to extensive revision of gameplay and story elements. In the most basic sense, a remake keeps the original's core gameplay and plot but makes significant changes to peripheral aspects.
Appears in 283 games
First appeared in Wild Gunman
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Seasons
Games that have seasons have their environment change depending on the time of the year.
Appears in 63 games
First appeared in Eastern Front - 1941
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Side Quest
Quests that aren't necessary for game completion. They typically offer side-stories or specific rewards.
Appears in 386 games
First appeared in Dragon Warrior
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Nobody
Beings in the Kingdom Hearts series that are created as soon as a human being loses his heart. Roxas is Sora's Nobody.
Appears in 9 games
First appeared in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
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Kart Racer
Kart racers are cartoon-like racing games that often feature fantastical power-ups.
Appears in 105 games
First appeared in Power Drift
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Custom Soundtrack
A gameplay feature that offers players the option to listen to their own music instead of the game's original soundtrack. This allows for a more personalized listening experience.
Appears in 145 games
First appeared in Total Annihilation
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Gib
Gibs (giblets) are, basically, what's left of someone after they make contact with an explosive object or powerful weapon. They can be seen in games such as Doom, Quake, Team Fortress 2 and many, many more.
Appears in 164 games
First appeared in Mortal Kombat
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Dimension Travel
Games that fit this category involve characters that can traverse different dimensions.
Appears in 106 games
First appeared in The Magic of Scheherazade
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Lucha Libre
Lucha libre is a form of Spanish professional wrestling where the wrestlers don masks in the ring. Famous luchadores include El Santo and Blue Demon.
Appears in 33 games
First appeared in Pro Wrestling
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First-Person Perspective
First-Person is a vantage point that attempts to simulate looking through a game character's eyes. It is most commonly found in first-person shooters, racing games, and visual novels, and to a lesser extent in other genres, such as RPGs, 3D platformers, and adventure games.
Appears in 1725 games
First appeared in Duck Hunt
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Downloadable Content
Downloadable Content adds new features and content to already-distributed video games via the Internet. Examples include new maps for FPS games, new songs for rhythm games, and new cars for racing games.
Appears in 671 games
First appeared in Teddy Boy
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Procedural Generation
Procedural Generation refers to the creation of content algorithmically as the game is running. This content generally coexists with standard, authored content; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Appears in 184 games
First appeared in Rogue
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Special Attack
Featured mainly in fighting games, special attacks usually require more than just pressing a button to activate. They are usually unique or at least varied between characters.
Appears in 351 games
First appeared in Flash Boy
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Moving Platform
Platforms conveniently moving you towards your destination to allow the crossing of large expanses which would otherwise be impossible to cross.
Appears in 492 games
First appeared in Donkey Kong
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AGI
AGI stands for Adventure Game Interpreter and was a tool developed by Sierra On-Line to create graphic adventure games in the 1980s. The interpreter supported 16-color graphics in a 160x200 resolution and took full advantage of the three-channel sound capabilities of the PCjr and Tandy platforms.
Appears in 14 games
First appeared in King's Quest
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Lives
The concept of lives in video games evolved to let the player get a second chance after failing once. The most recognizable symbol is the heart.
Appears in 784 games
First appeared in Gun Fight
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Split-Screen Multiplayer
Sometimes, you want to play games with a real person who's sitting right next to you. These games have you covered.
Appears in 496 games
First appeared in Speed Race Twin
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Bullet Hell
A style of gameplay where players must navigate a vast stream of projectiles.
Appears in 208 games
First appeared in Sheriff
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Rail Shooter
A shooter in which the player movement is restricted so they can only follow a linear, predetermined path. This style of game is considered very "arcadey" and is usually accompanied by a lightgun.
Appears in 121 games
First appeared in Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom
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Prequel
A follow-up to a game or movie that takes place before the events of the previous installment or installments.
Appears in 93 games
First appeared in Dragon Warrior III
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SPECIAL System
The SPECIAL System was created by Black Isle Studios, for their 1997 role-playing game: Fallout. It is heavily based on the GURPS System (Generic Universal Role-playing System), which they weren't allowed to use in Fallout.
Appears in 9 games
First appeared in Fallout
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Invisibility
The ability for the player to become unseen, from basic camouflage to fully vanishing from sight.
Appears in 178 games
First appeared in AX-2: Uchuu Yusousen Nostromo
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Hero Unit
Special or stronger units than standard ones, usually found in strategy games. This is not necessarily the same thing as a superhero or a game's protagonist.
Appears in 136 games
First appeared in The Dragon & Princess
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Supernatural Arm
Be it bionic, demonic, or just plain magic; the supernatural arm often comes alone, but one is usually enough to give its owner extra powers.
Appears in 45 games
First appeared in Bionic Commando
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Knock Out
A Knock out or KO is when, example being a fighting game, one of the players is sent into a state of unconsciousness.
Appears in 95 games
First appeared in Heavyweight Champ
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Pikmin
Pikmin are the titular creatures in Nintendo's strategy series who help the main characters perform a number of different tasks. As of the most recent installment, there are five different colors of Pikmin, each with their own unique abilities.
Appears in 15 games
First appeared in Pikmin
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Verticality
Verticality relates to the scale of spaces in a game and the player's ability and freedom to traverse them. It implies that a player has freedom of movement that extends to vertical planes through abilities, vehicles, or level design.
Appears in 60 games
First appeared in Crazy Climber
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Desperation Move
Used as a last ditch effort the desperation move is often a single, powerful attack that hits multiple enemies on screen. The attack is executed at the cost of a percentage of the user's total hit-points.
Appears in 58 games
First appeared in Final Fight
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Explosion
A powerful release of energy. This energy is usually expelled in all directions very quickly, typically giving off orange or red flames.
Appears in 1673 games
First appeared in Jet Rocket
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Squad Based Shooter
You work with a small team of AI or human squad members (usually with a total squad size of 4) to complete objectives.
Appears in 81 games
First appeared in Space Tactics
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Class-Based Shooter
Players can choose from a selection of classes to play as in order to complete objectives, or support their team in the most effective way.
Appears in 59 games
First appeared in Starsiege: Tribes
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Limit Break
A powerful attack in the Final Fantasy series, useable mostly when a character's hp is low or a certain condition has been met.
Appears in 10 games
First appeared in Idea no Hi
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Roping
Roping involves moving around, often along very complex paths, by using a grapple without coming to a stop. Made famous by the Worms franchise.
Appears in 34 games
First appeared in Bionic Commando
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Tech Trees
A "Tech Tree" is a concept used mainly in strategy and role playing games. Unlocking a node in the tree generally unlocks some effect (example: a new ability in a role playing game or new unit in a strategy game). Unlocking a parent node allows access to its child nodes.
Appears in 124 games
First appeared in Sid Meier's Civilization
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Collection Marathon
The concept of requiring the player to collect large amounts of multiple tokens to progress in the game, learn new abilities, unlock secrets or optional content, etc. It was often implemented in the early platformers of the N64 & Playstation era.
Appears in 40 games
First appeared in Bomb Jack
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Side-Scrolling
Side-scrolling games present the world as viewed perpendicular to the direction the characters are facing on screen. With a heavy focus on lateral movement, objectives are often met by moving from one end of a stage to the other.
Appears in 1094 games
First appeared in Interceptor
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Job System
Job systems allow for a user to dictate the role of a game character. Offering the capacity for deep customization and quick adaptability, job systems give players the ability to tailor their own experience.
Appears in 29 games
First appeared in The Magic of Scheherazade
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Scanning
Need to know how many hit points that Boss has left? Want to learn more about that weird plant keeping you from progressing? Scanning refers to using in game abilities (like a move or a vision mode), to learn more information about the game world.
Appears in 31 games
First appeared in Pulsar no Hikari
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