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The Forerunners
The ancient race responsible for the Halo ringworlds, thought to be long absent from the universe.
Appears in 4 games
First appeared in Halo: Combat Evolved
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Zombie
Zombies, more accurately called the walking dead, are reanimated corpses who feed on the living, and have become a ubiquitous video game enemy. They often move slowly, but can be deadly in large numbers, which is unfortunately how they tend to travel. Shotgun time!
Appears in 731 games
First appeared in Death Race
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Bullet Time
Bullet time is a gameplay mechanic that allows players to slow down time. Depending on the game itself, the player often slows down along with the world around them, however occasionally the player can simply move at normal speed while the game world continues to slow.
Appears in 113 games
First appeared in Astro Blaster
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Dialogue Tree
Dialogue trees are a feature through which the player selects responses from a list of choices, eliciting reactions from NPCs and determining the path of the conversation and story.
Appears in 385 games
First appeared in Danchi Tsuma no Yuwaku
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Micromanagement
Micromanagement is the act of increasing the efficiency and longevity of units during a battle, or managing equipment, statistics and abilities on an obsessive level.
Appears in 186 games
First appeared in Mad TV
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Point and Click
Point and click is an interface featured in a specific kind of adventure game, where players click on objects and characters to interact with them.
Appears in 709 games
First appeared in Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken
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Drifting
Drifting is a technique used in motorsports that involves intentionally over-steering the car to create a slide. This is done both as a competitive and exhibitive technique.
Appears in 169 games
First appeared in OutRun
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Time Travel
The concept of a character leaping forwards or backwards in time.
Appears in 404 games
First appeared in Time Pilot
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Resonance Cascade
An energetic and extremely destructive event which tears at the dimensional fabric of universes.
Appears in 4 games
First appeared in Half-Life
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Stunt Position
A Stunt Position is used as a neutral base where other, more involved moves (like commandeering a vehicle) can be performed.
Appears in 13 games
First appeared in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
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The Combine
Also known as the Universal Union, the Combine is a trans-dimensional empire comprised of enslaved species spanning an unknown number of universes, and Earth is their latest annexation.
Appears in 8 games
First appeared in Codename: Gordon
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Burning Legion
Massive demon army from the Warcraft series that constantly threatens the world of Azeroth from beyond the Dark Portal.
Appears in 6 games
First appeared in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
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Mind Control
The ability to influence and control the thoughts of others.
Appears in 135 games
First appeared in Psychic City
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Future Sport
Sporting events that are set in the future. These sports are often extremely violent and may feature robots, mechs, or cybernetic implants.
Appears in 99 games
First appeared in Plazma Line
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Futuristic Game Show
Who loves you and who do you love?
Appears in 34 games
First appeared in Metro-Cross
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Saiyan
In the Dragon Ball Z franchise, the Saiyans (also known as Saiya-Jins) are a warrior race from the Planet Vegeta.
Appears in 55 games
First appeared in Dragon Power
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Abilitease
Abilitease is an aspect of game design wherein a game will provide a glimpse of your full skill-set at or near the start, only to remove most of these skills, stats, and abilities soon after.
Appears in 10 games
First appeared in Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
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Wilhelm Scream
Originally recorded in 1951, this sound effect has appeared in numerous films and video games.
Appears in 154 games
First appeared in Highlander
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Cover System
A Cover System is a gameplay mechanic that specifically governs the player's ability to hide behind objects to avoid detection or enemy fire.
Appears in 240 games
First appeared in Gun Fight
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Silent Protagonist
A lead character who never says a word, despite being spoken to.
Appears in 381 games
First appeared in Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken
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Shinra Electric Power Company
Shinra is a ruthless mega-corporation who harvest Mako, the life force of the planet Gaia, and transforms it into electricity to power the city of Midgar and its surrounding area. Famous for the Jenova Project which resulted in the creation of Sephiroth.
Appears in 2 games
First appeared in Final Fantasy VII
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Kilrathi
The Kilrathi are a race of warlike extraterrestrials. Physically they are bipeds who strongly resemble big cats with leonine manes.
Appears in 8 games
First appeared in Wing Commander
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Save Point
Special locations in game that allow the player to manually save their progress.
Appears in 448 games
First appeared in Scramble
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Boss Fight
A boss fight is a culminating challenge that pits the player against one or more enemies representing a greater threat and/or difficulty than those previously faced. These scenarios typically feature unique antagonists.
Appears in 2187 games
First appeared in Wild Gunman
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Active Reload
Active Reload is a gameplay concept in which the player can actively decrease the load time of a weapon by timing a button press.
Appears in 22 games
First appeared in Killer7
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Mass Effect Field
The titular concept upon which much of the technology in the Mass Effect series is based.
Appears in 5 games
First appeared in Mass Effect
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Instant Replay
An instantreplay is a gameplay element typically associated with sports games, and widely made popular with the Madden Franchise. Instant replays allow players to go back and view gameplay footage, occasionally from varying points of view.
Appears in 235 games
First appeared in Food Fight
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Button Mashing
Button Mashing is a term used to describe gameplay where certain skills can be only realized explicitly through mashing buttons, a reckless player trying to get results or when the game rewards the player(s) who bash buttons the fastest. The latter example is common in Party Games.
Appears in 283 games
First appeared in Track & Field
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ADAM
The genetic dynamo that allows people to totally recreate themselves, ADAM is at the centre of more or less everything that goes on during the original two BioShock games.
Appears in 4 games
First appeared in BioShock
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T-Virus
The Tyrant Virus, more commonly known as the T-Virus, is a virus developed by Umbrella to help create B.O.Ws (Bio-Organic Weapons) and ultimately to create a Tyrant.
Appears in 15 games
First appeared in Resident Evil
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Telefrag
The act of killing a living being by teleporting directly into them.
Appears in 6 games
First appeared in Doom
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Experience Points
Experience Points are part of a character advancement system commonly found in RPGs. These points are generally gained by defeating an enemy or completing a task.
Appears in 1071 games
First appeared in pedit5
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Password
Passwords are codes used to save a player's progress, primarily during the 8-bit era and, to a lesser extent, the 16-bit era.
Appears in 302 games
First appeared in QIX
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Rubber Band AI
Rubber Band AI is an infamous hidden feature in racing games that allows computer-controlled opponents to catch up no matter how far behind they are. It is intended to keep challenging the player, but can also give AI opponents an unfair advantage.
Appears in 69 games
First appeared in Final Lap
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Leaderboard
A leaderboard is a way for players of any multi-player game to know where they rank within the game's community.
Appears in 706 games
First appeared in Space Invaders
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Achievements
Achievements are extra challenges added into video games that sometimes carry a point value or unlock bonus material, and are sometimes solely for bragging rights.
Appears in 2305 games
First appeared in Pac-Man
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God Mode
God Mode is an ability, often entered through a cheat code, that gives the player god-like abilities.
Appears in 55 games
First appeared in Moria
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Multiple Endings
Multiple endings is a term used to describe different outcomes or conclusions to a game based on the previous actions of the player.
Appears in 956 games
First appeared in Deadline
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Professional Wrestler
Professional wrestlers have appeared in loads of games over the years.
Appears in 166 games
First appeared in Tag Team Wrestling
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Capture the Flag
A game in which the object is for each team to retrieve the opponent's flag and return it to their own base. Typically used in multiplayer first-person shooter games.
Appears in 166 games
First appeared in Rally-X
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Stealth
Using stealth often requires the player to accomplish their objective without being detected by enemies. Methods of detection can vary from game to game, and can be based on an enemy's line of sight, how quiet the player is, or even how the player interacts with the environment.
Appears in 554 games
First appeared in Manbiki Shounen
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Cover Athlete
A real-life athlete who appears on the cover art of a sports game. Usually an up-and-coming star in the sport or a perennial fan favorite.
Appears in 352 games
First appeared in Pelé's Soccer
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Cutscene
A non-interactive sequence within a game most often used for plot advancement.
Appears in 1397 games
First appeared in Wild Gunman
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Finishing Move
Finishing moves are typically moves that end a fight in a traditional fighting game.
Appears in 251 games
First appeared in Battle Chess
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