Fallout: New Vegas | 002
Giant Bomb Plays
Game Mess Mornings 04/24/24
GrubbSnax
837: R1 to Brood
Giant Bombcast
The Community Spotlight 2024.04.20
The Community Spotlight 2024.04.13
Community Endurance Run XIV - April 12-14
Platform »
Sure, these days have almost every game sporting the newfangled 3D, but way back when, everyone had to live with plain old 2D. 2D, or two dimensions, limit the game to scrolling backgrounds, but some games even now make use of this basic concept.
Games whose titles consist of a single word.
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.
Famicom Disk System games that were only available via a disk writing service available in many Japanese game stores. As such, they have no official box art and are harder for collectors to find.
As part of the Switch Online subscription, Nintendo offers a selection of NES games through the downloadable Nintendo Entertainment System application.
The concept of purchasing media and having it delivered over the internet. No physical representation of this content is given, and although the content resides on the user's hard drive they are typically granted a license to the product, rather than ownership of it.
A two-dimensional image or animation overlaid into a scene. The foundation of early 2D games, making up everything from props to the player-controlled character.
Special codes or button combinations used to gain powers or advantages in a game. Generally hidden.
It's arguably the one move that symbolizes the medium to those outside it. The ability to jump, be it onto a building, a platform, or a skull, is one of the all time most important abilities ever put in a video game.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
The Classic NES Series of games were re-released versions of NES games for the GBA. Also known as Famicom Mini and NES Classics in Japan and PAL regions respectively.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
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.
These games are based off of established licenses, such as movies, comics, or TV shows. Examples are the James Bond 007 and Spider-Man franchises.
8-bit can be a reference to actual computing power, or it can be a retro look for videogames that want to recall a bygone era.
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.
Pixel art refers to digital images composed of visible pixels, drawn with individual pixel-level intent and precision.
These games take the select button literally. Pushing up and down (or any other button) to select an option will do nothing.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
Games released coinciding with new hardware.
This concept is for games in which at least one of the main characters is male.
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.
A level in which everything is displayed on-screen at once, with no scrolling, flip screen, or 3D movement. Many '80s games consist entirely of single-screen levels.
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.
Bosses are enemies that fight you at the end of a level or at a significant point in the story.
The concept of a helpless female character in desperate need of rescuing by the protagonist, in most cases from a villain, or from a form of impending doom.
The PlayChoice-10 was an arcade console released by Nintendo containing ten Nintendo Entertainment System games per unit.
Video game combat in which combat actions are performed in real-time, rather than through a turn-based structure.
A game perspective that views the action from above, commonly at a fixed position and/or rotation.
Vertical scrolling is when the screen scrolls along the y-axis. In a vertical scrolling game the player usually starts from the bottom of the screen and moves up. They are also almost always presented in a top-down perspective.
This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:
Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.
Use your keyboard!
Log in to comment
Log in to comment