Gaming related Lingo/Phrases/Words that drive you nuts?

We all have to have at least that one little word or phrase (if not more) that's used in gaming that irritates you every time you hear it. No matter if its used in actual games, or marketing or by the enthusiast press what are the phrases, words and terms that absolutely drive you crazy when you hear em'?

For me its the term "Triple-A" game its become such a ubiquitous term now days that I don't think anyone even knows what it means anymore. I've heard some people say that it boils down simply to the budget the game was created on I've heard other people say that its regarding the amount of hype and success its expected to attain. Either way its become a grating term to me that I wish would just go away. So, care to air your grievances with all the dumb terminology in gaming and gaming culture?

After thinking about my list... Maybe I am easily annoyed. Because I thought of a LOT of terms that annoy me.

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

'Gamer' but I think theres been plenty of topics on that so I'll leave it at that.

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

I will second that. Gaming has the worst genre designations.

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

New IP annoys me. I dislike the way it implies like every new big game could be turned into a series. Not everything needs to be a series, people. Triple A is not great either. Basically any business term annoys me, as games are more than that.

Blast Processing

Raped. Since it was used by some 'popular' commentators. Not sure why I just fucking hate that word. No uncle jokes...

@Dacnomaniac said:

Raped. Since it was used by some 'popular' commentators. Not sure why I just fucking hate that word. No uncle jokes...

thisthisthis

Dudebro. Anything-bro. Using "bro" as a pejorative term to try and belittle something that is seen as traditionally masculine.

People need to seriously knock that shit off.

@Dacnomaniac said:

Raped. Since it was used by some 'popular' commentators. Not sure why I just fucking hate that word. No uncle jokes...

Isn't it just because such casual use of a word like that is disgusting? That's why I hate it.

The only one that comes to mind is everyone calling the new Xbox the "720." That drives me absolutely batshit crazy.

i hate the words 'boring' 'disappointing' and 'overrated'

@wemibelec90: Hahaha that is a good one. God that is such a dumb name. If Microsoft really went with that name I'd be done with videogames.

@Demoskinos: Agreed!

'pwned' and 'visceral'

• Emergent gameplay
• Player agency
• Ludonarrative dissonance
• Entitlement
• Entitlement
• Entitlement

@wemibelec90 said:

The only one that comes to mind is everyone calling the new Xbox the "720." That drives me absolutely batshit crazy.

For real. There is a 0% chance of Microsoft giving their console the same name as the second-best (and generally undesirable) HD resolution.

The only word I dislike is "noob." Otherwise I feel like a self-hating Jew (I'm not Jewish btw) if I hate the words that define my hobby and that cannot be replaced.

A good example is the word "gamer." I get that we're label-o-phobic because of the accusations of nerdiness and what have you, but we do game, why not simply accept the fact that we are gamers? If you paint you're a painter, if you read you're a reader, it's very simple.

For the most part, the game-related words fulfill their purposes well.

@Kerned said:

For real. There is a 0% chance of Microsoft giving their console the same name as the second-best (and generally undesirable) HD resolution.

That's a great point, actually. I had never considered that about the name. I was always too blindsided by the utter stupidity of it instead...

@OfficeGamer said:

The only word I dislike is "noob." Otherwise I feel like a self-hating Jew (I'm not Jewish btw) if I hate the words that define my hobby and that cannot be replaced.

A good example is the word "gamer." I get that we're label-o-phobic because of the accusations of nerdiness and what have you, but we do game, why not simply accept the fact that we are gamers? If you paint you're a painter, if you read you're a reader, it's very simple.

For the most part, the game-related words fulfill their purposes well.

It's just the negative connotations that the word "gamer" has in society, even still. The Bomb Squad has, on multiple occasions, talked about times that they avoided calling themselves gamers or saying they wrote about games to other people because they knew what it would make them immediately think. That's the real problem with the word.

@OfficeGamer said:

The only word I dislike is "noob." Otherwise I feel like a self-hating Jew (I'm not Jewish btw) if I hate the words that define my hobby and that cannot be replaced.

A good example is the word "gamer." I get that we're label-o-phobic because of the accusations of nerdiness and what have you, but we do game, why not simply accept the fact that we are gamers? If you paint you're a painter, if you read you're a reader, it's very simple.

For the most part, the game-related words fulfill their purposes well.

It's hardly "very simple", and you go a long way towards proving the complexities involved with your "reader" example. I read, but I'd never classify myself as a "reader". That's retarded. As is "gamer".

I agree with the couple people here that said we need better genre classifications. For what it encompasses these days RPGs are way too broad. I'd prefer if RPG described the more traditional western approach (as in, based heavily off of the OG table top RPGs), while stuff like Mass Effect, Skyrim, or even most JRPGs should probably have something more specific attached to them.

I mean yeah JRPG is more specific, but there's a lot of different kinds of those, and lumping them all together geographically kinda sucks because then what do you call Anachronox or that third Penny Arcade game? A western JRPG? That's too dumb.

All of it.

Most terms associated with MMO/MOBA/Online gaming are pretty annoying and convoluted.

@Finch said:

@OfficeGamer said:

The only word I dislike is "noob." Otherwise I feel like a self-hating Jew (I'm not Jewish btw) if I hate the words that define my hobby and that cannot be replaced.

A good example is the word "gamer." I get that we're label-o-phobic because of the accusations of nerdiness and what have you, but we do game, why not simply accept the fact that we are gamers? If you paint you're a painter, if you read you're a reader, it's very simple.

For the most part, the game-related words fulfill their purposes well.

It's hardly "very simple", and you go a long way towards proving the complexities involved with your "reader" example. I read, but I'd never classify myself as a "reader". That's retarded. As is "gamer".

Those who read literature are usually referred to as "readers." English is my major in university and that is pretty much agreed upon. Labels exist to make life easier, not to undermine or degrade people, you shouldn't be so offended by them.

@oraknabo said:

Blast Processing

You said it man!

PC Master Race

Consolized

"Real game"

Does "butt hurt" count?

The dip-shit that infected the internet with that phrase deserves some serious hurt brought down on their butt.

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

@hermes said:

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

You're not wrong but it often IS used as a genre descriptive term. If you asked someone for example what Dungeons of Dredmore more likely than not that term is going to be the first thing thrown out.

@Demoskinos said:

For me its the term "Triple-A" game its become such a ubiquitous term now days that I don't think anyone even knows what it means anymore.

It's purely budget, but yes people often use it incorrectly.

The more I think about the phrases that bother me, the more I feel like a complete curmudgeon. I guess the thing that bothers me the most is when games titles are constantly broken down into acronyms. I know it saves time when typing, but seriously. I can only stand so many LOTRs, CODs, and DoTAs before I want to pull my hair out. It's worse when they are used repeatedly in reviews or video game articles.

@kgb0515 said:

The more I think about the phrases that bother me, the more I feel like a complete curmudgeon. I guess the thing that bothers me the most is when games titles are constantly broken down into acronyms. I know it saves time when typing, but seriously. I can only stand so many LOTRs, CODs, and DoTAs before I want to pull my hair out. It's worse when they are used repeatedly in reviews or video game articles.

Lord of the Rings? What?

None really.

I personally don't mind a whole lot of words (I can't actually think of one that makes me freak) but it's more about who's saying it and in which context. 
 
Nowadays, for example, you can't really say the word epic without getting funny looks. While it's just a normal word and not some slang thing (but it kinda turned to that I guess). Which is just silly.

"Fail" as a noun is a scourge upon all languages. It's not necessarily 100% gaming related, but holy crap.

I cringe every time someone uses the term, "gamer." I get there's not a better term but I get the impression it has a stigma with non-"gamers" that paints everyone with the same brush that isn't necessarily positive or accurate that plays into stereotypes.

@hermes said:

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

Your mom probably doesn't know what a Roguelike is and few people have probably had a chance to play the original Rogue, but anyone who is enough of an avid gamer to post in gaming forums regularly almost certainly knows what the Roguelike genre is and there's a good chance they've *at least* played Nethack or played one of the MANY roguelikes that are on iOS. It has an entire community of players, developers, and fans. There are tons of roguelikes developed every year. There are hundreds of actively played Rogues right now. Hell, even one of the most praised games of 2012 was a Roguelike (and was even promoted as such) -- FTL. There are podcasts that focus entirely on Roguelikes. There are forums dedicated to it. There are spree-development competitions (ala 24hr indie game jams) for roguelikes.

@Demoskinos said:

@hermes said:

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

You're not wrong but it often IS used as a genre descriptive term. If you asked someone for example what Dungeons of Dredmore more likely than not that term is going to be the first thing thrown out.

Which, to me, only proves we need some better description to that mechanic.

If the best way to describe it is throw the name of some 30 years old game (that was niche when it was new) and say "its like that", maybe its not very descriptive. I have been playing games for some time, and I only recently stumble upon the term thanks to games like Binding of Isaac and FTL (and have to search for its meaning)

Its like saying all FPS should be called "hexenlike", or all horror movies should be called "white-zombielike".

@hermes said:

@Demoskinos said:

@hermes said:

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

You're not wrong but it often IS used as a genre descriptive term. If you asked someone for example what Dungeons of Dredmore more likely than not that term is going to be the first thing thrown out.

Which, to me, only proves we need some better description to that mechanic.

If the best way to describe it is throw the name of some 30 years old game (that was niche when it was new) and say "its like that", maybe its not very descriptive. I have been playing games for some time, and I only recently stumble upon the term thanks to games like Binding of Isaac and FTL (and have to search for its meaning)

Its like saying all FPS should be called "hexenlike", or all horror movies should be called "white-zombielike".

You know.

Now that I think about it, I'm all for changing "MMORPG" to "Wowlike". It's just as dumb, but doesn't look like someone just punched their keyboard to come up with a genre acronym.

@doosmacleod said:

@hermes said:

@Demoskinos said:

@hermes said:

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

You're not wrong but it often IS used as a genre descriptive term. If you asked someone for example what Dungeons of Dredmore more likely than not that term is going to be the first thing thrown out.

Which, to me, only proves we need some better description to that mechanic.

If the best way to describe it is throw the name of some 30 years old game (that was niche when it was new) and say "its like that", maybe its not very descriptive. I have been playing games for some time, and I only recently stumble upon the term thanks to games like Binding of Isaac and FTL (and have to search for its meaning)

Its like saying all FPS should be called "hexenlike", or all horror movies should be called "white-zombielike".

You know.

Now that I think about it, I'm all for changing "MMORPG" to "Wowlike". It's just as dumb, but doesn't look like someone just punched their keyboard to come up with a genre acronym.

Except WOW didn't spawn the genre.

Also, I'd be a big fan of changing MMORPG to something else, since they usually have about as much to do with RPGing as a Guitar Hero does.

Also, I could do without ever hearing "visceral" again.

@Branthog said:

@doosmacleod said:

@hermes said:

@Demoskinos said:

@hermes said:

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

You're not wrong but it often IS used as a genre descriptive term. If you asked someone for example what Dungeons of Dredmore more likely than not that term is going to be the first thing thrown out.

Which, to me, only proves we need some better description to that mechanic.

If the best way to describe it is throw the name of some 30 years old game (that was niche when it was new) and say "its like that", maybe its not very descriptive. I have been playing games for some time, and I only recently stumble upon the term thanks to games like Binding of Isaac and FTL (and have to search for its meaning)

Its like saying all FPS should be called "hexenlike", or all horror movies should be called "white-zombielike".

You know.

Now that I think about it, I'm all for changing "MMORPG" to "Wowlike". It's just as dumb, but doesn't look like someone just punched their keyboard to come up with a genre acronym.

Except WOW didn't spawn the genre.

Also, I'd be a big fan of changing MMORPG to something else, since they usually have about as much to do with RPGing as a Guitar Hero does.

Also, I could do without ever hearing "visceral" again.

It certainly codified the recent wave of MMOs. ... ugh. SEE?! HORRID.

But, you're right. How about "MUDvolution"? Either it's an evolution, or a severe devolution. Depending on your scorn levels.

@Bell_End said:

i hate the words 'boring' 'disappointing' and 'overrated'

Those are not really gaming related, though...those are just, you know, words.

@Branthog said:

@hermes said:

@Branthog said:

@TobbRobb said:

All genre terms. All of them. They are terrible.

ROGUELIKE is a fantastic genre name.

No, its not. "Roguelike" literally means "a game like Rogue". Most people that are into games now doesn't even know what Rogue means so, as a genre description, is as useful as "gearslike", "godofwarlike" or "halolike"...

OT: "casual". Together with noob and hardcore are words defined merely by the speaker's standards.

Your mom probably doesn't know what a Roguelike is and few people have probably had a chance to play the original Rogue, but anyone who is enough of an avid gamer to post in gaming forums regularly almost certainly knows what the Roguelike genre is and there's a good chance they've *at least* played Nethack or played one of the MANY roguelikes that are on iOS. It has an entire community of players, developers, and fans. There are tons of roguelikes developed every year. There are hundreds of actively played Rogues right now. Hell, even one of the most praised games of 2012 was a Roguelike (and was even promoted as such) -- FTL. There are podcasts that focus entirely on Roguelikes. There are forums dedicated to it. There are spree-development competitions (ala 24hr indie game jams) for roguelikes.

I think you would be surprised of how many people with less than 30 years have never even seen a Spectrum (spoilers, too many). Much less to how many the name "Rogue" means absolutely nothing besides the name of a pen and paper RPG class... and even when the mechanic is fairly used, a lot of people don't know it by name...

Even then, to name a gameplay mechanic (or worst, an entire genre) based on an example is a horrible idea. The game itself stopped being relevant decades ago, so the name itself is an parachronism. Its as useful as changing RTS to "starcraftlike" and expecting the name to stick 20 years down the line.

@hermes said:

Its like saying all FPS should be called "hexenlike", or all horror movies should be called "white-zombielike".

I'm old enough to remember them being called "Doom-clones."

• "pwned"
• "Epic"
• "Fail" as a noun
• "Win" as a noun

@Kerned said:

@hermes said:

Its like saying all FPS should be called "hexenlike", or all horror movies should be called "white-zombielike".

I'm old enough to remember them being called "Doom-clones."

Which is, on itself, a pretty awful name... Except Doom is not so niche that, even today, most people know it by name, even if they never even saw it.

Abbreviations and general MMO talk. Fuck that.

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

Basically any business term annoys me, as games are more than that.

Not to the publishers they aren't.

(Yes, it's a generalisation, but you'd be hard pressed to find one pushing art over profit)