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In video games, breaking the fourth wall occurs when a game becomes aware of its nature as a game, or when a character directly acknowledges the player.
A character who gets washed ashore on some island or other remote place.
Nothing says edgy new approach like some five o'clock shadow or a nice bushy beard.
The act of dressing in clothing generally associated with the opposite sex, often employed in video games for comic effect or for sexual excitement.
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.
Drowning in games occurs when a being (not suited to be in water) runs out of oxygen, time, power, or barely even touches the water surface. Further complicated by the local sea-life that can knock the air out of you, should you get close.
An Easter Egg is an intentionally hidden cheat or hidden content in a video game, also known as a "secret".
When the main character at some point has to escape from a confined area, be it a dungeon, a prison cell, or a penal colony.
These spooky entities are the spirits of the dead, returned from beyond their graves for generally sinister purposes. There's generally about even odds whether a particular ghost will be helpful or malevolent towards the living, but some ghosts just want to be left alone entirely.
A concept where players actively hold their breath to steady their aim, sneak past zombies, or to avoid drowning.
Infinite Pockets are a system of inventory often found in adventure games. The player character's pockets seem to be of an infinite size, capable of holding anything from peanuts, to garden rakes, to spare tires, yet none of this is reflected on the character.
A rather unpleasant experience, where your journey takes you to the insides of a bigger creature, followed by a desperate attempt to make it 'through', alive and undigested.
Insult Swordfighting is a concept from the Monkey Island series of games. It is a swordfight where the goal is to outwit your opponent with various insults. If your enemy does not know the comeback to your insults, you will win the match. Every insult has a corresponding comeback.
A time honored tradition among the Monkeys of Monkey Island. At, first it was a way monkey's would wage war, now it is more of a game.
A type of primate with tails; often monkeys are depicted as causing havoc the moment they are encountered.
A partner is someone in a duo that shares the same status and/or billing. In video games, you often switch from one to the other because they have different strengths and weaknesses.
By definition, a pirate is a (mostly naval) robber without commission from a sovereign nation. While maritime robbery has been around since ancient times, Piracy had its highpoint during the 17th century. They are easily identified by the "Jolly Roger", which is the traditional name of the famous skull flag.
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.
Puzzles may need to be solved before the player can progress to the next section of the game. Often it may not be clear to players exactly what the puzzle is, or whether the an in-game items needs to be attained before it is even possible to solve it.
A red herring is a plot device used to mislead or distract someone from what's really going on in the story. It could be a false clue or over-emphasis of another character. Red herrings can add a surprise or make a challenge tougher.
Often appearing in role-playing games, the reluctant hero starts out not wanting to fight, but ends up getting drawn into the conflict nonetheless. If not forced into it against their will, they are often motivated by love, honor, or a sense of righteousness.
SCUMM is an acronym for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion. SCUMM is scripting language developed internally at LucasArts to help streamline the creation of graphic adventure games.
In-game jokes or Easter eggs involving references to characters or events from earlier in a game or the game's series.
Slashing weapons are designed to cut and slice rather than causing blunt trauma. Examples include swords, axes, claws, naginatas, or even whips.
A contest where the winner is the person who can spit the furthest.
Whether in cutscene or gameplay form, nothing gets a character in shape like some cheesy music over a good old fashioned training montage.
Voice Acting is the art of providing voices for characters in games, television shows, films, radio programs, and other forms of media.
A video game character as it appeared in an earlier time of its life.
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