839: Weird Bird Prison
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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.
A protagonist who lacks some or all of the qualities traditionally seen as heroic.
Games that are little more than extensive cinematic sequences in which the player has little interaction with what is happening onscreen. This notion of a cinematic game is epitomized by laserdisc arcade classics such as Astron Belt, Dragon's Lair and Bega's Battle.
A non-interactive sequence within a game most often used for plot advancement.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
Generally used to fool other characters or parties into thinking you're one of them or belong there for purposes of deception, spying, or accessing data.
A game with fake interactivity will present the player with a choice, but will prevent further progress, such as by repeating the choice, until the player selects a specific answer.
A game based on an anime.
Whenever there's a new Pixar, superhero or Harry Potter movie they have to make one of these.
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.
The act of breaking the law.
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.
This concept is for games in which at least one of the main characters is male.
Ever since Pac-Man, games have had us navigating mazes.
The minimap is a small, simplified version of a larger map. This plays a vital role in many games, especially Real Time Strategy, where it is important to have an overview of the entire map.
Sometimes one playable character just isn't enough.
Third-party developers and publishers occasionally engage in the practice of releasing a title or piece of DLC on only one platform for any number of reasons. Sometimes these are permanent while others are only platform exclusive for a certain window of time.
Any character you can control in a game is a Player Character (PC), as opposed to a non-player character (NPC), which is a character that can only be controlled by the game.
The police chase consists of the police chasing someone; usually by car. Sometimes the player plays as the guy getting chased and sometimes as the police.
Who needs 2D when we've got 3D? 3D, or 3 dimensions, is what we're used to seeing in almost every game these days, letting us do all sorts of awesome stuff like run in circles!
Power Ups can be used to give the controlling character, or any other character, temporary or permanent upgrades.
Quick Time Events show up in all sorts of games as an attempt to make cutscenes interactive. Press the buttons displayed on-screen before time runs out, or else.
Radar is a player assist device included in the Heads Up Display of many games that represents the player's surroundings and the positions of objects, vehicles and enemies.
A playable class in many roleplaying games. Rogues are also sometimes known as Thieves. The class in almost all these games center around their stealth capabilities.
Romance in video games can either be interactive, in which the player attempts to woo another character, or an unchangeable part of the story of a given game.
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.
Sidekicks, different from partners, are less powerful, less important characters who support the main protagonist and generally stick by their side.
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.
The ability to move from one area to another instantaneously - typically through some sort of special power or device.
It's the designer's go-to guy. If they want to steer a player in a given direction they'll lock an in game door and force the player to find a way to either unlock it or find an alternate route.
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