Guides
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Teleportation The ability to move from one area to another quickly - typically through some sort of special power or device. |
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Physics Manipulation Physics play an important part in this game in solving puzzles and/or combat. Notable examples include the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2, and the Force Powers from Star Wars: Force Unleashed. |
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Spawn Camping A style of play in multiplayer shooters, often associated with cheating and poor sportsmanship. Nobody likes a spawn camper! |
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Destructible Cover Destructible cover is an increasingly popular gameplay element in shooters, uniting destructible environments with cover mechanics to discourage overly defensive play. Just like you, that piece of concrete isn't going to last forever. |
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Achievements Achievements are extra challenges added into games. Completing these challenges could increase your Gamerscore. |
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Regenerating Health Regenerating health is a gameplay mechanic which automatically refills the players health bar after successfully escaping damage for a set amount of time. It is typically seen in modern shooters. |
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Damsel In Distress The concept of a helpless female character in desperate need of rescuing by a male protagonist, in most cases from a villain or from a form of impending doom. |
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God Complex Tommy, the main character, uses ancient, supernatural, Native American powers to solve puzzles and kill enemies. |
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Ragdoll Physics A physics system used to procedurally generate life-like body movement. |
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Cheating Death A different take on the commonplace video game death. Different ways to avoid death can include time travel, as in Prince of Persia, or maybe a minigame where the character can "escape" death, as in Prey. |
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Health Health is a value that gauges how much damage a player can take in a game before they die or pass out. Also known as Hit Points (HP) or Life in some games - not to be confused with Lives. |
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Microtransaction Small payments made with actual money which result in an in-game bonus, such as an extra item, character, etc. |
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The Afterlife Life after death, known by many names in many cultures, where the dead continue their existence forever parted from the living. |
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Immortality Whether a character never ages or is invincible, immortality represents the inability to die. Sometimes this is a blessing, most often it is a curse. |
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Explosion Something that blows up in a huge firey hell! Usually due to ill placed explosives or general "accidents" |
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Romance Romancing in video games generally requires the player to maintain a relationship with another character. |
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Moving Platforms Platforms conviently moving you towards your destination to allow the crossing of large expanses which would otherwise be impossible to cross. |
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Flight It's not just for airplanes anymore: Game mascots and MMO players alike have taken to the skies. Players can use flight to quickly navigate large levels, find hidden items, or take opponents down. |
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Portals Portals have been taking a much larger role in video games now than ever before. Games like portal and Prey are both examples of these, and more are sure to come. |
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WASD Movement The most common and often default settings to move your character in PC games with a first or third person perspective. |
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Linear Gameplay The opposite of open-ended gameplay, linear gameplay uses scripted events, cut scenes, and a restricted path to tell a story exactly how the writer intends, and control elements of the action. |
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Plane Shifting The concept of shifting between different planes of existence. (Light/Dark worlds, Material/Spectral Realms) |
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Steam Steam is a digital distribution service originally created by Valve for its computer games. It was later expanded to distribute software created by other companies and includes social networking features and achievement support. |
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Online Games which allow players to interact with others over the internet. |
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Mutants Nuclear war, frivolous dumping of toxic waste, forced evoluitonary virus; sometimes these things go horribly awry. These games all feature some variety of mutant life, formerly human or otherwise. |
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No Permanent Death The player never really dies, but is revived or respawned with little to no penalty. |
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Aliens Aliens appear in video games either as a positive or negative force. They usually appear in science fiction or horror video games. In some games, the main protagonist may be an alien. |
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Saving the World Many games feature a story which involves saving the world and its inhabitants, often single handedly. |
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Development Hell A development cycle that encounters complications resulting in long or endless delays. |
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Recurring Boss A boss that you fight multiple times throughout the game. Usually follows the player as they progress. |
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Cliffhanger A cliffhanger is a type of ending where the fate of the players is unknown or left up to the player |
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Secret Area A Secret area is a place hidden that few will find unless they know where to look. |
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Resurrection Resurrection can apply to anyone coming back to life from the dead either through scientific explanation such as the Resident Evil virus or a magical explanation like in World of Warcraft |
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Circle-Strafing Circle-strafing is strafing around a target while facing it. This is useful for disorienting the target's aim, making for an easier kill. |
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id Tech 4 Engine A page dedicated to the graphics engine that has powered games such as Doom 3, Quake 4 and Wolfenstein. |
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Scary Children Scary Children in scary games. Some speak, some don't but they all stare. |
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Suicide The act of killing one's self. Video characters may do this if they're depressed, in pain, or simply in a horrible situation. |
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Unlockables A game that has extra objects or Characters which need Unlocked by either completing the game, or after doing a certain task. |
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3D 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! |
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Disorientation Blurred vision, switching of assets, suddenly slowed or accelerated time or other ways a game can purposefully disorient the player or character. |
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Death The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games. |
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Final Boss The last boss you face in a game, usually representing the final climax of the game. |
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After-Credits Story-Changing Ending A cutscene or conversation that appears after, or during, the credits and just so happens to reveal crucial information pertaining to the game's plot or characters, as seen in the Metal Gear Solid games. |
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Bosses Video game bosses are usually the main antagonist, and arch nemesis of the main protagonist. In most cases the end of a game is when the main character defeats the final boss. |
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Gravity #1 reason for death and frustration in platformers. Many platformers will have a level where they will change the force of gravity so the player will either jump higher or lower. |
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Infinite Ammo A concept in a game where the playable character can't run out of ammo, and doesn't need to pick up/buy ammo. In some cases, you still have to reload your weapon, but you have an endless amount of clips. |
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Easy Achievements It's a little too easy to unlock achievements in some Xbox 360 games. |
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Native American A member of any of a number of tribes or ethnic groups, indigenous to regions of North America which are now part of the United States. Many of these groups continue to exist as intact legal and political entities. |
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Platinum Games While some games can sell hundreds of thousands of units, not all are recognized as being Platinum Games immediately. Sometimes it can take a while for these games to be re-released at a cheaper price, as demonstrated by both Sony and Microsoft, but when they are they become part of the Platinum range on that platform. |
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Full Body Awareness Games with a first person camera view that allow you see your characters body when looking down. |
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Digital Distribution Digital Distribution is the concept of purchasing digital media via the internet and having it sent to the user directly via the internet. No physical representation of this content is given but the content resides on the users hard drive and is legally owned by them. |
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Anti-Cheat System A system put in place to stop game breaking actions such as cheating and hacking. These include trainers and aimbots. |
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Zombie A term used to describe the undead. Usually it takes one good blow to the head to get rid of them. Their diet consists mostly of brains. Fresh brains. Usualy very slow- but deadly in bigger numbers. |
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Mirrormonster Objects such as player characters or creatures that due to resource limits or wonderful old-school texturing methods only are half-textured, then mirrored. To be classified as a mirrormonster though, there has to be some hilarity involved, it's not simply or limited to being a TECHNICAL TERM. |
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Alien Abduction Abductions are events in which people, animals, or things are taken by aliens and UFOs for various purposes including experimentation and other unknown reasons. |
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Auto-Save When the game automatically saves the game for you when you reach certain points. Implemented in order to reduce frustration for forgetful savers. |
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Hitbox A feature in many curtain fire games, the point where a character can be hit is a different size than the character itself. Whether this zone is visible or not (it varies from game to game), it allows players to dodge bullet patterns that would otherwise be impossible. |
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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. |
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Jump It's arguably the one move that symbolizes the medium to those outside it. The ability to jump, be it onto building, onto platforms, or onto skulls, is one of the all time most important abilities ever put in a video game. |
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Reloading Reloading is the action of replacing the magazine inside a gun. Without reloading, modern shooters would be impossible. |
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Multiple Eyes Some creatures have three or more eyes and tend to be monstrous and frightening. Don't ask about their contact lens situation. |
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Southpaw A reversed thumbstick layout for left-handed players. The option isn't default, but is available in most games. |
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Direct2Drive Digital distribution method for pc games, anime, comics, and guides. Direct2Drive is maintained and owned by IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc. |
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