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Downloadable Content adds new features and content to already-distributed video games via the Internet. Examples include new maps for FPS games, new songs for rhythm games, and new cars for racing games.
Player versus Player, commonly abbreviated as PvP, is a gaming term popularized in MMOs to refer to gameplay in which players fight against other player controlled characters.
Splash damage is a term used in several types of games, most notably in first-person shooter and real-time strategy games, to refer to damage taken by players or objects in the area surrounding a point of weapon impact.
Player versus Environment, commonly abbreviated as PvE, is a gaming term that originated in MMOs to refer to gameplay in which players fight against computer controlled creatures or characters.
WASD, or WADS, is the most common and often the default setting to move the player character in computer games with a first or third person perspective.
Dragons were originally messengers from heaven, according to early Buddhist texts. In games, they can be among the most fearsome of adversaries, but there are some exceptions.
Minerals are the primary resource featured in many games.
A mechanical system designed to capture or cause harm. Either the player can set traps for their enemies or others set them for the player.
Farming is the act of growing plants and raising animals for food.
The ability to communicate via voice.
Some video games utilize a system that has the player occasionally consuming food items to keep their hunger under control. Ignoring it can result in decreased stamina, or in some cases, death of the player's character and a "Game Over" screen.
Realistically rendered water can really immerse you in a game. Just don't try to dive into your TV!
Combining or raising animals, plants, or any variant of living items into a child or new item.
Digging is a strategic mechanic of many games. Digging allows the ability to unearth valuables and strategize pathways.
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.
World Building games focus on the ability of the player to created his own little world just as he wants it. Good examples, are The Sims, Black and White, and Spore.
When a character from an existing media franchise makes a brief appearance in a video game, sometimes without even openly acknowledging their origins.
Games that have been used as the basis for motion pictures.
Like a Werewolf, but a hedgehog.
Mainly featured in MMOs, a corpse run is when a the player character dies and the player has to return to the location of the death in order to come back to life and/or reclaim items.
In games, fire can be an obstacle, a tool, a weapon, or a solution. Just don't play with it...unless you really want to.
Terrain Deformation is the idea of allowing the geometry of the world to be changed in dynamic, non-scripted ways. For instance, in the game Sacrifice you can cast many spells (like Volcano) which alter the terrain's elevation permanently.
Floating Islands are land masses (anywhere from island size to continental size) that float either by the use of magic or some other force.
Skeleton Warriors are comprised of the animated bones of the dead. Often brought to life to do the bidding of an evil master as mindless and indefatigable soldiers and guardsmen.
Darkness is used in games to restrict access, increase tension, or just to set a mood. Often the player has access to a light source that can mitigate its effect.
The extraction of valuable minerals from the earth.
A chicken is a small, domesticated flightless bird that can be white, yellow, brown or black. A female is a hen, a male a rooster, and a baby a chick.
The game automatically saves for you when you reach certain points. Implemented in order to reduce frustration for forgetful savers.
The word "voxel" is a portmanteau of "volumetric" and "pixel" (which in turn is a portmanteau of "picture" and "element"). Essentially a three-dimensional cube, they are used to build objects in a virtual space, especially terrain.
When monsters in a game can turn on each other after an accidental injury and fight to the death instead of focusing on the player, or when some of the player's enemies also hate each other, and will attack each other on sight.
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