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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.
Games whose titles consist of a single word.
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.
A two-dimensional image or animation overlaid into a scene. The foundation of early 2D games, making up everything from props to the player-controlled character.
A digital distribution platform that focuses on providing DRM-free computer games, both old and new.
Health is a value that gauges how much damage players can take in a game before they die or pass out. Also known as life in some games. Health is usually represented by a bar or a percentage instead of an exact amount. Found in most non sport games
An online retro gaming streaming platform.
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.
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.
A game perspective that views the action from above, commonly at a fixed position and/or rotation.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
Tracker music, or module/MOD music is a digital music format that was popularized in the late 80's and became the de facto standard for video game music on the Amiga, as well as in the Demoscene, and is still in wide use today.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
This concept is for games in which at least one of the main characters is male.
Pixel art refers to digital images composed of visible pixels, drawn with individual pixel-level intent and precision.
The concept of lives in video games evolved to let the player get a second chance after failing once. The most recognizable symbol is the heart.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
Earning an extra life, either by collecting a 1up or by hitting a certain score.
Anthropomorphism is the concept of an object, concept or character that has human qualities or traits, such as speech, a level of intelligence similar or higher than a human's and self consciousness. "Anthro" means "of human" and related to the concept of humanity.
General MIDI (also known as GM or GM 1) is a standardized specification for electronic musical instruments that respond to MIDI messages. It is used in the large majority of older DOS and Windows games.
A powerful release of energy. This energy is usually expelled in all directions very quickly, typically giving off orange or red flames.
Enemies that prefer to keep a distance to the ground, and swoop down occasionally to do some damage.
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.
Passwords are codes used to save a player's progress, primarily during the 8-bit era and, to a lesser extent, the 16-bit era.
Parallax scrolling is a scrolling effect used in video game graphics, employing multiple scrolling layers to create the illusion of depth, for a pseudo-3D effect in an otherwise 2D scrolling game.
If the protagonist is standing on an unstable platform for a certain amount of time, it will eventually drop. Usually there is a pit below, or some other hazardous danger.
Sometimes you want a challenge, sometimes you wanna coast.
A parallel projection technique used in 2D sprite-based games to fake the appearance of 3D depth.
Cold-blooded aquatic animals that have scales and breathe through gills.
A digital distribution service owned by Valve Corporation. Originally created to distribute Valve's own games, Steam has since become the de facto standard for digital distribution of PC games.
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