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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.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
Games whose titles consist of a single word.
The Virtual Console is a platform service that first appeared on Nintendo's Wii and later on the 3DS and Wii U. Games from past consoles are emulated to run on the new hardware with the added benefits of system-level save states and other features.
Never Ending Games is a self-explanatory concept in which a game is unbeatable and never ends, due either to the game having no true ending or because the game is not saved (or truly continued) after the last section of the game.
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.
The concept of purchasing media and having it delivered over the internet. No physical representation of this content is given, and although the content resides on the user's hard drive they are typically granted a license to the product, rather than ownership of it.
Games that can be played with a CGA monitor and graphics card. CGA, Color Graphics Adapter was the first generation of color graphics for the IBM PC.
Porting is a term used when a game designed to run on one platform is converted to run on a different platform. Quality varies, though some titles are packaged with extras.
The controversial practice of incorporating "access control technology" into digital media so as to limit what owners of that media can do with it, most commonly for the stated purpose of preventing piracy.
A level in which everything is displayed on-screen at once, with no scrolling, flip screen, or 3D movement. Many '80s games consist entirely of single-screen levels.
A situation where the player-controlled character loses their life immediately. The quickness of that demise is often a stark departure from the balance of power, and sometimes the rules, established by the developers during the rest of the game.
8-bit can be a reference to actual computing power, or it can be a retro look for videogames that want to recall a bygone era.
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.
Achievements are extra challenges added into video games that sometimes carry a point value or unlock bonus material, and are sometimes solely for bragging rights.
Collectibles are items such as coins, rings, gems, packages etc. that can be gathered, usually for some kind of reward, or sometimes to simply beat a level. Often (almost too often) the source of earning achievements and trophies on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
Chiptunes are musical compositions that are synthesized by a computer or console sound chip.
Games released coinciding with new hardware.
Famicom Disk System games that were only available via a disk writing service available in many Japanese game stores. As such, they have no official box art and are harder for collectors to find.
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.
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 level that is impossible or nearly impossible to complete because of a programming error or oversight. Often times the screen number is a power of 2 or 10.
A leaderboard is a way for players of any multi-player game to know where they rank within the game's community.
These are games you don't need a console to play. You plug in a controller to the TV and you're ready to play.
Potentially deadly in the real world, annoying and funny in the animated world.
Gravity is a physical phenomenon, specifically the mutual attraction between all objects in the universe. In a gaming setting, gravity determines the relationship between the player and the "ground," preventing the player or game objects from flying off into space, and hopefully acting in a predictable/realistic manner.
Being able to travel off one side of the screen and in from the other side.
Pixel art refers to digital images composed of visible pixels, drawn with individual pixel-level intent and precision.
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