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Game Mess Mornings 05/03/24
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Games that feature stages in which the player is forced to continually progress, chased by a relentless and lethal threat that covers the entire height/width of the screen.
There are good agents, like Elite Beat Agents and bad agents, like Agent Smith.
Used by protagonists when opening a door that is locked, or just for looking really cool.
A staple in modern shooters. They hide, crawl, creep, climb and jump, and are usually pretty weak but hard to hit.
Games often use iron sights to define precision shooting with non-scoped weapons.
Extraterrestrials appear in many video games in a variety of styles. Sometimes they're evil, sometimes they're benevolent, and sometimes they're very similar to humans.
Games that feature more than one style of Game Over screen. Alternate Game Over screens are often used when the player loses in specific ways.
Instrumental music, often electronic, that does not follow conventional music structures, instead using various sounds to create a mood. Ambient music can evoke many different feelings in the listener, from tranquility to creeping dread.
Ambient Occlusion attempts to realistically depict the way light reflects off surfaces and radiates throughout an area.
An often used plot device where the main character wakes up and has lost all their memories. The game usually centers around getting your memory back or uncovering the events that lead to your confusion.
This concept occurs in many RPGs and Sci-Fi games. The Ancient Advanced Civilization Technology is often a giant weapon (Halo Rings, Giant of Babil, etc.) that becomes a major plot focus in the stories of these games.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, commonly refers to the programmed behaviors of NPCs in a game, whether it's the fact that a soldier takes cover behind a wall in Gears of War, or that townspeople cheer upon your arrival to their village in Fable.
Characters that are described and interact with the character primarily or only via audio (most often through dialogue, but usually also using some audio effects). As opposed to cutscenes which often emulate film, the way aural characters are presented in games often more closely parallels radio dramas and other audio-exclusive media.
The game automatically saves for you when you reach certain points. Implemented in order to reduce frustration for forgetful savers.
Backtracking is the act of navigating through previously explored areas, usually for the purpose of progressing in an objective-based adventure game. Players who are lost may also backtrack to reorient themselves.
When characters make conversation during normal gameplay, rather than a dialog-focused scene.
Bats are small, very social flying mammals. They may frequent caves or haunted houses.
When the player character (re)visits a certain area or location that was also present in a previous game, or visited later on in the same game, with some alterations.
Betrayal is when a person breaks the trust and faith that others have placed in them.
Games that are depicted with a predominantly black-and-white appearance, with sequences to this effect, or optional color filters.
Necessary to sustain life in organic creatures, the crimson fluid known as blood tends to make appearances when the body's structure is compromised in some way, a very, very common occurrence in videogames.
When blood will splash textures on walls or floors and even roofs.
Many Horror and adventure games use blood trails to either signify that something especially violent happened that spot and/or that following it will progress the narrative.
Games that are based upon books or novels.
Bosses are enemies that fight you at the end of a level or at a significant point in the story.
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 path that is displayed on screen to help guide the player to certain objectives.
Whether jumping, crashing, or being thrown, objects & characters traveling loudly through windows never ceases to be entertaining.
The act of living outdoors, usually in a tent. It is a common method of providing comfort while resting in forested areas or other regions away from established civilization.
Sometimes the writers will deliberately slip the title of the game into dialogue to show off how witty they are.
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