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Ball Scratching
Sometimes, you just got to scratch that itch.
First appeared in Grand Theft Auto IV
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Battle of the Nations
An online game mode where players play as nations against other nations attempting to win an international tournament.
Appears in 2 games
First appeared in UEFA Euro 2008
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Cold Open
Jumping straight into the story without pressing a "new game" button or even seeing a main menu.
Appears in 21 games
First appeared in The Last Ninja
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Video Camera Interface
An in-game interface designed to look like video footage.
Appears in 13 games
First appeared in Michigan: Report from Hell
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Petroleum
A crude, flammable liquid made up of hydrocarbons that can be found in geologic formations beneath the earth's surface.
Appears in 12 games
First appeared in Bomber
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On-The-Fly Character Switching
Games that allow characters to be switched with the press of a button. This concept's definition does not include player switching in team sports games.
Appears in 143 games
First appeared in Catrap
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Cell Phone Interface
A menu or other interface that is presented as a cell phone operating system.
Appears in 41 games
First appeared in Midnight Club: Street Racing
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Subtitled Silence
Subtitled Silence is when a character remains silent in a section of dialogue and a subtitle box appears usually having an ellipsis (...) or nothing at all. Most common in J-RPGs and dating sims. The character can also make a small moan or grunt.
Appears in 111 games
First appeared in Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
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Drawing
The ability to draw or paint in a game, whether as a gameplay mechanic or just a fun bonus.
Appears in 51 games
First appeared in Doubleback
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Talking Trees
Otherwise ordinary trees that possess the ability of speech.
Appears in 50 games
First appeared in Xak: The Art of Visual Stage
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Souls as Currency
In some video games, souls are used as the unit of currency for in game purchases and upgrades. Turns out that the worth of a person's soul is about 1/500th of that sweet new sword.
Appears in 20 games
First appeared in Last Armageddon
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Bed Head
Why fix your hair after you wake up when you could just leave it like that?
Appears in 3 games
First appeared in EarthBound
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Hip Hop
These half-pheasant/half-eagles have been captured by Devan and his turtle goons. If Jazz frees one, it will aid him until the next time he take damage.
Appears in 2 games
First appeared in Jazz Jackrabbit
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Gordo
Gordo is an enemy from the Kirby series. While not aggressive he is completely indestructible and must be avoided.
Appears in 22 games
First appeared in Kirby's Dream Land
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Lenticular Box Art
Lenticulars are images that change or move when viewed from different angles. Occasionally they are used on the cover of a game. The process is based on stereoscopic vision and is made possible through the use of arrays of carefully designed parallel lenses.
Appears in 10 games
First appeared in Getsu Fuuma Den
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Foil Box Art
Some games want to stand out on the retail shelf, and being shiny is one way to do that. Sometimes the foil is simply shiny and other times they stand out even more by being holographic.
Appears in 33 games
First appeared in Tetris Plus
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Pithy Epitaphs
Developers can't seem to resist filling video game graveyards with interactive tombstones full of witty sayings and inside jokes, particularly in fantasy RPGs.
Appears in 29 games
First appeared in The Oregon Trail
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Beetles
Beetles are among the most widespread groups of insects in the world, with the largest number of known species. They have played various roles in human culture, and have been regarded as pests, beneficial organisms and sacred beings.
Appears in 44 games
First appeared in Turtles
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Light Puzzles
Puzzles where light beams must be manipulated in certain ways, usually with a series of mirrors. Popular in action-adventure games.
Appears in 64 games
First appeared in Rescue Rover
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Source Port
Source port is a general term for any modification created through the use of a game engine's source code, usually with the intent of expanding or improving its functionality in some way. Source ports commonly add features such as high resolution support and compatibility with newer operating systems.
Appears in 10 games
First appeared in Wolfenstein 3D
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Howie Scream
Similar to the Wilhelm Scream, this is an often used voice sample heard in many games, e.g. Starcraft and Half-Life 2. It is also known as the "TIE fighter scream" for it's similarity to the sound the passing fighters make in Star Wars: A New Hope.
Appears in 8 games
First appeared in Star Wars: Dark Forces
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Talking Boat
These boats have defied societal norms and decided to speak the words of the soul. Not only a handy method of travel, they provide a much-needed source of companionship for the traveler... most of the time.
Appears in 4 games
First appeared in Thunder in Paradise Interactive
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Upside-Down Castle
A castle that is upside-down, appears in multiple games.
Appears in 4 games
First appeared in Super Castlevania IV
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Homebrew
Homebrew software is a slang term for unofficial software and games for consoles and handhelds which don't generally support it, such as the Wii or Nintendo DS.
Appears in 74 games
First appeared in Funky Fish
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Maimed Protagonist
This concept applies to any game protagonist who through the course of the game's story becomes physically and permanently maimed in some way (by losing an eye, an hand or other body part). They may receive an artificial replacement but the character remains physically changed through the course of the game.
Appears in 20 games
First appeared in Bionic Commando
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Emblem
A Symbol that belongs to a character and an award for doing a great deed.
Appears in 14 games
First appeared in Castlevania
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Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Rivals List
A form of player matching list seen in some games that support the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Rather than exchange Friend Codes, players that compete online may tag each other as rivals, allowing them to play against each other in Friend-style matches without the use of Friend Codes.
Appears in 2 games
First appeared in Castlevania Judgment
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Asynchronous Multiplayer
Asynchronous multiplayer is a term applied to online interactions in video games where players participate in shared activity, but not concurrently. The oldest form of asynchronous multiplayer is turn-based multiplayer gameplay between two or more players that can check in and play their turn when it's convenient. Similar to play-by-mail games and, more electronically, play-by-email or play-by-post forum games.
Appears in 65 games
First appeared in Speed Race
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Facepalm
A gesture used to express shame or disbelief.
Appears in 8 games
First appeared in Zero Wing
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Chef
A professional cook. Chefs are often overworked and very sensitive about their cuisine.
Appears in 43 games
First appeared in BurgerTime
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Fake Glitch
A fake glitch is a "glitch" coded into the game, designed to confuse, scare, or amuse the player.
Appears in 55 games
First appeared in Captive
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Personified Classes
Games where every playable character is its own individual class (Ranger, Spy, Necromancer, and so forth).
Appears in 25 games
First appeared in Laplace no Ma
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The Collectors
An aphid-like species from beyond the Omega-4 Mass Relay, not much is known about these mysterious creatures. Apart from their advanced technology, the Collectors are an enigma.
Appears in 1 games
First appeared in Mass Effect 2
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Vorcha
The Vorcha are an alien race in the Mass Effect universe, first appearing in Mass Effect 2.
Appears in 1 games
First appeared in Mass Effect 2
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Drell
The Drell are an alien race that exists in the Mass Effect universe. The species' first appearance is in Mass Effect 2. The party member Thane is a Drell.
Appears in 1 games
First appeared in Mass Effect 2
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Flan
A Flan is a gelatinous enemy that has appeared in almost every Main Final Fantasy title and spin-off. They are often affiliated with one of the four that appear in Final Fantasy.
Appears in 22 games
First appeared in Final Fantasy II
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Room-Based Menus
A menu system which utilizes objects in a room to represent menu choices. Often the camera will pan around the room to each option as the player navigates the menu.
Appears in 23 games
First appeared in The Playroom
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Letterboxing Widescreen
A game that utilizes a letterbox frame when it is already running in a widescreen resolution.
Appears in 26 games
First appeared in Blair Witch, Volume I: Rustin Parr
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Scarfy
Scarfy is a floating enemy from the Kirby Series. It mutates into a more threatening form if Kirby attempts to inhale it.
Appears in 15 games
First appeared in Kirby's Dream Land
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Fictional Franchise Backstory
Part of the game's story is that it's part of a franchise, but guess what? Some of it doesn't really exist!
Appears in 5 games
First appeared in Mutant League Football
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Stepping on Bugs
Often used to show their dominance over those tiny creatures called insects, and sometimes just for fun!
Appears in 26 games
First appeared in Animal Crossing
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Shadow Pokémon
Shadow Pokemon are new mechanic featured debuting in the two Pokemon games, Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD.
Appears in 3 games
First appeared in Pokémon Colosseum
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Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team that competes in the NBA.
Appears in 32 games
First appeared in Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs
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Berserkers
In Norse literature, berserkers are described as intense warriors who fought in a wild and uncontrollable fury. Many game have based characters or classes on the concept of these rage-driven warriors.
Appears in 42 games
First appeared in Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya
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