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A game that uses a mixture of 2D & 3D techniques. Commonly used to describe the use of either 3D graphics restricted to a 2D perceptive, or 2D graphics used to fake the appearance of a 3D perceptive.
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.
Though many arcade machines used dedicated hardware, some manufacturers attempted to use a common platform between different games, offering arcade operators cheaper ways to change from one game to another without buying an entirely new cabinet.
Bosses are enemies that fight you at the end of a level or at a significant point in the story.
The continue is a classic gaming concept, and usually arises when the player "dies" or fails in the game. Usually some loss is tied to a continue, in a form of a "life" or something of other value.
A powerful release of energy. This energy is usually expelled in all directions very quickly, typically giving off orange or red flames.
The last boss you face in a game, usually representing the final climax of the game.
"Hand to hand. It is the basis of all combat." -Gray Fox
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
The Namco Super Pac-Man is an 8-bit arcade system board that was initially used by Namco in 1982. It was the company's first board to use a Motorola M6809 processor (using two of them) instead of a Zilog Z80.
Released in 1988, the game's Namco System 21 "Polygonizer" arcade board was one of the first gaming systems dedicated to polygonal 3D graphics, and was the most powerful gaming hardware of the 1980's. Its 3D graphical capabilities would not be surpassed until the release of Sega's Model 1 arcade system in 1992.
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.
QSound is a recording/mixing process used in many audio recordings based on a processing algorithm and used to make sound appear to be in 3D whilst using only 2 speakers.
Sega VCO Object, also known as Sega Z80-3D system, was an arcade system board released by Sega in 1981. It was the first system specifically designed for pseudo-3D sprite-scaling graphics. In 1982, it was also the first system to support active-shutter stereoscopic 3D.
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 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.
Whether it's Super Scaler or Mode 7, growing and shrinking sprites/textures is a concept often used in sprite-based games. It was a popular technique used to create three-dimensional games with sprites, mostly during the 16-bit to early 32-bit eras. Sprite-scaling was an early form of 3D texture-mapping.
A series of arcade system boards and graphics engines developed by Sega to produce advanced, three-dimensional, sprite-scaling graphics. Capable of scaling/rotating thousands of sprites, Super Scaler produced the most advanced sprite-based graphics, from the Sega Hang-On in 1985 to the Sega System 32 in the '90s. It was an early form of 3D texture-mapping.
Immersing the player using sound directed from 5 speakers and a sub-woofer, surround sound is the way of choice to hear game audio.
The Taito Z System is a 16-bit arcade system board released by Taito in 1987, debuting with racing simulation Continental Circus. It was followed by an enhanced 32-bit upgrade, the Taito SZ System, which debuted in 1992 with first-person shooter Gun Buster.
Vertical scrolling is when the screen scrolls along the y-axis. In a vertical scrolling game the player usually starts from the bottom of the screen and moves up. They are also almost always presented in a top-down perspective.
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