Power Bombcast: The Skin Doesn't Quite Fit
Giant Bomb Presents
Game Mess Mornings 05/03/24
GrubbSnax
The Community Spotlight 2024.04.27
The Community Spotlight 2024.04.20
The Community Spotlight 2024.04.13
Franchise »
This concept is for games in which at least one of the main characters is male.
A game where you eventually receive a map of an area. Like in Metroid Prime you have map download stations to get a map outline of the area. This is the same concept in the exploring Castlevania games.
From Beat-em-ups to fighting games to modern FPS, one dude hitting another has made an enjoyable pastime.
Somebody wrote or drew a message on the wall, maybe it was in blood, maybe they had a marker handy; but now here you are, reading it.
A small, closed-off area in a game containing enemies that opens at some trigger point. Often used to surprise the player, or as an alternative to spawning enemies out of thin air.
People that make games are crazy, that's been evident since the 70s. Like a lot of crazy people they look at too much H.R Giger and realize that the human body is a truly disturbing thing.
Sometimes we will go a whole game without knowing the true name of a protagonist. Oftentimes, this is remedied by unique references being made towards the protagonist, such as "The Wanderer," "The Kid," or "The Man With no Name."
The ability to see in the dark without mechanical means.
A Palette Swap is when two or more characters share the same style sprite or character model with only minor color or cosmetic changes. Although visually similar, palette swap characters may have very different moves and personalities.
Who needs 2D when we've got 3D? 3D, or 3 dimensions, is what we're used to seeing in almost every game these days, letting us do all sorts of awesome stuff like run in circles!
Puzzles may need to be solved before the player can progress to the next section of the game. Often it may not be clear to players exactly what the puzzle is, or whether the an in-game items needs to be attained before it is even possible to solve it.
Classic form of numbering that gives things a more regal feel.
A disembodied hand on the box of a retail game.
A lead character who never says a word, despite being spoken to.
A boss that doesn't move around during battle. It will instead use other means to "reach" the player.
Usually the room before a boss battle, filled with ammo, health and other goodies for players to stock up on.
Popularized by franchises such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, these games typically involve a strong implication of danger, vulnerable protagonists, and disturbing monsters.
Enemies that are small, deal relatively low damage, and have low health, but make up for it by attacking in large numbers. Examples include Flood infection forms from Halo, Trites from Doom 3, or Crawlers from Resistance: Fall of Man.
It's the designer's go-to guy. If they want to steer a player in a given direction they'll lock an in game door and force the player to find a way to either unlock it or find an alternate route.
The Undead is an umbrella term describing creatures that do not exhibit the key fundamental attributes that are associated with life, such as respiration, and blood circulation. They are divided into two main categories: Ethereal and Corporeal, depending on whether or not they have a body.
Voice Acting is the art of providing voices for characters in games, television shows, films, radio programs, and other forms of media.
These are games that begin with the player waking up. More often than not this occurs in RPGS, but is certainly not exclusive to the genre.
A room made for the sole purpose of containing a single weapon.
An audio signal that contains noise at the same level at all frequencies. Appears on TV screens and video transmissions as static "snow".
In some racing games the player has to choose between two different routes. This also occurs in platform games and other genres.
Zombies, more accurately called the walking dead, are reanimated corpses who feed on the living, and have become a ubiquitous video game enemy. They often move slowly, but can be deadly in large numbers, which is unfortunately how they tend to travel. Shotgun time!
Pressing a button to zoom-in. For example: in a flight combat game or a shooter without iron sights.
This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:
Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.
Use your keyboard!
Log in to comment
Log in to comment