839: Weird Bird Prison
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The game automatically saves for you when you reach certain points. Implemented in order to reduce frustration for forgetful savers.
Backwards Compatibility is a feature in console gaming that allows a console to play the games and use the hardware of its previous iterations. Some games are also designed from the ground up to be played in more than one console.
A bar that travels across the screen in time with music. It affects different objects in different ways depending on the game.
Limited editions of games that include extra "perks" like Making of DVDs and a nice and shiny tin with extra box art
Typically found in fighting games, combos are a series of strung-together moves.
The ability to break a combo at either the auto-double or linker stage. Most commonly found in the Killer Instinct series. Also a famous internet meme.
Currency has all forms in video games. It is used to buy characters, vehicles, weapons, and more.
Sometimes you want a challenge, sometimes you wanna coast.
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.
A DJ (Disc Jockey or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Turntables, CD players, mixers, computer software, and effects units are used to create what is known as a mix.
When the player's actions trigger a change in the game's soundtrack. This adds a cinematic quality to the gameplay.
Electronic music is one of the broadest classifications of music, and has been a staple of video game soundtracks since the 90s. The genre's main trait is the use of electronic instruments.
Experience Points are part of a character advancement system commonly found in RPGs. These points are generally gained by defeating an enemy or completing a task.
Fever mode is a frantic form of bonus round, found in some puzzle or arcade games, triggered by player achievement such as reaching a required score or hitting a enemy or zone. During fever mode the player can rapidly score more points or do more damage than in regular play.
A concept primarily found in music/rhythm games. Commonly abbreviated to FC, a Full Combo is achieved by hitting 100% of the notes without breaking the combo multiplier.
FMVs are pre-rendered videos used in place of real-time graphics. Using FMV was an attempt to make videogames look "more like movies", sometimes with CGI animation and others with live-action actors speaking directly to players. The downside is that FMV requires a lot of disk space, and live-action FMV in particular can look terrible by comparison.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
A character or a disembodied voice will say the name of the video game. Depending on the mood of the game, this could range from shouting the game's name to ominously whispering it.
Health is a value that gauges how much damage players can take in a game before they die or pass out. Also known as life in some games. Health is usually represented by a bar or a percentage instead of an exact amount. Found in most non sport games
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
Hip-Hop is a type of urban culture that has been featured in many videogames to varying extents, in movies, and in all around pop culture. Hip-Hop includes Rap music/Emceeing, graffiti art, DJ'ing, and breakdancing.
A leaderboard is a way for players of any multi-player game to know where they rank within the game's community.
The process by which characters reach a new level, gain greater attributes, and learn more abilities. It usually involves earning enough experience points by completing a variety of tasks such as quests or by "farming" such as killing other characters for their experience points.
Magnetic cards store a person's saved game data on arcade cabinets.
The technology that allows a single touch screen to read from more than one input, whether it be a stylus, fingers, or otherwise.
A music video is a film that comes with a song. It can be a combination of the music artists performing and/or actors playing scenes and/or other elements. Many games come with a music video related to the game.
The iconic note path established by Harmonix and used frequently in American (often guitar-centric) rhythm games.
Rhythm game's that use beat sliders usually give the player the ability to earn a note streak if they stay on track with their striking of notes consistently
Games which allow players to interact with others over the internet.
Third-party developers and publishers occasionally engage in the practice of releasing a title or piece of DLC on only one platform for any number of reasons. Sometimes these are permanent while others are only platform exclusive for a certain window of time.
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