Power Bombcast: The Skin Doesn't Quite Fit
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Game Mess Mornings 05/03/24
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Game » consists of 15 releases. Released Dec 22, 1995
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.
Belt scrolling is a 2D perspective, side-scrolling action with downward camera angle. The character is able to move not only sideways, but also vertically within a limited area, giving pseudo-3D depth. Mostly used by beat 'em up brawlers, this term is mainly used in Japan and comes from the conveyor belt like viewpoint.
Bonus levels, rounds, or stages give players a chance to gain extra points, powerups, or lives. Occasionally bonus stages will play completely different than the rest of the game, like as a slot machine or pinball minigame.
Games that let you choose the path you take through the story-line.
A condition in which two male characters are socially close, but not sexually or romantically, and are often partners.
Button Mashing is a term used to describe gameplay where certain skills can be only realized explicitly through mashing buttons, a reckless player trying to get results or when the game rewards the player(s) who bash buttons the fastest. The latter example is common in Party Games.
A concept in games with multiple characters, a screen with pictures of all playable characters with the possibility of stat listings.
Typically found in fighting games, combos are a series of strung-together moves.
Games where you cooperate with other players to accomplish certain goals, yet at the same time compete for power (items) and glory (wealth).
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.
Games that give the player only a limited amount of time to choose whether to continue or not. This concept is most often seen in arcade titles and their home ports.
A person serving time in prison or an escaped criminal on the run from the law.
Cooperative play in games allows humans to play together as a team to accomplish a task. Instead of playing against a human opponent, the team must defeat an AI. Cooperative Play in some games also means 2 human versus 2 human, this occurs in some Billiards games. (Scotch Doubles / Doubles)
The ultimate pressure feature. Players have to complete the task at hand, be it defeating opponents or cutting the right wire, in the allotted time.
Games involving characters that round up local hoodlums for the good of the community.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
Someone who investigates unsolved crimes and other mysterious happenings, either for a living, as a hobby, or simply by chance.
Pressing the A button while facing left makes player character punch in that direction. Pressing A while facing right...makes them punch left.
'Drop-In' is a style of co-op gameplay where extra players can join the 1st player seamlessly without having to quit the game or navigate any menus. Many of these games do allow players to 'Drop-Out' of the game in a similar manner.
When a game lets players grab enemies and throw them as projectiles. Commonly found in platformers, but also sometimes found in over-the-top 3rd person action games.
A gang isn't just two crude dudes, it's a whole mess of them. There's all kinds of different gangs represented in games: street gangs, organized criminals, and even high school cliques.
"Hand to hand. It is the basis of all combat." -Gray Fox
More effective than any hospital. These games let you heal damage; ranging from a black eye to a gunshot wound, just by having a snack.
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
An attack that is fueled by the attacker's own health, causing it to decrease each time the attack is used.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
A parallel projection technique used in 2D sprite-based games to fake the appearance of 3D depth.
It's arguably the one move that symbolizes the medium to those outside it. The ability to jump, be it onto a building, a platform, or a skull, is one of the all time most important abilities ever put in a video game.
Kill Stealing involves a player killing another player's target in order to gain his or her "prize". These include loot, experience points, a point score, etc.
The head of a city government. The perfect candidate if your game needs a rear end in a top hat.
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