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#239 - The Tragically Poetic State of Video Games
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Game » consists of 23 releases. Released September 1981
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.
8-bit can be a reference to actual computing power, or it can be a retro look for videogames that want to recall a bygone era.
Achievements are extra challenges added into video games that sometimes carry a point value or unlock bonus material, and are sometimes solely for bragging rights.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, commonly refers to the programmed behaviors of NPCs in a game, whether it's the fact that a soldier takes cover behind a wall in Gears of War, or that townspeople cheer upon your arrival to their village in Fable.
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.
Palette-swapping are sometimes used to denote the different strengths and abilities of your adversaries.
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.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
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.
The controversial practice of incorporating "access control technology" into digital media so as to limit what owners of that media can do with it, most commonly for the stated purpose of preventing piracy.
Famicom Disk System games that were only available via a disk writing service available in many Japanese game stores. As such, they have no official box art and are harder for collectors to find.
The 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on May 10-12.
The 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on July 15-17.
Enemy Capture is a game mechanic that enables the player to capture or charm enemies. The capture mechanics and the ways enemies are used are myriad, but the effects are always beneficial to the player.
Gravity is a physical phenomenon, specifically the mutual attraction between all objects in the universe. In a gaming setting, gravity determines the relationship between the player and the "ground," preventing the player or game objects from flying off into space, and hopefully acting in a predictable/realistic manner.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
Whether it be a close up shotgun blast, far away sniper rifle, explosive, or backstab, the "one hit kill" is a popular kill strategy. Usually hard to master and even harder to avoid, the instant kill is loved and hated by gamers everywhere.
A level that is impossible or nearly impossible to complete because of a programming error or oversight. Often times the screen number is a power of 2 or 10.
A leaderboard is a way for players of any multi-player game to know where they rank within the game's community.
The opposite of open-ended gameplay, linear gameplay uses scripted events, Quick time events, cut scenes, and a restricted path to tell a story exactly how the writer intends, and control elements of the action.
The concept of lives in video games evolved to let the player get a second chance after failing once. The most recognizable symbol is the heart.
Any game that does not have any written or spoken dialogue in it, regardless if it has characters or not. This includes any text or recorded dialogue that is spoken by a character or narrator, but not text such as "Press Start".
A concept where the game must be restarted if you are killed. It is a mechanic found in most arcade games, but the term is usually used in reference to the RPG genre where the mechanic is less common, particularly "roguelike" games as well as strategy games such as Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics where characters die if they are defeated in battle. Often used as a significant plot device.
These games, franchises, characters, or companies have some connection with PlayStation Home. They could have some related digital wares available, have their own Space, or even be playable.
Trophies are an incentive-based system for the completion of various objective in PS3, Vita, and PS4 titles.
These are games you don't need a console to play. You plug in a controller to the TV and you're ready to play.
Porting is a term used when a game designed to run on one platform is converted to run on a different platform. Quality varies, though some titles are packaged with extras.
These games take the select button literally. Pushing up and down (or any other button) to select an option will do nothing.
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.
Games whose titles consist of a single word.
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