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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.
The Virtual Console is a platform service that first appeared on Nintendo's Wii and later on the 3DS and Wii U. Games from past consoles are emulated to run on the new hardware with the added benefits of system-level save states and other features.
Special codes or button combinations used to gain powers or advantages in a game. Generally hidden.
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.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
Games whose titles consist of a single word.
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.
Japanese PC online digital distribution service for emulated retro games, launched on 24 November 2001, years before similar services from Steam, Virtual Console, or XBLA.
Shellcreepers are the turtle-like enemies from Mario Bros., and precursors to the Koopas.
“Indie” or “independently developed” games are video games which are developed by a studio without the support of an external publisher.
Anthropomorphism is the concept of an object, concept or character that has human qualities or traits, such as speech, a level of intelligence similar or higher than a human's and self consciousness. "Anthro" means "of human" and related to the concept of humanity.
Originally created in China, mahjong is a draw-and-discard game using a vast assortment of special tiles. It is popular throughout Asia and has many regional rule variations.
These games take the select button literally. Pushing up and down (or any other button) to select an option will do nothing.
Games whose main character is so egotistical that the whole game just HAS to be named after them.
A mechanical system designed to capture or cause harm. Either the player can set traps for their enemies or others set them for 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.
A sub-genre of adventure games, visual novels are a form of interactive fiction that usually have very little in terms of gameplay but often focus more on extensive storytelling, character interactions, decision-making and branching narratives.
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.
Passwords are codes used to save a player's progress, primarily during the 8-bit era and, to a lesser extent, the 16-bit era.
Homebrew software is a slang term for unofficial software and games for consoles and handhelds which don't generally support it, such as the Wii or Nintendo DS.
Enemies that appear out of nowhere and force the player into a battle.
Enemies in RPGs that are visible on the overworld map and that are engaged in combat when touched. Examples include Earthbound and Paper Mario.
Any person that is in an Army.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
The act of turning someone or something to stone, generally by a fantastic means.
Experienced soldiers that often feature as mentor characters.
Any character you can control in a game is a Player Character (PC), as opposed to a non-player character (NPC), which is a character that can only be controlled by the game.
A type of gameplay where the player chooses and builds autonomous towers to protect a location from waves of enemies.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
A game perspective that views the action from above, commonly at a fixed position and/or rotation.
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