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Concept »
Attacking an unaware opponent from behind; this often gives the attacker the first strike or some other combat advantage.
Backstab is a skill utilized most commonly by rogues. By attacking from behind an opponent, backstabs significantly increase the damage dealt. Sometimes a backstab can mean a one hit kill.
While essentially just a floating head with a bunch of eyes, the beholder is a classic Dungeons & Dragons Monster.
A large spider like creature from the Hollow. The Locust use them to make large E-holes, big enough for Brumaks to march out of.
A trap designed to kill off victims by crushing them. Commonly found in sacred temples though industrial variations (like car crushers) exist.
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 type of technique in killing opponents in games through a vertical takedown with high risks and high satisfaction. First practised in the Mechwarrior franchise. Can also mean the usage of weaponry to rain devastation and mass death.
Echo found in games when a character dies or gets KO'd. Particularly popular in fighting games such as Street Fighter 2, Tekken, Soul Calibur, and etc.
Decapitation is the removal of the head of a person or animal.
Dragons were originally messengers from heaven, according to early Buddhist texts. In games, they can be among the most fearsome of adversaries, but there are some exceptions.
Drowning in games occurs when a being (not suited to be in water) runs out of oxygen, time, power, or barely even touches the water surface. Further complicated by the local sea-life that can knock the air out of you, should you get close.
Hostile marksmen who shoot people from a concealed place. Tactics and quick reflexes are often necessary in order to defeat them.
A creative way to prevent the player from accessing a certain area, or from leaving the map by swimming or running too far.
A situation where the player must quickly escape from a building currently in the process of blowing up. Could either be a cinematic or actually gameplay.
Some games feature a system where a character near death can be dazed into a 'down but not out' state; while their allies can often revive them if they reach the downed character quickly enough, their enemies can perform special, frequently gruesome, execution attacks against such characters.
Receiving damage or dying as a result of falling.
A scripted sequence or even an entire level where the player character is falling from a great height. Gameplay typically includes avoiding debris or battling enemies (or sometimes both).
Flattening is taking something three dimensional, and somehow making it very thin almost two dimensional. It can be used for comedic effect or a character to use it to fight through tight spaces.
Typically offered through optional items or specific characters, glass cannons are play-styles focused on greatly increased damage output at the cost of low defenses and/or health.
These seven enchanters help protect the seventh isle of the Plane of Sky. They each carry a replica of Veeshan, which can be used as a key to the eighth isle.
The grues are an adventurer-consuming monster from the Zork series and other Infocom games. They appear in the dark areas of the game and are a major threat to adventurers.
Most modern shooting games add the realistic touch of rendering shots to the cranium instantly fatal. Glorious for the shooter, kind of a bummer to the shootee.
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
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.
Jumping puzzles are generally implemented in fast-paced action games as a way to slow down the progress of the player. Failure often results in certain death.
The legendary Konami code, any who knew it were rewarded in many classic Konami games. UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A (SELECT) (START)!
Everyone else can keel over as much as necessary, but if the party leader falls, it's game over. Sometimes this makes logical sense, like with perma-death battle systems. But more often then not the main character is one Phoenix Down away from a game over.
The act of turning someone or something to stone, generally by a fantastic means.
A place to fall, often bottomless, usually resulting in death.
Quick Time Events show up in all sorts of games as an attempt to make cutscenes interactive. Press the buttons displayed on-screen before time runs out, or else.
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