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The ability to see the world in a different way. Reveals paths, secrets, enemies, among other things.
Using gestures with the controller to control on-screen actions. Alternatively, these gestures can also be detected by motion-sensing cameras.
Chest-High Walls appear regularly in video games, particularly in third-person-shooters with cover mechanics.
The inaugural Penny Arcade Expo East took place at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts on March 26-28, 2010.
A listing of games that have functional mirrors inside the game. An in-game mirror must display the character as they move in order to qualify.
Games often feature working light switches that allow the player to manually switch on and off the lighting in a room.
Often referred to as an EMP, an electromagnetic pulse is a short burst of high-intensity electromagnetic radiation, most commonly used to short out electrical devices.
Damage modeling added to a character throughout a game that lasts through the duration of the game.
A door that players must go through to exit the level
Roguelike is a sub-genre of role-playing games characterized by the exploration of randomly-generated dungeons and permanent death. These characteristics were featured in the classic computer game Rogue, hence the term "Roguelike".
A sound effect that plays once the player has gained a level, solved a puzzle or reached a milestone within the game.
Werewolves are humans that can shapeshift into wolves or wolf-like creatures. They often have strength and senses that surpasses those of both humans and wolves.
An order of large reptiles that encompases the Alligator, Gharial, Caiman and Crocodile families. While dangerous on land, they're pure killing machines in the wet element.
Not all bosses can handle the player by themselves. Many use waves of lesser enemies to fight for them while they rest, and some even let these minions do all the work.
An imaginary boundary in the game world that limits player movement to a specific area. They are often criticized as a poor component of level design, when an actual wall or other visible boundary could have been used to delineate a game's playing field.
A marketplace for indie game players and developers.
A characteristic many game characters share when their eyes emit a colored light instead of what a regular eye should look like. This is often evident in robots and characters possessed by some evil force.
Scaleform is a software development kit used to integrate Flash based user interfaces with game engines.
Dolby Digital is an audio compression technology codec first used in movie theaters. It's now commonly used in many modern day audio/video media formats, including video games.
Subtitled Silence is when a character remains silent in a section of dialogue and a subtitle box appears usually having an ellipsis (...) or nothing at all. Most common in J-RPGs and dating sims. The character can also make a small moan or grunt.
Women in Refrigerators (or "Fridging" for short) is an unfortunately popular plot device in storytelling where female characters are killed off or brutally harmed for the sole purpose of having an impact on a male character. The term was coined by comic book writer Gail Simone.
Either through a concealing helmet, keeping the whole game in first person, or using clever camera work, the player character is kept faceless throughout an entire game.
The minimap is a small, simplified version of a larger map. This plays a vital role in many games, especially Real Time Strategy, where it is important to have an overview of the entire map.
War is a series of organized conflicts carried on by force of arms between two or more nations or groups. Whether it never changes or has already changed is up for debate.
Games in which, instead of playing on "Easy" or "Hard", players play on "Marine" or "Way of the Samurai".
Lens Flare is a dynamic graphical effect that emulates visual artifacts that can appear on an image captured by a camera with a lens. This effect is not limited only to sunlight.
A game that takes gameplay mechanics, characters, or story elements from an existing series in a separate and different direction, sometimes changing genres along the way.
Assassins are people who are tasked with the action of violence against peoples, though their general aims are to be discreet and as minimally violent as possible in order to remain discreet if necessary.
Sometimes, players experience an unfortunate event that results in all their weapons and items being taken away from them.
A plot device where innocent characters are killed. Sometimes players forced to watch it happen and can do nothing to prevent it.
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