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FMVs are pre-rendered videos used in place of real-time graphics. Using FMV was an attempt to make videogames look "more like movies", sometimes with CGI animation and others with live-action actors speaking directly to players. The downside is that FMV requires a lot of disk space, and live-action FMV in particular can look terrible by comparison.
An accessory for the Pioneer LaserActive.
Games that are little more than extensive cinematic sequences in which the player has little interaction with what is happening onscreen. This notion of a cinematic game is epitomized by laserdisc arcade classics such as Astron Belt, Dragon's Lair and Bega's Battle.
Nudity is qualified as either exposed buttocks, breasts, or genitalia or general lack of clothing. Video game nudity is largely a rarity outside of the PC market.
Back in the 1980s, some arcade games utilized LaserDisc players to add pre-rendered video to the action. Pioneer would attempt to use the same technology in a home console with the LaserActive.
Non-game software is an application that is not designed as a game, but which runs on a gaming-focused system. Examples include films or television shows on cartridge or disc, calculators, novels, Bibles, et cetera.
These prehistoric behemoths cause chaos amongst many. Unfortunately, they are extinct.
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.
A cutscene (usually using the in-game engine) which allows the user to contribute to or modify the action- such as changing camera angle, zooming in and out, or being able to move the player character around actors playing a scripted sequence.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
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.
A game that uses a mixture of 2D & 3D techniques. Commonly used to describe the use of either 3D graphics restricted to a 2D perceptive, or 2D graphics used to fake the appearance of a 3D perceptive.
Sometimes you want a challenge, sometimes you wanna coast.
A non-interactive sequence within a game most often used for plot advancement.
Games whose titles consist of a single word.
Content released frequently, every release contains a small portion of a whole story.
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.
A digital distribution service owned by Valve Corporation. Originally created to distribute Valve's own games, Steam has since become the de facto standard for digital distribution of PC games.
Games with stories that involve aliens invading another planet.
Sphinxes are mythical creatures with feline bodies and human heads. They are often depicted with wings as well.
Extraterrestrials appear in many video games in a variety of styles. Sometimes they're evil, sometimes they're benevolent, and sometimes they're very similar to humans.
A common type of stage based around the fire and/or lava element. Often platforming heavy and inhabited by fire-based enemies.
A ship deck battle is a cliché battle scene found in the vast majority of Japanese RPGs. It takes place on a ship or an airship, pitting the protagonists against seamonsters or flying monsters respectively.
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.
Voice Acting is the art of providing voices for characters in games, television shows, films, radio programs, and other forms of media.
Moral dilemmas presented to the player that often have a significant effect on the story or other characters.
In games, fire can be an obstacle, a tool, a weapon, or a solution. Just don't play with it...unless you really want to.
Time Stopping is the ability to stop the flow of time, stopping all movement from everyone but the person who used the ability.
Some creatures don't need guns or swords to hurt you. Instead they pack a punch with some kind of deadly breath attack, be it flaming, poisonous, radioactive, or just plain bad!
Games that let you choose the path you take through the story-line.
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