Glossary
1337 sp3@k: Pronounced leet speak, A dialect of online communication (typically between gamers) which is written using certain rules of substitution (e.g. "3" for "E") and can be very difficult to understand for anyone who is not active in online communities.
3D-shooter: Action games in which the action is seen through the eyes of the protagonist and where the graphics are three dimensional (and often constructed of polygons). [Synonym: First Person Shooter]
Action games: Games focusing on speed, physical drama and which make high demands on the player's reflexes and coordination skills.
Adventure games: Games focusing on puzzle solving within a narrative framework. These games typically demand strict, logical thought.
Aesthetics (of a video game): All aspects of a video game which are experienced by the player, whether directly - such as audio and graphics - or indirectly - such as rules (note that aesthetics is an ambiguous term used in many ways across disciplines).
AI (Artificial Intelligence): Often used to describe the behavior patterns of computer opponents.
Autofire: Feature of certain joysticks sending "fire" impulses to the game with short intervals.
Arcade game: Game played on dedicated "arcade" machines. The player inserts coins to play and a game is typically quite brief.
Arcade: Public gaming facility offering computer games (arcade games). Arcades were highly popular in the early eighties where a game would typically begin when the player inserted the equivalent of a US quarter. Action games were especially well suited for arcades.
Avatar: Graphical representation of the user in an online forum, especially role-playing games.
Boot (verb.): To boot or to kick a player is to exclude him or her from an online game.
Bot: Computer controlled ally or opponent (typically in action and strategy games).
Camper: In multi-player team games: A player who only values his or her own survival without caring for the condition of other team members. OR: Player who hides in a safe place taking down the enemy as he approaches without placing himself in any real danger.
CGI (computer-generated imagery): Special effects (in movies, for instance) created by computer graphics.
Clipping: The act of removing graphics that move outside the player's logical line of vision.
Console: A computer designed with the sole purpose of playing games, often sold without a keyboard.
Controller: The hardware through which the player sends her input to the game, typically a "pad" with a number of buttons which can be mapped to perform various functions depending on the game.
Cut-scene: Dramatically important sequence, often displayed without the interaction of the player. The scene is typically shown to motivate a shift in the "plot" of the game and displayed outside of the game engine.
DOT (Damage Over Time): Refers to damage dealt to players or computer controlled characters in combat games. Damage over time is a type of damage that occurs at set intervals over a limited period of time such as poisonous effects
Dynamics: The processes and events of a game which are generated by the relationships between rules, game world physics, player input, etc.
Edutainment: Combination of the terms 'education' and 'entertainment'. Label for games with a pronounced educational ambition.
Emergence: 1) The phenomenon wherein a complex, interesting high-level function is produced as a result of combining simple low-level mechanisms in simple ways. OR 2) The phenomenon wherein a system is designed according to certain principles, but interesting properties arise that are not included in the goals of the designer.
Engine: The basic code that defines the relation between game objects and determine the limits of graphics and sound.
Flow: The flow state is described as the feeling of optimal experience. It is felt when we feel in control of our own fate and have sense of exhilaration and enjoyment.
Frag: A kill in an action game, typically a 3D-shooter.
FPS: 1) Frames per second or the number of images displayed on a screen every second to display the illusion of motion (frames per second is often referred to as framerate). 2) First person shooter, a shoot-'em-up game which plays from a first person perspective (or from the view of the character)
Game community: Players who interact with a high frequency around a game and may develop a particular set of norms and forms of interaction.
Game Object: A separate entity in a game world, such as a character, a sword, or a car. Does not refer to things like background graphics, sounds, interface details, etc.
Gamespace: The entire space (or world, or universe) which is presented by a game.
Gameplay: Ambiguous term for the total effect of all active game elements. Refers to the holistic game experience and the ability of the game to command the attention of the player.
Genre: A category (of video games) based on certain shared characteristics.
Hardware: Tangible elements of a computer/console such as processor, graphics card, hard drive (as opposed to software).
HUD: Heads-Up Display. Usually shows the player's remaining health, ammo count, and armor level.
Interactive fiction: Contested label for types of fiction based on high user participation. Normally the term refers to computer-based types of fiction but role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and special forms of paper-based literature may also deserve the label 'interactive'. (Sometimes used to refer solely to textual adventure games.)
Interactivity: The term is used in many fields but typically as a measure of user influence. The higher the degree of interactivity the more influence the user has on the form and course of a media product.
Interface: The graphical or textual form of interaction between user and software. Through the interface the user may give commands to the software which are then translated into instructions that the computer can interpret.
Joystick: A type of controller in which the player chooses "direction" by manipulating a stick (as in a fighter airplane).
KS (Kill Steal): The act of killing an enemy who was already the target of another human player thereby gaining the credit for the kill. This is considered rude.
Lag: Decreased game speed, typically due to low bandwidth.
Latency: In online multi-player games: The time it takes to transmit data from the player's machine to the server and back.
Ludology: The study of games, particularly computer games. Ludology is often defined as the study of game structure (or gameplay) as opposed to the study of games as narratives or games as a visual medium.
Mechanics: Ambiguous term often referring to events or actions which the game design allows for; for instance: driving, regaining health or shooting. May be thought of as the "verbs" of a game, i.e. that which the player can do.
MMORPG (Massively multiplayer on-line role-playing game): See: Online role-playing game.
Mod (modification): A piece of software which modifies the appearance and/or rules of an existing game. Mods are often made and published by enthusiastic players.
MUD (Multiple User Dungeon): A system for virtual role-playing. Can be conceived of as a thematically charged chat-room with a focus on role-playing. Certain types—so-called MOOs—operate with objects that the players/users can interact with (and sometimes alter/create). Many online role-playing games are direct descendents of MUDs.
Narratology: The study of narratives. Within computer game research narratology is often seen as opposed to ludology. NPC Non Player Characters, or characters in games (mostly RPGs) that are controlled by the computer that are either not controlled by human players or are controlled through a very limited range.
Online role-playing games: Game type where several (typically several thousand) players act simultaneously in the same server based world. Users normally pay a monthly fee and connect by their Internet account. An online role-playing game is a graphically illustrated MUD. This type of game is often termed an MMORPG (Massively multiplayer on-line role-playing game).
Parser: The function that interprets the (adventure game) player's textual input.
Play: Ambiguous term often (when contrasted to "games") referring to the relatively unstructured, relatively goal-less activity of children's (or adults') playful behavior.
Player Character (PC): In-game characters controlled by human players (usually in RPGs), as opposed to Non-Player Characters (NPCs).
Player versus environment (PVE): Usually refers to a type of online role-playing game, where human players only fight computer controlled opponents
Player versus player (PVP): Usually refers to a type of online role-playing game, where human players can fight each other
Player-killing: One player killing another (typically in MMORPGs). Sometimes considered a serious problem.
Polygon: Geometric figure; a closed plane figure bounded by straight lines. 3D graphics usually consist of polygons and are therefore not dependent upon a fixed perspective.
Real-time strategy game: Strategy game in which the action is played out continuously without breaks (as opposed to turn-based strategy games).
Serious Games: Games intentionally created with a primary agenda other than entertainment.
Shoot-'em-up: Action game with extreme focus on shooting down enemies. Seldom used to describe 3D-shooters and often refers to more abstract games using third person perspective.
Simulation games: Games focusing on realism. Typically they set heavy demands on the player's ability to understand and remember complex principles and relations.
Source code: Basis instructions describing how a game works. The source code reveals the secrets of a piece of software and is therefore often guarded zealously.
Spawning: The event of someone or something appearing in a game.
Strategy games: Games focusing on the ability to deal with dynamic priorities, typically in a context of resource shortage. Strategy games may be divided into: Real-time strategy games and turn-based strategy games.
Text game: Game which only uses textual input and output. These are often adventure games (where the textual form was popular in the 1980s).
Turn-based strategy games: Strategy games divided into 'turns' similar to those in board games (and as opposed to real-time strategy games). Typically, one player makes a move, and then the next player makes a move, and so on.
Vector graphics: Graphics defined and generated on the basis of mathematical statements, whereby the perspective becomes flexible.
Virtual world: Multi-player (or multi-user) system which is presented as having a large-scale geography. May be divided into game worlds and social worlds, the latter having no objective goals.