Are you new to video games? Or do you have friends or a family member who talk about video games and you don’t know what they are talking about? Well here are some terms to know in order to further understand what video gamers are talking about.
Analog control and digital control: An analog control is a recent development in video games. In the past controllers have had digital controls in which you push the button and it simply registers what you have chosen. However an Analog control is a highly sensitive control that that takes into account the degree in which the button or joystick is pushed. For example on a Playstation 2 controller the buttons and directional pad are digital controls. The two joystick looking controls in the middle of the controller are analog controls.
Anime: An anime is a cartoon made in Japan. The Japanese characters have a distinct look very different from American made cartoons. Their relevance to video games is that many games, especially RPGs, have characters that look a lot like anime characters.
Boss: Many video games will have many different levels that you have to progress through in order to win. Throughout the level you will face many enemies that may be a little challenging but that are easily defeated with some practice. At the end of the level you will meet a more challenging and more powerful enemy that will be much harder to beat. That enemy is considered the boss and usually when you beat him you’ll move on to the next level.
Camera: Back in the day of the 2D games there wasn’t much control of your camera view. You had to play the game with whatever view the game had. Since the 3D games began many games now have options so you can change your camera views. The view might from looking down on, looking to you from the side or it could be a first person view.
Cheats: Many video games have an option where you can enter a code word or series of letters or just a series of buttons to improve you changes of winning the game. These codes are often called cheats because you need help beating the game. Some cheats will make you invincible, some will give you extra lives, some can even do silly things like change your clothes.
Combo: One very popular type of video game is fighting games. In fighting games you can often pull off a string of consecutive moves which is called a combo.
Console: A console is a system that you play video games on. But handheld games, Computers and arcade games are not considered consoles. Consoles are only systems like Playstation, X-Box and Wii.
Cut-Scenes: Most of the time when you’re playing a game you are controlling the character or characters. However, there will be times when you will not have control of your player for a few moments and instead the computer will play a video in which you can not control your character. These are cut-scenes and they are usually used for the purpose of telling part of the story.
Double-Jump: A double-jump is typically seen in platform games or fighting games. When your character jumps and you press the jump button again while he is in mid air then your character will jump again. In certain platform games, you can perform a second jump after the first while in mid-air, allowing you to reach high platforms.
Easter Eggs: You may have heard of the term Easter Eggs when it comes to DVDs. Well Easter Eggs are the same thing in video games. They are either parts of the game that are hidden or they are secret codes.
Fatality: The Fatality was popularized by the Mortal Kombat series. Mortal Kombat is a one-on-one fighting game and once you’ve defeated your opponent you have a chance to finish him off with a super move called a fatality. Fatalities are usually ver gruesome moves like pulling out someone’s heart or spine.
First-Person: First-Person in video games means the same as first-person in anything else. In a First-Person view you see the game through the eyes of your character rather than see your character from an above shot or a side shot.
Frag: Frag is a term used when one player shoots another in a first person shooter game.
Frame Rate: The frame rate is how many frames of a game flash on the screen in
one second. So if the game has a 66 fps then 66 frames flash on the screen per second.
Game Genie and Game Shark: Game Genie and Game Shark are both products that along with the appropriate video games would allow you to enter certain code.
Isometric View: An isometric view is a view that shows the action from an angle instead of viewing the action directly from above or directly from the side.
Multi-tap: Many games systems come with just two ports to plug in controllers. A multi-tape device will let you plug in more than two devices so you that you can play with more people.
Pack-in Game: When you buy a video game system you can either buy a system on it’s own or a pack that comes with other accessories. One of the accessories it might come with is a game for you to get started with, they are called pack-in-games.
Platform Game: Platform games are games in which you control a character that has to jump from one platform to another. In most cases the character will also be collecting some kind of time like coins or rings. Probably the most well known platform game is Super Mario Bros.
Power-Up: Power-ups are items that your character can find in a game that will give your character an added ability or make them more powerful. For example, in Super Mario Bros. you can get a mushroom to make you larger and if you get the flower you can throw fireballs.
Rapid-Fire: Rapid-fire means exactly what it sounds like, your character continuously fires over and over again.
Real-Time: Real-time is a type of video game. Basically everything is moving and you have to attack while other things are going on as opposed to other games where everything stops and allows you to take your turn.
Respawn: A respawn happens when a character dies and then goes back to a spot designated for people who have been revived. This term is most often used in first person shooters.
Role-Playing Game: Role-Playing games are very in depth games with a lot character development and storylines. You often have to level characters and collect items like weapons, shields, armors, etc. They also usually take hours and hours of game play to defeat it.
Sandbox: A Sandbox is what they call a game that is open ended. Meaning there is a very large area which you can explore and do whatever you want rather than more traditional games where you have levels and you have to follow them in a certain order.
Shoulder buttons: Shoulder buttons are only found on newer controllers. They are the buttons that are on the top of the controller. Think about it as if you are looking straight on at the front of the controller, the shoulders would be the rounded part at the top.
Sprite: Sprites are animated images that make objects in older games. Sprites were used in 2D games before 3D games started using polygon graphics.
Third-Person: Unlike the first-person view, a third-person view is a view where you can see your character on the screen.
Track-ball: A Track-ball is a type of controller that has a ball about the size of a pool ball that you roll with your hand. This type of control is often found on arcade games.
Turbo: The turbo button is a button you press in order to speed up yourself up for a short stretch of time. The turbo game is most common in racing job.
Turn-based: A turn based game is the opposite of the real-time game. Each character gets a turn to make a move and everything around you doesn’t move and waits for you to make your move.
