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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.
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.
An AI companion is a computer-controlled ally who follows and aids you through your adventures or who requires your protection. The AI companion's survival is often essential to game and story progression.
Achievements are extra challenges added into video games that sometimes carry a point value or unlock bonus material, and are sometimes solely for bragging rights.
Some television shows are ripe for interactive adaptations. Like Grey's Anatomy, or The Young Ones.
A secondary mode in a fighting game that assumes a either 2D or third-person perspective as the player runs around an environment fighting enemies
When fighting is no longer relegated to the ground, but can also take place in the air.
The ability to perform a dedicated dodge while mid-air, this makes the player untouchable for a brief period of time.
The ability to grab your opponent mid-air and throw him once you have your hand on him.
A quick burst of speed either forward or backward whilst in the air.
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.
Characters either begin with multiple outfits, unlock them through play, or purchase them as in-game items. These costumes are sometimes integral to play.
Artificial life-forms ("robots") specifically designed to mimic the appearance of human beings. Although this is a male-specific term, with female-looking machines actually being "gynoids", the term "android" is generally used universally in video games.
Anthropomorphism is the concept of an object, concept or character that has human qualities or traits, such as speech, a level of intelligence similar or higher than a human's and self consciousness. "Anthro" means "of human" and related to the concept of humanity.
A protagonist who lacks some or all of the qualities traditionally seen as heroic.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, commonly refers to the programmed behaviors of NPCs in a game, whether it's the fact that a soldier takes cover behind a wall in Gears of War, or that townspeople cheer upon your arrival to their village in Fable.
Attributes are a numerical representation of a character's abilities who have their roots in RPGs. Today, attributes have spilled over to a wide range of game genres.
In parapsychology and many forms of spiritual practice an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object like the halo or aureola of religious art.
Levels that progress forward by themselves at a fixed rate.
Be it an “unopenable” door, a sprawling fence, a sudden outcropping of land, an ocean, a cliff (often a deadly ocean/cliff combo,) a broken-down car, an “invisible wall,” or large trees; barriers in video games manifest themselves in a variety of forms (physical and otherwise).
A proprietary video codec (.bik/bk2 extension) developed by RAD Game Tools and used in a very large number of video games.
The ability to stop or reduce the damage from an oncoming attack.
Bats, hammers, wrenches, maces, staves, or even brass knuckles. These are weapons intended for blunt trauma rather than cutting or slicing.
A board game is a game played on a mostly-static surface using markers or chits to indicate player progress. Many video game board games are based on tabletop games (Catan, Monopoly), but some, like Mario Party and Culdcept, are original designs that use board game design as a starting point.
Bosses are enemies that fight you at the end of a level or at a significant point in the story.
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.
A boss fight is a culminating challenge that pits the player against one or more enemies representing a greater threat and/or difficulty than those previously faced. These scenarios typically feature unique antagonists.
AI Bots are computer-controlled game characters that substitute for characters that are otherwise typically played by a human, and are most commonly found in multiplayer games.
A philosophical and religious system based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.
Button Mashing is a term used to describe gameplay where certain skills can be only realized explicitly through mashing buttons, a reckless player trying to get results or when the game rewards the player(s) who bash buttons the fastest. The latter example is common in Party Games.
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