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An action that is sensitive to context. Like going up to an object and pushing a button, which would normally perform a different action, to interact with it.
Video games that pick up the story where a movie, book or comic left off.
A person serving time in prison or an escaped criminal on the run from the law.
Cooperative play in games allows humans to play together as a team to accomplish a task. Instead of playing against a human opponent, the team must defeat an AI. Cooperative Play in some games also means 2 human versus 2 human, this occurs in some Billiards games. (Scotch Doubles / Doubles)
An on-screen countdown timer (typically measured in seconds) that begins once the game has been fully configured and triggered to start. This is distinct from a loading screen, which may occur before and/or after the countdown.
A Cover System is a gameplay mechanic that specifically governs the player's ability to hide behind objects to avoid detection or enemy fire.
Games involving any form of vehicular crash landing or emergency landing.
A gameplay plot twist in the form of revealing non-human monsters to battle after fighting more realistic human enemies for the majority of the game.
These games let players see the credits without needing to play the game first.
A sight placed on the HUD used to aim and provide a point of reference to the player when looking and interacting with the game world. Although they often aim weapons, they have a variety of uses and have appeared in many games in many different forms.
A crossover occurs when a character from one franchise makes a special appearance in a game from an unrelated franchise. Some games are specifically designed to be crossovers that bring together characters from two or more franchises.
Games where attacks directed to the crotchal region cause much more damage than other areas, sometimes as a male-only phenomenon.
A trap designed to kill off victims by crushing them. Commonly found in sacred temples though industrial variations (like car crushers) exist.
When characters shed tears - often due to extreme sadness.
Currency has all forms in video games. It is used to buy characters, vehicles, weapons, and more.
Some games let players customize their character (or characters). Degree of customization may vary, with some games simply allowing to choose between different types of clothes, while others provide more detailed tinkering of features such as the distance between a character's eyes or hair color.
Customization in games that allow users to change various parts of their equipment or moves to fit their gaming style.
A non-interactive sequence within a game most often used for plot advancement.
When a game's scripted narrative is logically inconsistent with the gameplay. A character could've survived an infinite number of headshots during gameplay but is incapacitated by a single shot to the leg during a cutscene.
Cutscenes that do not take into account the specific gear that the player has equipped.
Don't you just love it when a game lets you view all the cutscenes without having to play it all over again? Every game should have this feature.
The ability to pause a story scene. This avoids missing plot points if you are interrupted or take a break, or let's you call someone to show off a game's FMV or real time animation.
A bright flash, usually red and seen on the borders of the screen, that indicates damage or injury.
The concept of a helpless female character in desperate need of rescuing by the protagonist, in most cases from a villain, or from a form of impending doom.
Over time, it's common for publishers to stop supporting the online components of old or unpopular games. In addition to saving money, this also serves to boost sales of newer games in the same series or genre.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
A post-processing blurring effect used mostly by modern action games, particularly modern first-person shooters. Used to blur foreground or background elements to simulate a lens focus.
The descendants are the zombie-like creatures you find in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. They are cursed natives, and Nazis that have settled to the island and are blood-thirsty.
Destructible cover is an increasingly popular feature in shooters, even those without cover systems. It is used to encourage creative tactics both in single-player and multiplayer.
An achievement that is unlocked for completing a game on a certain difficulty level, sometimes granting the achievements for all lower difficulties, and sometimes not.
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