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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.
Games whose titles consist of a single word.
Interactive fiction is a format that uses text to describe characters and objects within a setting, and the use of a parser to interpret text typed by the player, allowing the player to interact with the characters and objects within the setting.
In text based games, most, if not all the game play, or graphics is created with words.
The Z-Machine is a virtual machine, created by Infocom, for running text adventures. Variants are used today to run classic and modern interactive fiction.
Physical props, clues, or trinkets included within game boxes by Infocom in the 1980s. They were often used to convey in-game information, add value, or as early copy protection.
In second person point of view, the action is shot from the perspective of a character that is not the protagonist. It can also refer to second-person in the narrative sense, where the protagonist is the person playing the game.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
These games are based off of established licenses, such as movies, comics, or TV shows. Examples are the James Bond 007 and Spider-Man franchises.
The grues are an adventurer-consuming monster from the Zork series and other Infocom games. They appear in the dark areas of the game and are a major threat to adventurers.
A digital distribution platform that focuses on providing DRM-free computer games, both old and new.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
The Virtual Console is a platform service that first appeared on Nintendo's Wii and later on the 3DS and Wii U. Games from past consoles are emulated to run on the new hardware with the added benefits of system-level save states and other features.
A form of copy protection using a physical object such as a wheel, manual, or dongle.
It's arguably the one move that symbolizes the medium to those outside it. The ability to jump, be it onto a building, a platform, or a skull, is one of the all time most important abilities ever put in a video game.
Games that can be played with a CGA monitor and graphics card. CGA, Color Graphics Adapter was the first generation of color graphics for the IBM PC.
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.
Side-scrolling games present the world as viewed perpendicular to the direction the characters are facing on screen. With a heavy focus on lateral movement, objectives are often met by moving from one end of a stage to the other.
Gravity is a physical phenomenon, specifically the mutual attraction between all objects in the universe. In a gaming setting, gravity determines the relationship between the player and the "ground," preventing the player or game objects from flying off into space, and hopefully acting in a predictable/realistic manner.
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.
8-bit can be a reference to actual computing power, or it can be a retro look for videogames that want to recall a bygone era.
Games that earned the "ASM-Hit"-Award. ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) was a popular German multi-platform computer games magazine that was published from 1986 until 1995.
The concept of purchasing media and having it delivered over the internet. No physical representation of this content is given, and although the content resides on the user's hard drive they are typically granted a license to the product, rather than ownership of it.
Chiptunes are musical compositions that are synthesized by a computer or console sound chip.
When a certain amount of time is given to the player to reach a goal or finish an objective.
Games released coinciding with new hardware.
The ultimate pressure feature. Players have to complete the task at hand, be it defeating opponents or cutting the right wire, in the allotted time.
A characteristic present in game characters with a superior state of mind reflected in how they solve problems and their way of approaching situations.
Also known as the "Sega My Card", Sega Cards are an alternate cartridge format for Sega's earliest game consoles. While they were cheaper to produce, they could only hold smaller more-limited games.
Never Ending Games is a self-explanatory concept in which a game is unbeatable and never ends, due either to the game having no true ending or because the game is not saved (or truly continued) after the last section of the game.
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