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Game » consists of 24 releases. Released August 1982
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.
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 have animals (except humans) as the main character. The character must be playable.
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.
The inverse of an anti-hero. An anti-villain is a villain that portrays him/herself as someone who is just and altruistic while is secretly working towards an otherwise nefarious and villainous goal. Common archetypes of anti-villains are politicians and religious figures who craft a wholesome and good-natured image to hide their evil intentions; this may even sometimes include doing good deeds, but only as a temporary measure to potentially further their true ambitions.
Apes are primates that lack tails. They swing from tree to tree and sometimes fling poo. Not to be confused with monkeys (who have tails).
Some game characters just cannot swim. This usually means automatic death as soon as they hit the water.
Potentially deadly in the real world, annoying and funny in the animated world.
Collectibles are items such as coins, rings, gems, packages etc. that can be gathered, usually for some kind of reward, or sometimes to simply beat a level. Often (almost too often) the source of earning achievements and trophies on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Video game controversy revolves mostly around the psychological effects that games with graphic violence or sexual content in them can have on players. Other sources of controversy can range from racism, sexism, politics, or religion.
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.
In a franchise, it entails the second game that takes on a gritty and dark tone to distinguish it from the first.
It's all in the family.
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.
Famicom Disk System games that were only available via a disk writing service available in many Japanese game stores. As such, they have no official box art and are harder for collectors to find.
Drowning in games occurs when a being (not suited to be in water) runs out of oxygen, time, power, or barely even touches the water surface. Further complicated by the local sea-life that can knock the air out of you, should you get close.
The spear counterpart of Damsel in Distress, this is when a male or male-presenting character is captured/kidnapped and must be saved by another character.
A peripheral for the Game Boy Advance that allowed players to scan in cards for extras in various games, or even to play classic NES games.
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.
These are endings that aren't just good, but they give you everything you could want. The world is saved, the hero gets the girl, friendships are made that will last forever, everyone is safe, the villain is gone for good, and all loose ends are wrapped up forever.... unless a sequel is made.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
While locking pirating users out entirely is the most common way for developers to curb digital piracy, some create in-game consequences designed to amuse, mock, impede, or oust players using suspected pirated copies.
A situation where the player-controlled character loses their life immediately. The quickness of that demise is often a stark departure from the balance of power, and sometimes the rules, established by the developers during the rest of the game.
An intermission is a little scene shown between rounds to give the player a break. It may advance the storyline or just be humorous. The intermission can be seen as a grandfather to the cutscene, as they often featured humerous animations that weren't necessarily related to the gameplay at all.
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.
Kidnapping is often used in videogames as a motivation for the protagonist to venture into unknown worlds and fight seemingly hopeless battles.
Games released coinciding with new hardware.
Mario?!?
Platforms conveniently moving you towards your destination to allow the crossing of large expanses which would otherwise be impossible to cross.
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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