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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.
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.
Levels that progress forward by themselves at a fixed rate.
Bosses are enemies that fight you at the end of a level or at a significant point in the story.
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.
A style of gameplay where players must navigate a vast stream of projectiles.
A bullet pattern is a top-down or side-view barrage of bullets, in a repeating pattern, that the player must dodge (or in some cases the player must hit the bullets).
The Bydo are the alien race that form your enemy in the R-Type series of games.
Charging is the action of pressing & holding down a button or particular direction on the controller. Its purpose is to build up a powerful blast or burst of energy to take out an opponent or cause critical damage.
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)
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
Sometimes designers add old-school things on purpose to enhance game design. These games tend to be heavily inspired by hardware limitations of older systems. NES, Atari 2600, and early computer platforms (DOS, Commodore 64, MSX, etc...) are common sources of inspiration.
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.
The controversial practice of incorporating "access control technology" into digital media so as to limit what owners of that media can do with it, most commonly for the stated purpose of preventing piracy.
Original concept for downloading the emulated back catalog from prior systems.
The 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles California on May 13-15.
A powerful release of energy. This energy is usually expelled in all directions very quickly, typically giving off orange or red flames.
A Final Boss encounter against an opponent designed to look like/represent a fetus.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
The Greek alphabet is one of the oldest proper alphabets, having been in use since the 9th century B.C.
Health is a value that gauges how much damage players can take in a game before they die or pass out. Also known as life in some games. Health is usually represented by a bar or a percentage instead of an exact amount. Found in most non sport games
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
A gameplay mechanic allowing players to store their items and freely carry them around.
Games released coinciding with new hardware.
A leaderboard is a way for players of any multi-player game to know where they rank within the game's community.
The process by which characters reach a new level, gain greater attributes, and learn more abilities. It usually involves earning enough experience points by completing a variety of tasks such as quests or by "farming" such as killing other characters for their experience points.
The concept of lives in video games evolved to let the player get a second chance after failing once. The most recognizable symbol is the heart.
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