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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.
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.
These games take the select button literally. Pushing up and down (or any other button) to select an option will do nothing.
A two-dimensional image or animation overlaid into a scene. The foundation of early 2D games, making up everything from props to the player-controlled character.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
These are games you don't need a console to play. You plug in a controller to the TV and you're ready to play.
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.
Bonus levels, rounds, or stages give players a chance to gain extra points, powerups, or lives. Occasionally bonus stages will play completely different than the rest of the game, like as a slot machine or pinball minigame.
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.
A branch of the United Galaxy military, the UGSF also represents the elaborate backstory linking together countless Namco-Bandai games, such as Galaxian, Galaga, Bosconian, and even Dig Dug.
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.
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.
Porting is a term used when a game designed to run on one platform is converted to run on a different platform. Quality varies, though some titles are packaged with extras.
Trophies are an incentive-based system for the completion of various objective in PS3, Vita, and PS4 titles.
A level in which everything is displayed on-screen at once, with no scrolling, flip screen, or 3D movement. Many '80s games consist entirely of single-screen levels.
The continue is a classic gaming concept, and usually arises when the player "dies" or fails in the game. Usually some loss is tied to a continue, in a form of a "life" or something of other value.
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.
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.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
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.
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.
The opposite of open-ended gameplay, linear gameplay uses scripted events, Quick time events, cut scenes, and a restricted path to tell a story exactly how the writer intends, and control elements of the action.
Ever since Pac-Man, games have had us navigating mazes.
A mascot is an iconic character heavily used in the advertising and marketing of a product, franchise, business, or company. Notable mascots include Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Ulala, Mickey Mouse, and the Big Daddies.
Whether it be a close up shotgun blast, far away sniper rifle, explosive, or backstab, the "one hit kill" is a popular kill strategy. Usually hard to master and even harder to avoid, the instant kill is loved and hated by gamers everywhere.
Palette-swapping are sometimes used to denote the different strengths and abilities of your adversaries.
A leaderboard is a way for players of any multi-player game to know where they rank within the game's community.
The Namco Super Pac-Man is an 8-bit arcade system board that was initially used by Namco in 1982. It was the company's first board to use a Motorola M6809 processor (using two of them) instead of a Zilog Z80.
What lies ahead, and is distant from the present.
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