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Games whose titles consist of a single word.
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 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 text based games, most, if not all the game play, or graphics is created with words.
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
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.
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.
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.
Game Over originally appeared in pinball machines, and later, arcade machines. When players lose at a game, it is game over.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This concept is for games in which at least one of the main characters is male.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A level that is impossible or nearly impossible to complete because of a programming error or oversight. Often times the screen number is a power of 2 or 10.
The main line of distinction between victory or failure in video games, death is the process of a biological being ceasing to be alive.
Games whose main character is so egotistical that the whole game just HAS to be named after them.
Ever since Pac-Man, games have had us navigating mazes.
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.
Trophies are an incentive-based system for the completion of various objective in PS3, Vita, and PS4 titles.
Whether by item or otherwise, temporary invincibility provides the user a brief moment where they are impervious to attack.
Games released coinciding with new hardware.
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.
For some reason, some games are named after the opposing person. Sometimes it's because the bad guy is cooler than the good guy.
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