Game Research - The art, business, and science of video games

Date posted: May 14, 2006
Updated: May 19, 2006

Below we will present a range of definitions for ease of communication and discussion across the field. These definitions are not generally accepted but will hopefully work as a starting point for discussion.
We need some way to let users input words+definitions which then get displayed. If anyone has a suggestion please let us know!

Term	Definition
1337 sp3@k	Pronounced leet speak, A dialect of online communication (typically between gamers) that is written in a generally distinguishable manner and is usually impossible to understand by anyone who is not incredibly active in online communities.
3D-shooter	Action games in which the action is seen through the eyes of the protagonist and where the graphics are three dimensional (and often constructed of polygons). [Synonym: First Person Shooter]
Action games	Games focusing on speed, physical drama and which set high demands on the player’s reflexes and coordination skills.
Adventure games	Games focusing on puzzle solving within a narrative framework. Will typically demand strict, logical thought.
Arcade	Public gaming facility offering computer games (arcade games). Arcades were highly popular in the early eighties where a game would typically begin when the player inserted the equivalent of an American quarter. Action games were especially well suited for arcades.
AI (Artificial Intelligence)	Often used to describe the action patterns of computer opponents.
Autofire	Feature of certain joysticks sending “fire” impulses to the game with short intervals.
Avatar	Graphical representation of the user in an online forum, especially role-playing games.
Boot (verb.)	To boot or to kick a player is to eliminate him or her from an online game.
Bot	Computer controlled ally or opponent (typically in action and strategy games).
Camper	In multi-player team games: A player who only values his or her own survival without caring for the condition of other team members. [Or: Player who hides in a safe place taking down the enemy as he approaches without placing himself in any real danger].
Chat-room	Forum for online textual conversations. As opposed to e-mail chat is synchronous which enhances the feeling of co-precence but which may effect the structure and possibility for thoughtfulness. Chat rooms may have various degrees of visual and geographical support to support a shared vision of the community. A chat-room with a stabile geography and with focus on role-playing is hard to distinguish from an actual MUD.
Clipping	The act of removing graphics that move outside the player’s logical line of vision.
Console	A computer designed with the sole purpose of playing games. Often sold without keyboard.
Cut-scene	Dramatically important sequence, often displayed without the interaction of the player. The scene is typically shown to motivate a shift in the “plot” of the game and displayed outside of the game engine.
DOT	An acronym for “damage over time”. This is referring to damage dealt to players or computer controlled characters in combat games. Damage over time is a type of damage that occurs at set intervels over a limited period of time such as poisonous effects.
Edutainment	Combination of the terms ‘education’ and ‘entertainment’. Label for games with a pronounced educational ambition.
Emergence	1) The phenomenon wherein complex, interesting high-level function is produced as a result of combining simple low-level mechanisms in simple ways. OR 2) The phenomenon wherein a system is designed according to certain principles, but interesting properties arise that are not included in the goals of the designer.
Engine	The basic code which defines the relation between game objects and determine the limits of graphics and sound.
FPS	1) Frames per second or the amount of images displayed on a screen every second to display the illusion of motion. A higher FPS typically increases playability of a game; also known as framerate. 2) First person shooter, a shoot-’em-up game which plays from a first person perspective (or from the view of the character)
Flow	The flow state is described as the feeling of optimal experience. It is felt when we feel in control of our own fate and have sense of exhilaration and enjoyment.
Frag	A kill in an action game, typically a 3D-shooter.
GameBoy	Handheld console from Nindendo. The GameBoy enjoyed great success in the early 1990’s in a black and white version. Nintendo have later upgraded the display for colors.
Gameplay	Ambiguous term for the total effect of all active game elements. Refers to the holistic game experience and the ability of the game to command the attention of the player.
HUD	Heads-Up Display. Usually shows the player’s remaining health, ammo count and armour level.
Interactive fiction	Contested label for types of fiction based on high user participation. Normally the term refers to computer-based types of fiction but role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and special forms of paper-based literature may also deserve the label ‘interactive’. [Sometimes used to refer solely to textual adventure games.]
Interactivity	The term is used in many fields but typically as a measure of user influence. The higher the degree of interactivity the more influence the user has on the form and course of a media product.
Interface	The graphical or textual form of interaction between user and software. Through the interface the user may give commands to the software which are then translated into instructions that the computer can interpret.
Internet cafe	Cafe with a local are network and connection to the Internet. Typically the guests come to play but some also chat, check their e-mail account or use word processing software.
KS	Kill Steal, the act of killing an enemy that was already the target of another human player thereby gaining the credit for the kill. This is considered to be rude.
Lag	Decreased game speed due to low bandwidth etc.
Latency	In online multi-player games: The time it takes to transmit data from the player’s machine to the server and back.
Ludology	The study of games, particularly computer games. Ludology is most often defined as the study of game structure (or gameplay) as opposed to the study of games as narratives or games as a visual medium.
MMORPG (Massively multiplayer on-line role-playing game)	See: Online role-playing game.
MUD (Multiple User Dungeon)	A forum for virtual role-playing. Can be conceived of as a thematically charged chat-room with a focus on role-playing. Certain types - so-called MOOs - operate with objects that the players/users can interact with (and sometimes alter/create).
Multi-player feature	The possibility for more players to play simultaneously.
Narratology	The study of narratives. Within computer game research narratology is often seen as opposed to ludology.
NPC	Non Player Characters, or characters in games (mostly RPGs) that are controlled by the computer that are either not controlled by human players or are controlled through a very limited range.
Online role-playing games	Game type where several (typically several thousand) players act simultaneously in the same server based world. Users normally pay a monthly fee and connect by their Internet account. An online role-playing game is a graphically illustrated MUD. This type of game is often termed an MMORPG (Massively multiplayer on-line role-playing game).
Parser	The function that interprets the (adventure) player’s textual input.
PC	1)Player Character, in games (mostly RPGs), in game characters that are controlled by human players. 2) Personal Computer, or a standard desktop computer.
Player-killing	One player killing another (typically in MMORPGs). Sometimes considered a serious problem.
Polygon	Geometric figure; a closed plane figure bounded by straight lines. 3D graphics usually consist of polygons and is therefore not dependent upon a fixed perspective.
PVE	Acronym for player versus enviornment which refers to game combat where a human player is engaged in combat with computer controlled opponents
PVP	Short for player versus player which refers to combat involving two human players as opposed to a human player versus a computer controlled opponent
Real-time strategy game	Strategy game in which the action is played out continuously without breaks (as opposed to turn-based strategy games).
Shoot-’em-up	Action game with extreme focus on shooting down enemies. Seldom used to describe 3D-shooters and often refers to more abstract games using third person perspective.
Simulation games	Games focusing on realism. Typically they set heavy demands on the player’s ability to understand and remember complex principles and relations.
Source code	Basis instructions describing how a game works. The source code reveals the secrets of a piece of software and is therefore often guarded zealously.
Spawn	The event of someone or something appearing in a game.
Strategy games	Games focusing on the ability to make deal with dynamic priorities, typically in a context of resource shortage. Strategy games may be divided into: Real-time strategy games and turn-based strategy games.
Turn-based strategy games	Strategy games divided into ‘turns’ as known from board games (and as opposed to real-time strategy games). Typically, the player moves all units whereafter the next player moves all his units etc.
Vector graphics	Graphics defined and generated on the basis of mathematical statements, whereby the perspective becomes flexible.