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Reference - Video Game Terminology 

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General Terms
 

Term

Description \ Definition \ Use

  

Clone

 A console manufactured and distributed by a company other than the original developer which is at its core a technical replicate of the original model. 

Console

 An interactive computer with the primary function of being a gaming device, typically dependent upon an external display device and utilizes an interchangeable media format for game programming/delivery through the system.

CIB

 Acronym for Complete In Box.  Used to define the completeness of a system/game and to indicate that all manuals, inserts, cord wrappings, etc. are included with the respective item.

Easter Egg

 Hidden features of a game or system that are not readily visible to the user.  Programmer's delight in adding these.

Hack

 There are two common uses for this term, each completely separate in nature.  When used to describe a game, this indicates that most of the game code has been copied and reused in a new game release.  The 'hacked' game release is often very similar to the original game, but with some slight differences in terms of graphics and game setting (story).  When applied to a console, this term refers to upgrading the hardware outside the manufacturers original specifications and/or releasing certain capabilities of the system that are not part of the general out of the box user experience.

Handheld

 Portable, lightweight gaming system that has all controls and screen display compiled into one unit.

NIB

 Acronym for New In Box.  Used to indicate that a system/game is brand new and has never been opened.

PC Hybrid

 Typically used to define certain home personal computers which primary function is to serve as a computer, but does have certain characteristics of being a console (i.e. has a cartridge slot, controller ports, etc.).

Pong

 General term to define early systems that were based on the General Instruments AY-3-8500 chip.  Games are all built directly into the system and are generally variations of the original Pong tennis game.

S\H

 Acronym for Shipping and Handling (mainly used in this site to estimate the cost of this service for items)

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Audio \ Video Connections
 

Term

Description \ Definition \ Use

  

Component Cable

 The current standard for A/V delivery that utilizes cables.  Video is delivered through three separate channels (green, blue and red) that correspond to the respective color signals with standard red/white cabled used to transmit audio.

Composite Cable

 Followed the RF Connection method by using three cables - Yellow for video, Red for the right audio channel and White for the left audio channel.

HDMI

 Acronym for High definition Multimedia Interface and is a single cable with a USB type port that transmits uncompressed digital A/V data.  Definitely the way to go if your television supports this.

NTSC

 Acronym for National Television System Committee, which is used to define the analog standards for the display, color, refresh rate and other technical items for televisions to deliver programming\A\V content to the end user. Utilized in North America, Japan and a few other countries worldwide.  Basically, it displays video using 525 lines of information and up to 16 million colors.

PAL

 Acronym for Phase Alternating Line, which is used to define the analog standards for the display, color, refresh rate and other technical items for televisions to deliver programming\A\V content to the end user. Utilized in most of Europe, Australia, China, parts of South America, and a few other countries worldwide.  Basically, it displays video using a maximum of 625 lines of information and up to 16 million colors.  There are many sub groups using this standard.

RCA Jack

 Current universal connection method used for basically all standard definition A/V cables

RF Connection

 Connection through the coaxial cable of televisions.  Many older systems use this.  Audio and Video are delivered through the same cable with overall low quality compared to today's standards.

S-Video

 Better than Composite in delivering video quality  - audio connection is the same.  The port structure is also different than the other cables in that it uses a computer PS-2 like port and not the standard RCA

VGA

 Acronym for Video Graphics Array, which is the standard 15-pin computer monitor port.

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Device Connections
 

Term

Description \ Definition \ Use

  

ADB

 Acronym for Apple Desktop Bus, which is a type of port used on Apple products for peripheral device connection

Bluetooth

 Standard communication protocol designed for wireless devices and PANs (personal area network)

GeoPort

 Port on Macintosh computers which was primarily used for modem communication.  Abandoned in the late 1990's

Hardwired

 Primarily used to state that game controllers for a system are permanently wired to the system and not removable

Input

 Any port whose purpose is to receive audio, video or other data from an external source

Output

 Any port whose purpose is to transmit audio, video or other data to an external source

PCI

 Acronym for Peripheral Component Interconnect, a type of computer bus used to connect peripheral devices to a computer or system.

Port

 General term used to describe an interface on a system for use in connecting devices

Power Supply

 Obvious - some have the power supply built into the system, others utilize an external source contained in the actual cord

SCSI

 Acronym for Small Computer System Interface, yet another type device connection method

Serial Port

 Older style port used for connecting a mouse, modem and other devices

USB

 Acronym for Universal Serial Bus, the current standard for connecting peripheral devices

Wi-Fi

 Stands for Wireless Fidelity, a type of wireless networking standard protocol

Wireless

 General term to describe any network connection communications are transmitted via radio waves and/or microwaves rather than through a wired connection between sender and receiver.

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Interface Devices
 

Term

 Description \ Definition \ Use  

Analog Controller

 These controllers respond to the degree of pressure exerted on a button, D-pad, etc, rather than the On\Off mechanics of a Digital Controller

Controller

 Catch-all term for any interface device to control gameplay

Digital Controller

 Controllers respond with an On\Off action (shoot, turn left) and does not take into account the pressure exerted on a button

Gamepad

 Generic term for today's modern controller, which typically feature a directional controller (D-pad) and action buttons

Joystick

 Controller featuring a handheld directional stick, often accompanied by an action button(s)

Keyboard

 Obvious, but early models featured Up\Down\Left\Right arrows above the WASD keys to control PC game movement and input.

Keypad

 Action buttons are aligned in a 3 x 3 grid of buttons, often accompanied by a circular motion button.  Games came packed in with overlays to identify the respective action of the buttons

Light Gun

 Usually deigned to resemble its name, this type of controller emits a beam of light at the game screen to 'shoot' the target.  A receiver/transmitter unit records the accuracy of the 'shot' and reports back the findings to the game console.

Modem

 Standard term for the device which allows electronic/digital communication with an external network source

Motion-sensing Controller

  

Mouse

 Obvious - still a favorite for PC gamers

Multi-Tap

 Connection device to expand the number of controllers that can plug into a console

Overlay

 Used with Keypad controllers to identify the action associated with the respective Keypad button.  Also used to describe the plastic film used to cover a television screen to give color and add graphics to early gaes/consoles that technologically could not (Magnavox Odyssey)

Paddle

 A circular wheel provides directional control, while action buttons are used for firing, etc.

Peripheral Device

 Generic term for any device that requires a connection to a console or PC

Tablet

 Wireless keyboard type of device used in a few early model consoles (Bandai Pippin)

Trackball

 A large ball that interacts with two or three axis wheels that are enclosed in the case.  Centipede was the big starter of this.

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Technical Performance
 

Term

 Description \ Definition \ Use  

Bit

 Units of memory. Plural - Bytes.  The term was often applied to describe the CPU power of a console (8-Bit, 16-Bit, etc.).

Co-processor

  

CISC

  

CPU

 The unit of which a Processor belongs. The CPU is plugged into the motherboard and is the most important piece of hardware

Data Cache

  

K

  

KB

 Killobyte; One Thousand Bytes

MHz

 1,000 wavelength cycle

Network

A group of computers connected wirelessly or through a system of Ethernet cables

Processor

 A computer chip that "thinks" for the computer. Controls and regulates all memory and data as well as system processes not handled by the video and sound cards

RISC

  

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Audio Performance
 

Term

 Description \ Definition \ Use  

Analog Sound

  

Channel

  

Digital Sound

  

Dolby

 A sound company that pioneered stereo and surround sound systems

kHz

  

Mono

 Sound that comes through a single channel speaker system

Sampling

  

Stereo

 Sound that comes through evenly on a two-channel speaker system

Surround Sound

 A multi-channel speaker system that creates the illusion of sound immersion

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Visual Performance
 

Term

 Description \ Definition \ Use  

Anti-Aliasing

  

Color Palette

  

Frame Rate

  

Full Motion Video

  

Pixel \ Pixilation

  

Polygons

  

Screen Resolution

  

Sprite

  

Texture Mapping

  

Vector

  

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Storage \ Memory
 

Term

 Description \ Definition \ Use  

External Memory

 Portable and Enclosed HDDs as well as flash drives, jump drives, and microdrives. Memory storage, ranging from 56KB to over 1TB

Flash Card

 Memory storage for cameras, camcorders, and PSP systems. It uses a small card inserted in a slot on the electronic device or PC for data storage and transfer

Flash ROM

  

Floppy Disk

  

GB

 Gigabyte; One Billion Bytes

Hard Drive

 Officially called a "Hard Disk Drive", a solid memory system for storage of massive amounts of data over a period of time

Internal Storage

  

MB

 Megabyte; One Million Bytes

RAM

 Random Access Memory. What is used for temporary storage on computer systems

ROM

  

TB

 Terabyte; One Trillion Bytes. Currently the highest available commercial size for data storage

Video RAM

  

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Game Media

Term

 Description \ Definition \ Use  

Blu-ray

  

Cartridge

 A plastic encased unit for storing and then using data to play games. Originally had no memory storage and had a password database, but the addition of a special battery allowed for storage of memory

Cassette Tape

  

CD \ CD-R \ CD-RW

  

CD+G

  

Digital Distribution

  

Downloadable

  

DVD \ DVD=R \ DVD-RW

 Digital Video Disc\Writable\Rewritable - Most games and movies are released in DVD format. R and RW are used for burning discs on your computer for personal or commercial use

FMV

  

HD DVD

 High-Definition Digital Video Disc, a DVD that plays in High Definition formats

Homebrew

 A game, usually a cartridge game, that is made by indie or garage developers and designers, usually based off of NES or SNES cartridges

Huecard

  

Laserdisc

 Large discs that were meant to be the wave of the future. Large, expensive, and the release of the DVD killed Laserdisc

Media Format

  

MP3

  

MPEG

  

VHS

  

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Game Genres
 

Term

 Description \ Definition \ Use  

Action\Adventure

 Typically played from a third person point of view, these games focus on investigation of one's surroundings and retrieval of item(s) compiled with combat versus various foes.

Adult

 Uncommon for games released in the USA and more widely available in Japan and certain European markets; game content is obvious

Anime

 Games based on the Japanese style of motion-picture animation. 

Compilation

 Used to describe a single software release containing more than one game.

Demo

 Game demonstration software that has either a time/level limit or other features disabled to encourage purchase of the full software.

Edutainment

 Games focused on learning activities for both children and adults.  Most are the Point & Click affairs.

Fighting

 "Beat'em Ups" - usually one-on-one combat between two characters. 

FPS

 Acronym for First Person Shooter.  The point of view is always from the perspective of the character the player is controlling (like looking through the character's own eyes).

Game Simulator

 Any game th

MMO

 Acronym for Massively Multiplayer Online.  A network required environment where interactions with other 'real' characters is the key.  Most games in this genre are RPG based, but there are a growing number of RTS games that are springing up in this category.

Music\Rhythm

 Probably the newest genre, games are all about music and audience participation. Growth in this area has been exploding as of late.

Platformer

 Mostly presented in 2D, games in this genre require the character to start from point A and get to point B by jumping and traversing various obstacles (bad guys as well) to reach the next level.  A Boss battle typically is the culmination of one's efforts.

Puzzle

 Mind over matter - complete objectives using your brain to navigate through problems and/or puzzles.

Racing

 Hop in your vehicle and get to the finish line.  This genre is all about vehicles and games are presented from all points of perspective (2D, 3D, Third person)

RPG

 Acronym for Role Playing Game.  This genre focuses on a central protagonist that is controlled by the player and involves them adventuring through a world(s) to achieve various objectives for the story to continue.  Item collection and stat\level building is also a mainstay of this genre.

Shooter

 Usually 2D scrolling affairs, the action is simple - keep mashing the fire button and kill all the bad guys.

Simulation

 Games attempt to simulate real life situations, actions and/or events. 

Sports

 The genre with the most titles ever released.

Strategy

 Overall game play is usually slower than most and requires extreme thinking and planning to achieve objectives.  Usually defined as RTS (real Time Strategy) and TBS (Turn Based Strategy)

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visitors since 01-Apr-2008
Page last updated 11-Dec-2011

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