Entertainment / Video Games Glossary

Flicker: Common in early video game consoles, this problem made the objects look transparent and hard to see, and was the result of system limitations or poor programming.

Flight sim: A game that realistically simulates flying an aircraft.

Flow chart: A visual representation of how a software program or routine should work. Flow charts use circles for entry and exit points, squares to describe actions taken by the program, and diamonds to . . . View Full Definition

Force feedback: True force feedback is when a controller is engineered to provide powered resistance against the motions made by the player. For example, a steering wheel that simulates the feel of the road . . . View Full Definition

Frag: A term associated with shooting something in a first-person shooters, usually a human-controlled opponent.

Fragging: Killing another character in a first-person shooter game. Derived from U.S. military slang. Gamers gain points for fragging opponents but may lose points for fragging teammates or themselves . . . View Full Definition

Frame Rate: A term that describes the smoothness of motion in a game. The image on a television screen is really a series of still images shown in rapid succession, about 33 FPS (Frames Per Second). Hig . . . View Full Definition

Frames Per Second (FPS): FPS is an Abbreviation for 'Frames Per Second,' which is the measurement for the number of times an image is updated each second in a game. The higher this 'frame rate,' the smoother the mov . . . View Full Definition

Freeware: Software that's distributed for free, usually over the internet. Not a business model that'll get the author rich.

Friend code: This is Nintendo’s method of identifying players on the Wii console, and DS handheld when connecting to online games through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Friend codes are 12 digit . . . View Full Definition

Full Motion Video (FMV): Popularized by the Sega CD in the early 90s, FMV games allowed the player to interact with live or computer-generated video. Most of these game weren’t much fun, and soon FMV was relegated t . . . View Full Definition

Game Design: At the risk of attracting controversy again, here goes. Game design is 'the act of defining a game in detail.' Game Design is not 'programming,' and it isn't 'graphic design.' It's mostly id . . . View Full Definition

Game Designer: A person who engages in game design. A person who defines games in detail, or who defines the details of a game. Not necessarily a programmer. Not necessarily an artist. Someone who communic . . . View Full Definition

Game Genie: A product popular in the early 90’s that allowed you to enter 'cheat' codes into games.

Game Mechanic: Play pattern. For example, a crossword puzzle entails a different player activity than does a card game.

Game screens: Still images of the game, seen online or in magazines.

Game Shark: A product that because popular in the late 90's that let you use 'cheat' codes on your games.

Gameplay: The term is sometimes spelled as two words rather than one. And the term can be used in a sentence in a variety of ways to refer to different aspects of the enjoyable act of playing a game. . . . View Full Definition

Gamer: A person who is facile with games. Especially, someone who plays games professionally. (Term is not used within the game industry to refer to people who work in the game industry. Most peopl . . . View Full Definition

Games 411: Reference guide for game related businesses that lists everyone from companies, artists, music producers, marketing and distribution, and retailers.

Gaming: Usually use in reference to gambling activities, such as those which take place in casinos. (Term is not used within the game industry to refer to the game industry itself.)

Genre: Term used to classify, categorize, or pigeonhole games by different types of gameplay (action games vs. Simulation games, etc.). There isn't a universal system for genre classification. What . . . View Full Definition

Glory Seeking: Taking a particularly dangerous course of action for the opportunity to score bonus points. For example, pursuing the vegetables in Dig Dug.

God Game: A strategic game, usually viewed from above, so called as it allows the player to affect both the world, and its inhabitants as though playing a 'god.'

God Mode: A mode that makes the player completely invincible, and usually accessed by some kind of cheat code.

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13