14 min read•Last Updated on August 21, 2024
Video games have evolved from simple arcade entertainment to a complex medium that blends technology, art, and storytelling. This interactive form of media has become a significant part of global culture, influencing everything from social interactions to education and artistic expression.
Video game studies within humanities examine how games reflect and shape societal values. From their origins in early arcade machines to the rise of home consoles and PC gaming, video games have continuously pushed technological boundaries while exploring new ways to engage players through narrative, visual aesthetics, and sound design.
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Action games are a genre of video games that emphasize physical challenges, including hand-eye coordination and reaction-time. These games often feature fast-paced gameplay and require players to engage in a variety of tasks such as jumping, running, shooting, or fighting against enemies. The focus on real-time challenges makes action games highly engaging, as players must make quick decisions and adapt to constantly changing environments.
Term 1 of 62
Action games are a genre of video games that emphasize physical challenges, including hand-eye coordination and reaction-time. These games often feature fast-paced gameplay and require players to engage in a variety of tasks such as jumping, running, shooting, or fighting against enemies. The focus on real-time challenges makes action games highly engaging, as players must make quick decisions and adapt to constantly changing environments.
Term 1 of 62
Action games are a genre of video games that emphasize physical challenges, including hand-eye coordination and reaction-time. These games often feature fast-paced gameplay and require players to engage in a variety of tasks such as jumping, running, shooting, or fighting against enemies. The focus on real-time challenges makes action games highly engaging, as players must make quick decisions and adapt to constantly changing environments.
Term 1 of 62
Adventure games are a genre of video games that focus on storytelling, exploration, and puzzle-solving within a narrative framework. Players often control a character or avatar and navigate through different environments to uncover a story, interact with characters, and solve challenges. This genre emphasizes player agency and decision-making, allowing for immersive experiences that often prioritize narrative over fast-paced action.
Point-and-click: A subgenre of adventure games where players interact with the game environment by pointing and clicking with a mouse or similar device to perform actions and solve puzzles.
Interactive fiction: A form of storytelling in which players make choices that affect the outcome of the narrative, often using text-based interfaces.
Role-playing game (RPG): A genre that combines elements of storytelling and player choice, allowing players to assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting and engage in quests and adventures.
First-person shooters (FPS) are a genre of video games that emphasize shooting gameplay from a first-person perspective, where players experience the game through the eyes of the character they control. This perspective enhances immersion and realism, allowing players to navigate environments and engage in combat using various weapons and strategies. FPS games often feature both single-player campaigns and multiplayer modes, focusing on fast-paced action and reflex-based gameplay.
HUD: The heads-up display is an on-screen interface that provides players with essential information, such as health, ammo count, and mini-maps, without disrupting gameplay.
Multiplayer: A mode that allows multiple players to compete or cooperate in a shared gaming environment, often emphasizing teamwork and competition.
Level Design: The process of creating the layout, structure, and interactive elements of a game's environment to enhance player experience and challenge.
Massively multiplayer online (MMO) refers to a genre of video games that allow large numbers of players to interact and play together in a virtual world, often featuring persistent game environments. These games typically incorporate social elements, enabling players to form communities, collaborate on quests, and compete against one another. MMOs can encompass various genres, including role-playing games (RPGs), first-person shooters, and real-time strategy games, creating diverse experiences for players around the globe.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG): A specific subgenre of MMOs that focuses on player characters who embark on quests, develop skills, and engage in cooperative or competitive gameplay within a persistent fantasy world.
Player versus Environment (PvE): A gameplay mode in MMOs where players cooperate to overcome challenges posed by the game environment, such as defeating non-player characters or completing quests.
Player versus Player (PvP): A gameplay mode in MMOs that allows players to compete against each other, often in structured formats like arenas or battlegrounds.
Gameplay mechanics refer to the rules and systems that govern how players interact with a video game, including the actions, behaviors, and methods through which players engage with the game's environment and challenges. These mechanics are fundamental to shaping the overall gaming experience, influencing player strategies and decision-making as well as the game's narrative progression.
Game Design: The process of designing the content and rules of a game, which includes defining its mechanics, objectives, and player experiences.
User Interface (UI): The means by which a player interacts with a game, including menus, buttons, and visual elements that convey information.
Player Agency: The degree of control and influence a player has over their actions and decisions within a game, often impacted by the gameplay mechanics.
Action games are a genre of video games that emphasize physical challenges, including hand-eye coordination and reaction-time. These games often feature fast-paced gameplay and require players to engage in a variety of tasks such as jumping, running, shooting, or fighting against enemies. The focus on real-time challenges makes action games highly engaging, as players must make quick decisions and adapt to constantly changing environments.
Platformer: A subgenre of action games that focuses on jumping and climbing between platforms while avoiding obstacles and enemies.
First-person shooter (FPS): A type of action game that allows players to experience gameplay through the eyes of the protagonist, typically involving gun combat and strategic movement.
Beat 'em up: A subgenre of action games that emphasizes hand-to-hand combat against a large number of enemies in a side-scrolling or open-world environment.
Platformers are a genre of video games characterized by jumping between platforms or over obstacles to navigate through levels. This genre often features a protagonist that must overcome challenges, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies while progressing through a two-dimensional or three-dimensional environment. Platformers have evolved over the years, blending elements of storytelling, character development, and unique game mechanics.
2D Platformer: A platformer that is primarily presented in two dimensions, where players move left or right and jump between platforms, often with pixel art graphics.
3D Platformer: A platformer that utilizes three-dimensional graphics, allowing for a more immersive environment where players can explore in multiple directions.
Metroidvania: A subgenre of platformers that combines action, exploration, and puzzle-solving, where players unlock new abilities to access previously unreachable areas.
Point-and-click adventures are a genre of video games characterized by their interactive storytelling and puzzle-solving gameplay, where players navigate a graphical interface by clicking on objects and locations to advance the narrative. These games often emphasize exploration, character interaction, and inventory management, allowing players to immerse themselves in richly detailed worlds and storylines.
Graphic Adventure: A subgenre of adventure games that focuses on visual storytelling and uses graphics as the primary means of interaction, typically including point-and-click mechanics.
Puzzle Solving: A core element in many adventure games where players must solve challenges and riddles to progress in the story, often requiring critical thinking and creativity.
Narrative Design: The crafting of the story, dialogue, and character development within a game, which is particularly significant in point-and-click adventures due to their emphasis on storytelling.
Open-world games are a genre of video games characterized by expansive game environments that allow players to explore freely, complete quests, and engage with the world at their own pace. This genre emphasizes player choice, immersion, and often features non-linear gameplay, enabling a rich and varied experience as players interact with the game world and its inhabitants.
Sandbox Games: Games that provide players with the freedom to manipulate the environment and engage in various activities without a structured narrative or linear progression.
Quest System: A game mechanic that provides players with tasks or objectives to complete, often guiding the storyline and character development within open-world games.
NPCs (Non-Player Characters): Characters in a game that are not controlled by players, often used to populate the game world, provide quests, or enhance storytelling.
Japanese RPGs (JRPGs) are a genre of role-playing video games developed in Japan that typically emphasize story-driven gameplay, character development, and turn-based combat. This genre is known for its distinct art style, rich narratives, and a focus on exploring vast worlds filled with quests and adventures.
Turn-Based Combat: A combat system where players and enemies take turns to make moves, often allowing for strategic planning during battles.
Character Classes: Categories or roles that define a character's abilities, skills, and playstyle within the game, such as warrior, mage, or healer.
Leveling System: A progression mechanic that allows characters to gain experience points and improve their stats and abilities as they progress through the game.
Western RPGs, or role-playing games, are a genre of video games that originated in Western cultures, typically characterized by open-world exploration, player choice, and deep narrative elements. These games often emphasize character development and moral decision-making, allowing players to shape the story and their character's abilities through their choices. This genre contrasts with Japanese RPGs, which tend to have more linear storytelling and predefined characters.
Open World: A game design that allows players to explore a vast virtual environment freely without fixed paths or linear progression.
Character Development: The process of improving a character's skills, abilities, and attributes throughout the game based on player choices and actions.
Moral Choices: Decisions made by players that can influence the game's narrative and character relationships, often reflecting ethical dilemmas.
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are a genre of video games that allow a large number of players to interact and engage in a virtual world simultaneously. These games blend elements of role-playing, social interaction, and persistent environments, enabling players to create characters, embark on quests, and participate in player-versus-player combat within expansive game worlds that evolve over time.
Avatar: A digital representation of a player in an MMORPG, allowing customization and interaction within the game world.
Guild: A group or community of players within an MMORPG that collaborate to achieve common goals, such as completing quests or participating in raids.
Questing: The act of undertaking missions or challenges provided by the game, often central to the gameplay experience in MMORPGs.
Turn-based strategy (TBS) is a genre of video games where players take turns to make decisions and execute actions, contrasting with real-time gameplay. This format allows for deep tactical thinking and planning, as players can analyze the game state before making their moves. TBS games often involve resource management, unit movement, and combat mechanics, fostering a strategic environment where each decision can significantly impact the outcome.
Real-time strategy: A genre of video games where players make decisions and execute actions in real time, requiring quick reflexes and fast thinking.
Hex grid: A type of map layout used in many turn-based strategy games, where the game board is divided into hexagonal tiles for movement and positioning.
Action points: A mechanic used in turn-based strategy games to limit the number of actions a player can perform in a single turn, adding a layer of tactical planning.
Real-time strategy (RTS) is a genre of video games where players manage resources, build structures, and command units in real time, rather than taking turns. This genre emphasizes strategic planning and quick decision-making as players engage in competitive gameplay against either AI or other players. The unique aspect of RTS games is that all actions occur simultaneously, requiring players to think and act swiftly to outmaneuver opponents.
Resource Management: The process of gathering and allocating resources such as money, materials, and manpower to build structures, create units, and expand territories in RTS games.
Base Building: The construction of various structures and facilities in RTS games to produce units, research technologies, and defend against enemies.
Fog of War: A gameplay mechanic in RTS games that limits the player's vision of the map, preventing them from seeing enemy movements unless they are within a certain range.
Life simulation is a genre of video games that aims to emulate real-life activities and experiences, allowing players to create, manage, and interact with virtual characters in a dynamic environment. This genre often includes elements like personal relationships, career development, and daily routines, providing players with opportunities to explore different life scenarios and choices within a controlled setting.
Simulation Games: A broader category of games designed to replicate real-world activities or systems, ranging from city-building to flight simulators.
Sandbox Games: Games that allow players the freedom to explore and create in an open world without strict objectives or limitations.
Role-Playing Games (RPGs): Games in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting, often involving character development and narrative-driven gameplay.
Team sports are competitive activities where individuals are organized into teams that work together to achieve a common goal, often involving scoring points or goals against opposing teams. These sports foster collaboration, communication, and strategic thinking among teammates, making them a rich area for analysis in various contexts, including the influence of technology and gaming culture.
eSports: Competitive video gaming where individuals or teams compete against each other in organized tournaments or leagues, often mirroring the structure of traditional team sports.
cooperative gameplay: A gaming style where players work together as a team to achieve a shared objective, emphasizing collaboration and communication.
virtual teams: Groups of players who collaborate and compete together in online environments, leveraging technology to coordinate strategies and improve performance.
Environmental storytelling is a design technique used in video games and other narrative forms, where the environment itself conveys story elements, themes, and character development through visual cues, placement of objects, and spatial design. This approach allows players to experience and interpret the narrative in a more immersive way, making the setting an active participant in the storytelling process.
Lore: The background information and mythology that provide context to a game's universe, often revealed through environmental cues and artifacts.
Worldbuilding: The process of creating an expansive and coherent fictional universe, including its history, culture, and geography, which enhances the storytelling experience.
Player Agency: The degree of control and influence a player has over their actions and choices within a game, impacting the story and outcome.
Emergent narratives refer to the storytelling that unfolds dynamically through player interactions and choices in video games, rather than being pre-scripted. This concept emphasizes the role of the player in shaping the narrative experience, highlighting how actions, decisions, and gameplay can lead to unique storylines that vary from one player to another. This form of narrative has gained attention for its ability to create personalized and immersive experiences that engage players on multiple levels.
Player Agency: The degree to which players can influence the game's story and world through their choices and actions.
Non-linear storytelling: A narrative structure that allows players to experience the story in a non-sequential manner, often leading to multiple outcomes.
Interactive Fiction: A genre of games that focuses on narrative-driven gameplay where players make choices that affect the story's progression.
Moral choice systems refer to frameworks within video games that allow players to make decisions based on ethical principles, impacting the narrative and character development. These systems often present players with dilemmas where their choices reflect personal morals and values, leading to various consequences and endings within the game. This interactivity emphasizes player agency, encouraging deeper engagement with the storyline and characters.
Branching Narrative: A storytelling technique in games where the plot diverges based on the player's choices, leading to multiple possible outcomes.
Player Agency: The level of control a player has over their actions and decisions in a game, influencing the game's direction and outcome.
Consequentialism: An ethical theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of actions based on their outcomes or consequences, often explored in moral choice systems.
User interface design is the process of creating interfaces in software or computerized devices with a focus on maximizing usability and the user experience. It involves designing elements that allow users to interact with the software seamlessly, ensuring that navigation, aesthetics, and functionality work together effectively. Good user interface design is crucial in video games, as it enhances engagement and allows players to immerse themselves in the gaming experience without frustration.
User Experience (UX): User experience refers to a person's overall experience while using a product, particularly in terms of how enjoyable or easy it is to use.
Accessibility: Accessibility in design ensures that products are usable by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities, making it crucial for reaching all users.
Wireframe: A wireframe is a visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of a user interface, used to layout the structure and functionality before full design.
Immersion refers to a deep, engrossing experience that fully engages an individual in an activity, making them feel part of the environment or narrative. In the context of interactive media, like video games, immersion encompasses various elements such as sensory engagement, emotional connection, and the sense of presence within the virtual world. This term is essential for understanding how players interact with games and the ways in which developers design experiences that draw players into their worlds.
Presence: A psychological state where a person feels as if they are truly 'there' in a virtual environment, rather than just observing it.
Flow: A mental state of complete focus and enjoyment in an activity, often achieved when a person's skills perfectly match the challenges presented by the task.
Virtual Reality (VR): An immersive technology that uses computer-generated environments to create a sense of presence, allowing users to interact with and explore 3D worlds.
Photorealistic graphics refer to computer-generated images that are designed to resemble real-life visuals as closely as possible. This technique combines advanced rendering methods, texture mapping, and lighting effects to create scenes that are indistinguishable from actual photographs. As technology evolves, photorealistic graphics have become a significant aspect of visual storytelling in various digital mediums, particularly in interactive experiences like video games.
Rendering: The process of generating an image from a model by means of computer programs, which can include light simulation and shading to create realistic visuals.
Texture Mapping: A technique used in 3D modeling where images (textures) are wrapped around a 3D object to give it surface detail and realism.
Ray Tracing: An advanced rendering technique that simulates the way light interacts with objects to produce highly realistic images through complex calculations of light paths.
Pixel art is a form of digital art where images are created and edited on the pixel level, using a limited color palette to produce stylized graphics reminiscent of early video games. This technique is closely associated with retro gaming aesthetics and has gained popularity in modern indie game development, reflecting a nostalgic charm and simplicity in design.
Sprite: A two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene, commonly used in video games to represent characters, objects, and effects.
Resolution: The amount of detail an image holds, often measured in pixels; higher resolution means more pixels and greater detail, while lower resolution can create a pixelated appearance typical in pixel art.
8-bit: A term used to describe the graphical capabilities of early video game consoles, where graphics were rendered using 256 colors and characterized by a blocky appearance that defines the pixel art style.
Cell-shaded graphics, also known as cel shading, is a visual style in video games that mimics the appearance of hand-drawn animation by using flat colors and distinct outlines. This technique creates a cartoon-like aesthetic that enhances the visual storytelling and artistic expression within a game, often allowing for more stylized character designs and environments.
Sprite: A two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene, often used in video games to represent characters, objects, or effects.
Texture Mapping: A technique in 3D graphics that applies a 2D image (texture) to the surface of a 3D model to give it detail and realism.
3D Rendering: The process of generating an image from a 3D model by means of computer software, which can include various techniques such as ray tracing and rasterization.
Heads-up displays (HUDs) are graphical interfaces that present crucial information to users without requiring them to look away from their usual viewpoints. Commonly used in video games, HUDs show data like health, ammo count, and map navigation directly on the screen, enhancing user experience and immersion by integrating gameplay data seamlessly into the visual environment.
User Interface (UI): The means by which a player interacts with a video game, encompassing all visual elements that facilitate communication between the game and the player.
Immersion: The degree to which a player feels absorbed or engaged in a game world, often enhanced by elements like HUDs that provide real-time feedback.
Game Mechanics: The rules and systems that govern how players interact with the game, influencing how information is presented through HUDs.
Narrative storytelling is the art of conveying a story through structured sequences of events, characters, and themes, allowing the audience to engage emotionally and intellectually. This technique is essential in various mediums, as it shapes the audience's experience by creating a cohesive plot and enriching character development, which ultimately draws them into the narrative world.
Character Development: The process of creating a detailed and believable character that evolves throughout the narrative, influencing the story's direction and emotional impact.
Plot Structure: The organized framework of a story that includes elements such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, which guides the audience through the narrative.
Theme: The underlying message or central idea explored in a narrative, often reflecting societal issues, human experiences, or moral questions.
Adaptive music refers to a type of audio that dynamically changes in response to a player's actions or the game environment, enhancing the overall gaming experience. This type of music is designed to react to gameplay in real-time, making it more immersive and engaging. By altering elements such as tempo, melody, or instrumentation, adaptive music helps to create a seamless connection between the game's narrative and player actions.
Interactive Soundtrack: A soundtrack that allows players to influence the audio experience through their choices and interactions within the game.
Dynamic Scoring: The technique of composing music that can change based on in-game events or player decisions, creating a responsive audio landscape.
Game Audio Design: The process of creating and implementing sound effects, music, and dialogue within video games to enhance gameplay and storytelling.
Foley artists are sound professionals who create and record everyday sound effects for film, television, and video games to enhance the audio experience. They add depth to visual storytelling by generating sounds that sync with actions on screen, such as footsteps, rustling clothing, or breaking glass, making scenes feel more immersive. This work is crucial in video game design, where interactive environments demand high-quality, reactive soundscapes.
Sound Design: The process of creating, recording, or manipulating soundtracks to enhance the auditory experience of a film, video game, or other media.
Post-Production: The stage in filmmaking or game development that occurs after filming or recording, focusing on editing, sound design, and visual effects.
Audio Cue: A sound signal that triggers a specific action or event in a video game or film, often synchronized with visual elements.
Role-playing games (RPGs) are interactive experiences where players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting, making decisions and taking actions that influence the outcome of the story. These games often blend storytelling, character development, and strategic gameplay, allowing players to immerse themselves in diverse worlds and narratives.
Tabletop RPGs: Games played with a group around a table, using rulebooks, dice, and imagination, where players describe their characters' actions and the game is often led by a Dungeon Master.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs): Online games that support large numbers of players simultaneously, allowing them to interact with each other in expansive virtual worlds while developing their characters.
Character Creation: The process in RPGs where players design their characters, choosing attributes, abilities, and backgrounds that shape their roles within the game.
Level design is the process of creating the stages, environments, and challenges within a video game that players interact with. This includes the layout of terrain, placement of obstacles, and design of gameplay mechanics that guide player experience. Good level design enhances immersion, encourages exploration, and contributes to the overall narrative and challenge of the game.
Game Mechanics: The rules and systems that define how players interact with a game, including controls, objectives, and rewards.
Player Experience: The overall feeling and engagement a player has while playing a game, shaped by factors such as challenge, narrative, and immersion.
Game Environment: The virtual world in which a game takes place, including its visual style, atmosphere, and interactive elements.
Modding is the process of modifying video games by altering or adding to the game’s content, mechanics, or features, often done by players or fans. This can enhance gameplay, create custom scenarios, or even change the game's visuals, allowing for a unique player experience that extends the life and enjoyment of a game beyond its original design.
Game Engine: A software framework that provides the tools and technology for developers to build and create video games.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Content created by players or users rather than developers, often shared online, which can include mods, skins, or custom levels.
Patch: A software update that fixes bugs, adds features, or modifies gameplay in a video game.
Esports, short for electronic sports, refers to organized, competitive video gaming where individuals or teams compete in games at various levels, often in front of live audiences or online streams. This phenomenon has grown into a massive industry with professional players, teams, tournaments, and significant viewership, impacting not just gaming culture but also entertainment and media.
Competitive Gaming: A form of gaming where players compete against each other in organized formats, often leading to professional esports events.
Streaming Platforms: Online platforms like Twitch and YouTube that enable gamers to broadcast their gameplay live or upload recorded content, fostering a community around esports.
Tournament: A structured competition in which multiple players or teams compete over a series of matches to determine a champion.
Multiplayer games are video games that allow multiple players to engage in gameplay simultaneously, either locally or over the internet. These games create interactive environments where players can compete or cooperate with each other, leading to unique social dynamics and shared experiences that enhance the gaming experience.
Cooperative gameplay: A mode of multiplayer gaming where players work together to achieve common objectives, often requiring teamwork and communication.
Competitive gaming: A form of multiplayer gaming where players or teams compete against each other, often in a structured environment, such as tournaments or leagues.
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs): A genre of multiplayer games that supports a large number of players simultaneously in a virtual world, often featuring persistent environments and extensive character development.
Serious games are games designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment, often aimed at education, training, or social change. These games utilize the engaging aspects of gaming to facilitate learning and skill development, making them effective tools in various fields such as healthcare, military training, and corporate education.
Gamification: The application of game-design elements and principles in non-game contexts to enhance user engagement and motivation.
Edutainment: Content that blends educational material with entertainment, often seen in games that aim to teach while entertaining players.
Simulation Games: Games that mimic real-world processes or systems, often used in training and education to provide practical experience without real-world consequences.
Social VR platforms are immersive virtual environments where users can interact with one another in real-time through avatars, facilitating social connections and experiences. These platforms blend gaming, social networking, and user-generated content to create shared spaces that can host events, games, or casual gatherings, thereby enhancing the social dimensions of virtual reality.
Avatar: A digital representation of a user in a virtual environment, which can be customized to reflect the user's identity or preferences.
Virtual Reality (VR): A simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world, typically involving the use of VR headsets to create an immersive environment.
User-Generated Content: Content created and shared by users of a platform rather than by the platform's developers, including artwork, environments, and interactive experiences.
Game streaming platforms are online services that allow users to play video games via the internet, without needing to download or install the games on their devices. These platforms enable players to access a library of games on demand, often using cloud gaming technology, which streams the game directly from remote servers to the player's device, facilitating real-time interaction and engagement.
cloud gaming: A technology that allows users to play video games streamed from remote servers, eliminating the need for powerful hardware on the user's end.
live streaming: The broadcasting of gameplay in real-time over the internet, allowing viewers to watch players as they play and interact through chat.
subscription model: A business model where users pay a recurring fee for access to a library of games or services, commonly used by many game streaming platforms.
Gamification is the process of integrating game design elements and principles into non-game contexts to enhance user engagement, motivation, and overall experience. It often involves using rewards, challenges, and interactive features to encourage participation in activities that may otherwise seem mundane or tedious. This approach has become increasingly popular in various fields such as education, marketing, and workplace training, making tasks more enjoyable and promoting desired behaviors.
User Engagement: The emotional and cognitive investment a user has in a product or service, often measured by their interactions and commitment to it.
Motivation Theory: A psychological framework that explains what drives individuals to take action, particularly in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.
Point System: A common feature in gamification where users earn points for completing tasks or achieving goals, serving as a metric for progress and achievement.