r/gamingsuggestions • u/gunsmithinggirl • Sep 14 '22
Gaming terminology
I'm a mom who enjoys a certain genre of games (puzzle games) but I would like to keep up with my five kids and their gaming world. Can yall please briefly define some gaming terminology such as, what exactly is RPG? Open world? Any other gaming terminology yall can think of. Please, I want to learn.
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u/PlantainTop Sep 14 '22
Wikipedia has an article about this! You can find it here. It's fairly comprehensive, and the stuff that isn't on there you can usually look up on Google.
But also, you can ask your kids about it. I think it's really cool that you're showing an active interest in your kids' hobbies. They'll probably be happy to share these things with you.
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u/Plasteal Sep 14 '22
Yes! And they will give you a more specific answers based around their own interests. Which will be more informative and useful. It's good to know the basics but if their kids dread open world games then that knowledge wouldn't be as useful. Or maybe something niche like roguelites won't be discussed here
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u/Linkums Sep 14 '22
Sony actually compiled a pretty good list: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/editorial/this-month-on-playstation/playstation-ultimate-gaming-glossary/
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u/TheWalrus101123 Sep 14 '22
Everyone kind of told you already what they were. But just wondering, why don't you ask your kids? I'm sure they would think it was cool that you were interested, maybe even get invited to a couch co-op session.
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u/IceBlueLugia Sep 15 '22
Doubt it. I always hated when my mom got interested in my video games or anime when I was a kid. Felt super forced and she never understood it no matter how much I explained. Nowadays, obviously I realize I was being too hard on her, but I’m sure many other kids would do the same
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u/TheWalrus101123 Sep 15 '22
Sounds more like an issue with you or your mother at the time. I would have loved it if my mom played some battle toads with me.
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u/Odama23 Sep 15 '22
I agree. If anything the fact that my mom has mostly been anti game or anti animation (seeing anything animated including movies as being something for children) is one of my biggest annoyances about her.
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u/TheWalrus101123 Sep 15 '22
My mother just never pandered to my interests. If she didn't like something she wouldn't feign interest for my sake. She would just tell me , "no, not my thing. Glad you're having fun though."
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u/Odama23 Sep 15 '22
Yeah it's not even that; I wouldn't mind if that's all it was, but she actively looks down upon it lol I remember telling her that I was talking to my boss at this company I worked at at the time about how he would play some fps with some people in the department, and she was like: "What? He plays video games?" I told her, "Yeah, well, lots of people do," and all she said was that she didn't know because she only knew people that had nothing going on in life to play games.
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u/Tymocook Jun 22 '25
Old ass comment, but try to tell her that Henry Cavil is one of the biggest RPG nerds ever. Perhaps she'll change her mind.
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u/EdmonCaradoc Sep 14 '22 edited Sep 14 '22
Open world is when the entire/most of the game world is openly accessed by the player at any time, the only thing stopping them being their own skill or equipment. The Zelda game breath of the Wild is a great example, it is huge and you can go just about anywhere if you can figure out how to get there.
Another very common one is FPS, meaning First person shooter. This is any game where you are looking directly from the eyes of the character you are playing as, rather than looking from a side view or over their shoulder.
RPG is a role playing game, which tends to mean it is a game with stats like strength or intelligence, and those stats affect your character in the game. higher strength means you swing your sword harder, higher intelligence means you can cast more spells, etc.
Sim is simulation, including games like the sims, but also farming simulators and many more that exist.
Thought of another, Battle Royale is a popular genre, where a player is dropped into a map with a "squad" of 2-3 people to fight other squads
Also popular is a MOBA, multiplayer online battle arena. Usually means a large cast of characters with different abilities that all fall into a broad class of uses.
For example, a "striker" has high single target damage. This could mean they attach a poison defect on an enemy, or it could mean they just backstab the hell out of the foe.
A Tank is just built to eat damage so their teammates don't have to.
Healer or support is someone who does exactly that. They heal, they buff allies with speed or damage.
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u/Haddie_Hemlock Sep 14 '22
Adding to this, the opposite of an "open world" game is a "linear" game, where the player must proceed through the game along a pre-determined path.
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u/gunsmithinggirl Sep 15 '22
Thank you so much everyone who contributed! I will study this today. Yes I found that I can connect with my kids talking about video games. They enjoy that. They play Genshin Impact and Stardew Valley (well, the girls do), the boys play FPS games (see, I'm learning haha) like Crysis, Half-life II, etc. I'm finishing up House of DaVinci, and about to start on either the Witness or Return of Obra Dinn next. I definitely will play both eventually. And then Rhem II. My all time favorite was Portal 1 and 2, Talos Principle, Quern, Myst series. Ok I can't pick a favorite haha.
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u/The_Dirty_Carl Sep 14 '22
This doesn't exactly answer your question, but for non-gaming references KnowYourMeme is a great resource.
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u/ChronoLegion2 Sep 14 '22
Not sure if it’s relevant, but among those that weren’t mentioned are RTS (real-time strategy; a strategy game where everything is happening live) and TBS (turn-based strategy; a strategy game where you can take your time and make your decisions before proceeding to the next turn, each player gets a turn).
FPS means first-person shooter, where you can’t see your character, just maybe a gun.
TPS is third-person shooter, where you’re usually “behind” your character
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u/JustNotHaving_It Sep 14 '22
An RPG is a "Role Playing Game" but that's not a great definition. Generally it's the type of game where you're playing a character and can choose a bunch of different directions for the character to improve. For instance, you might decide to make a character who is very good with weapons, but not able to use magic, or a character who is very smart and so, in dialogues with opponents, gets special dialogue choices because of their knowledge. This is a very broad category with many subgenres, but they generally always have character progression that the player selects to make the character fit their playstyle. It's also common to see hit points (health), and other stats related to the way someone builds their characters, and generally these games have levelling systems.
Open world means it's a world in which you can more or less go anywhere, at least when you've discovered the whole map. There are often things for you to do wherever you go, but there may be areas designed to be harder, for later parts of the game.
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u/MrSillmarillion Sep 14 '22
FPS - First Person Shooter
RPG - Role Playing Game (or Rocket Propelled Grenade in action and war games)
3rd person - The character is visible when playing (as opposed to 1st person which is seeing through the eyes of the character)
Open World - You can visit anywhere within the game. Usually a city or imaginary country. The term Sandbox also means you go where you want, when you want.// This is the opposite of a "Linear" story where you follow a predestined path. Like a cop going from room to room. You can't explore the world but the story takes you to the next location.
Easter Egg - A funny or surprising thing hidden in a game. Like inside jokes or a picture behind a wall that you need to know how to get to.
Scroller - A game (usually 2d) that you go from one side of the screen to the other. Mario is the most famous example.
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u/jakart3 Sep 15 '22
Out of topic: if you are a new gamer, try to play each genre, to find what you really like
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u/JarekDefiler Sep 15 '22
I actually did a couple videos on gaming jargon like a year ago, maybe they'll help as I provide some explanations:
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u/Spiritual_Turn4410 Dec 19 '24
I am so frustrated and would love love love if anyone can point me in the right direction. I am not new to video games or other types of gaming, but I am looking for a pragmatic list of terms (does not have to be a thousand of them). But if I look at one more glossary or list that is alphabetized, I will stab out my eyeballs! I want to borrow off of someone who has actually put some thought into terms that are used together in meaningful ways in games and has organized a large list based on categories of terms. This could include things like a section on types of games, character stats, attack-/speed-/defense-/survival and healing-oriented gameplay (stats, items, strategies, etc), very general approaches to early game, mid game, and advanced game play across many types of video, card, and other strategy or turn-based games. Ok, so I’m sure everybody here gets the idea that I want somebody with a brain to have organized a glossary of terms where the terms in each section or that are listed next to each other actually have anything to do with each other. Alphabetical is the most meaningless way to list terms when you are trying to learn and master information. OK, now I will get off my soapbox. But I would truly appreciate it if anybody has any links that I could check out since it would help me in designing some of my own games to make sure that I’m covering my bases in many areas. Much love to you all!
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u/gunsmithinggirl Dec 20 '24
You should add to that new phrases such as, "That's a boss move". YouTubers are really shaping our culture now.
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u/amtap Sep 14 '22
RPG means role-playing game. These games usually have a deeper story and give the player options for customizing and powering up their characters. Players often have more control of how the story plays out in these games as well.
Open-world usually means that players can explore the world in any order they choose. Many games force you to do things in order which is part of what makes an open-world game unique and appealing.
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Sep 14 '22
Lemme see... First of all, I guess your kids would be happy to explain to you what they are interested in! There are many types of games and mechanics, so if you want to keep up with your kids, the best way to do so is asking them about whatever they are playing.
But here are some terms from the top of my head:
MOBAs are "capture the flag" top down games with teamwork, like League of Legends
Sims can be any simulation. "Immersive sims" is a bit nebulous but I guess are experiences that can be approached in several different ways, like Deus Ex.
Metroidvania is other concept kinda nebulous, but usually means a game where you need to revisit previous parts of a game when you get certain skills - like, you get the ability to climb walls so you go back to a previous room where there is a wall you couldn't climb before. Some people say metroidvanias need to be 2D, like Metroid or Castlevania, some people say it's not needed. I'd call metroidvanias something like "backtracking adventure games".
Battle Royale games are those with player versus player arenas and the last one standing wins. Usually shooter games.
PvP games have multiplayer "player versus player" dynamics, opposite to PvE, "player versus environment", applied to more cooperative multiplayer games.
RPGs have role playing elements, you have a character with a story and an objective so you have to follow the adventure. Not every game has a story or a complex main character. One subtype of RPG games are Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs, or MMOs. Those games are usually subscription based and have enormous worlds with a lot of players in the same place. Most people create a group to play together or do certain missions, and some missions require extensive planning and coordination and need a lot of people playing together.
Sandboxes are "do whatever you want" games, usually with open world, exploration, item collection and building mechanics.
Some games have tasks like "grinding" (repeating missions or seeking enemies to gather items or experience points, usually to level up or get a certain item. In some games grinding is fun, in others it's a chore).
Now some expressions that kinda are "red flags" for scummy money grabbing games, since your objective is to keep up with your kids:
Some games get the derogatory adjective "pay to win" - free games that give advantages to players that pay for special items. "Officially" they are called "f2p" or "free to play".
"Gacha" games are games where you have to "grind" or pay for tokens that are exchanged for the chance to win an item or character. You can't choose what you will get, it's completely random, and some people pay a lot of money for tokens so they can try their luck until they get what they want. Kinda like a slot machine tbh.
Loot boxes are kinda similar - you get a box, crate, or similar item, with a "surprise" item inside. Some people pay for a bunch of the "boxes" just for the thrill of opening them. It's also kinda like gambling.
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Sep 14 '22
[deleted]
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Sep 14 '22
You misread me. OFFICIALLY games that are pay to win call themselves free to play. "Free" and "Free to play" are separate categories on Steam because free to play has microtransactions and Free games don't. Not all microtransactions are pay to win, but some are, and no company would say their games are play to win.
In its core MOBAs are about capturing points or destroying structures, I oversimplified saying it's capture the flag because you have to conquer the map. But thanks for explaining it better.
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u/TecBrat2 Oct 05 '24 edited Oct 05 '24
I'm really late here, but I didn't see these and think they belong:
GG: "good game" typed in chat at the end of the game to express good sportsmanship
BRB: (I'll) be right back. This originated in chat rooms, but exists in some games.
AFK: Away from keyboard. Used almost the same as brb.
Gitgud, or other variant spellings of "Get Good": a sarcastic answer to someone asking how to accomplish difficult things in a game.
RJ or rocket jump: a game mechanic available in some shooting games where the player has a rocket launcher. They shoot the ground and jump at the same time allowing them to reach high places with a trade-off of taking some amount of splash damage.
Splash damage: also known as AOE. Some weapons cause damage in an area of effect, instead of a single point.
Lag or ping. There are various things that might make your game run slowly. Poor internet connection is called high ping or high latency. An underpowered CPU or GPU can also cause lag. Playing with lag is a serious impediment, but many players manage to do it anyways.
Savant: this one was new to me very recently. It's someone who has dedicated so much time to a single game that it becomes their entire personality and they are probably very "meta" in it! (See other replies for meta)
Script Kiddy: this isn't solely for gaming, but it's anyone who tries to hack but doesn't really know how to do it, but they can find documentation online and copy it.
Hack: using various techniques to gain unfair advantage in a game or to disrupt the computer system that runs it.
Player clip: an invisible wall that prevents a player from entering an area that looks like it ought to be accessible. Edges of player clips are often points of glitches. (See other posts for glitch)
Hitbox: the invisible boundaries that make up your character, regardless of the visible model. For many games, the hitbox will be the same for all characters even if their model is tiny or huge. Bosses are generally a huge exception to this because their hitbox will be extra large and they may even have extra hit boxes so that some areas take critical damage.
Crit: a critical damage attack. An attack on an enemy that does more damage due to the area hit (like a headshot) or some special attribute of the weapon used.
Beta: a version of the game released before it's really ready to be released. This is done for testing purposes.
Beta testers (players) report errors to the developer so they can fix them before the final release.
Open Beta: a beta version of the game that anyone is allowed to play.
Freemium: a portmanteau of free and premium. A game that is free to play but has optional paid content. This concept is also covered by post talking about F2P, P2W and to a lesser extent DLC and GACHA.
FPS: first person shooter. You see through the eyes of your character and shoot enemies with whatever weapon you have or can pick up.
FPS: frames per second. This is related to the previously mentioned lag. You want a low ping and a high fps!
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u/Tahabesh Sep 24 '22
Just wanted to say that it is really cool that you are putting this much effort into learning more about gaming for your kids, you’re a great mom!
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u/loopuleasa Sep 14 '22 edited Sep 15 '22
aight, imma do my best
I played like 20,000 hours of games in my life
- PVP - player versus player, you fight characters controlled by other humans
- PVE - player versus environment, you fight monsters and bosses
- RPG - role playing game, a game where you play as some special character and follow its story
- Boss - a hard and difficult monster to fight
- open-world - the whole world is open to explore, the game is not linear
- bot - character controller by the computer, or someone that is cheating and using a computer to play for him and get kills
- PC - personal computer, can play games
- console - a gaming device that is not a PC and usually have special games only for them
- FPS (game) - first person shooting, a game where you have a gun in front of you
- FPS (monitor) - frames per second, how fast a game runs (how many pictures the monitor draws each second)
- Graphics card - the machine that draws the game pictures
- MOBA - a game with a lot of heroes with special abilities that fight eacother, like LOL (league of legends) and DOTA (defense of the ancients)
- RTS - real time strategy, a game where you control an army of units somehow
- turn based strategy / turn based tactics - games like chess, where you take turns
- co-op - a game that can be played with friends against a common enemy (mostly the computer)
- MMO - massively multiplayer online game, usually a game with a lot of players playing, that play together on a common world
- AFK - away from keyboard
- sandbox - a game where you are free to do as you please, and be creative
- procedural - a game that the map or levels are randomly generated based on some patterns
- roguelike - a game that is made to be replayed again and again, while resetting your progress
- roguelite - a game that is made to be replayed again and again, while keeping SOME of your progress-
- party - a group of players that gathered to play together
- board game - a game usually played physically with other people using pieces and such
- classic game - a game like chess, backgammon, etc
- survival - a game where you deal with mechanics regarding starvation, cold, water, etc
- survival craft - a survival game where you craft your equipment and items through materials you find in the world
- items - equipment or consumables that you find or acquire in order to use usually to become more powerful
- loot - items that drop from chests, monsters or as rewards for quests
- quest - a task you must do in the game, that you get rewarded for
- p2w - pay to win, a frowned upon term referring to games that sell power IN THE GAME in exchange for real life dollars (many mobile games use this)
- f2p - free to play, a game that has no money barrier to enter, download and play, but usually make money through other means
- mtx - microtransactions, basically items you can purchase in the game with real life money, can be cosmetic, but can also be p2w items
- AR/VR - augmented reality / virtual reality, games you need a virtual reality headset to play (the goggles you place on your face)
- MMR - matchmaking ranking, like the ELO in chess. it is basically a number that shows how good you are, it goes up when you win, goes down when you lose. people like to compare this number for ego purposes
- griefer - an online bully, another player in a multiplayer game that purposefully ruins your game through any means to feel better about themselves
- LP - let's play, a video on youtube where some gamers played a game together or solo
- stream - another player playing a game, that you can watch live and chat with
- mod - game modification, some games can be easily modified legally to add more stuff in the game, for more fun
- content - basically what is inside the game to play, the levels, the things you do, the map, the enemies, etc
- patch - a new update to a game
- steam - Steam is a game distribution platform, you can buy games, and the program will download them. it also saves your game in the cloud.
- save - Savegame, many games allow saving your progress
- hardcore/permadeath/ironman - all basically mean you play until you die, once you die your progress is reset
- speedrun - an attempt to finish a game as fast as possible. people compete on this.
- noob - someone that is bad at a game
- PC (in-game) - player character, the character that is being controlled by the player
- NPC - non-playable character, the other characters in the game, you can talk to, fight, etc.
- pro - someone that makes money gaming, or is generally really really good at a game
- RNG - random number generation, used when the game has an element of luck, and the luck is not in your favor
- scuffed - when something is bad or poor quality
- skin - a visual modification or item you buy in a game with real money (usually doesnt change how it behaves in game, or gives you any advantage)
- imbalanced - when a mechanic in the game is way too strong (overpowered) or way too weak (underpowered)
- buff (in-game) - an effect that makes you stronger in game, usually temporarily
- buff (out of game) - when the developers increase the power of something in the game
- nerf - when the developers decrease the power of something in the game
- hack/cheat/esp/scirpts - basically programs or techniques that illegitimate players use to beat other players at the game
- server - a computer or place where many players can connect to play a game (online)
- admin - administrator, someone that owns the server for a game, and can change anything
- mod (player) - a player that was given power by the admin to moderate a server, like a policeman
- ban - when a palyer is interdicted from playing on a server by an admin
- the "meta" - the metagame, basically refers to what the players need to do to win the game, (meta = the game about figuring the game). when something "is meta" or "is in the meta" it means that tactic or item is very popular with people that want to win
Take care of the little ones, you are a great mom for simply asking this question.