Augmented Reality/Augmented Reality Games/Augmented Reality Handheld Games (AR/ARG/ARGH): These types of games "augment" the real world by layering a virtual game upon physical space through the use of technology and (often) role-playing. "Local games": The local games lab has developed and is using AR games that get kids out in real local environments to investigate virtual problems: kids role play professionals; they do real things in real settings but inside virtual scenarios: interacting with virtual non-player characters in their professional character roles. Kids learn lots about science and how scientists work to solve problems. Examples are Mad City Mysteries, South Shore Beach and Dow Day http://lgl.gameslearningsociety.org/games.php
Alternate Reality Game (ARG) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game usually include elments of augmented reality games. Examples of this genre have been I Love Bees (ILB) in Halo 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Bees , NIN (Nine Inch Nails)'s Year Zero http://www.ninwiki.com/Year_Zero_Research
Some of key elements of Alternate Reality Games are interactive narrative, using the real world as the setting, use of multimedia, an individual who runs the game and emphasis on "This Is Not A Game"(TINAG).
Avatar: The Sanskrit term avatar initially referred to the living embodiment of a god. Neal Stephenson was the first to popularize the term in its application to cyberspace, using "avatar" to refer to your in-game or online representation of self. For more information about avatars, check out this wikipedia entry
Meh: Commentary indicating distaste or boredom.
Coding languages? (should we include some of these?) Actionscript, Java, Python, etc. Flash, one popular coding language, is often utilized for online casual games. Raph Koster has argued that Flash will eventually be a standard vehicle for game play, noting the sizable number of households and mobile devices that have this common software installed.
Console: In the context of gaming, a console system is a piece of hardware developed specifically for playing video games on. Some of the best known current consoles on the market are the Xbox360 from Microsoft, the Play Station 3 (PS3) and its predecessor the PS2 from Sony, and the Wii from Nintendo.
Cytie: (pronounced "city") is an acronym for "Causes You To Ignore Everything".
FPS (First Person Shooter): FPS games have two key elements that distinguish them from other game styles (I'd use the word genre here -mw). First, the default view as you navigate the game is at eye-level view: instead of seeing your avatar and directing them through the game, your screen is designed to be a "first person" view. Second, FPS games primarily involve weapons and storylines that require you to kills either NPCs or other players (in the case of MMOFPS's). <--- MMOFPS, super rare as a sub genre, but most FPSs have a multiplayer mode-mw. Also - Well known examples of FPSs include Half Life, Counter Strike (CS), Tom Clancey's Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter (GRAW), and Doom. For more information on the FPS genre, check out this wikipedia entry
Game: The definition of "game" is still being intensely debated, especially with regards to the line between games and simulations. However, for here, games almost always mean digital games within a space that offers challenges and rewards for advancement. this definition requires further editing
Game cheats: A game cheat allows you to skip a section of the game, make it easier, or allows you to discover hidden content. Often a series of button presses discovered by hardcore fans.
Game engine: Game engines provide the underlying software for game development. They often allow games to be useable on multiple platforms, and they cut down on development work by letting some prior game design be reusable. This sets the game-world physics for an individual game.
Griefing: Messing with other players/residents for the primary purpose of causing them discomfort. In some contexts, griefing is considered a form of cyber-bullying, and ironically while most bullies in the real world tend to deny being bullies, griefers are often proud to label themselves as such. In other instances griefing substantiates itself in a manner more akin to flash mobs. (This is a limited definition of griefing. We note that this is a sensitive subject and one that assumes certain normative ways of being and acting within virtual worlds).
Handheld: 1) A handheld gaming device can refer to a portable gaming system developed and marketed specifically for playing games on. Examples of this include the Nintendo line of handhelds which started with the Gameboy and has led to the DS Lite, or Sony's Play Station Portable (PSP). 2) Handhelds can also refer to microcomputers like Palm Pilots, Blackberries, etc. Handheld game devices are very popular amongst younger players and dramatically outsell other console types.
Hardware: Hardware refers to physical elements of a computer, console, or other digital device.
Metaverse: A term popularized by Neal Stephenson to mean a virtual world modeled on the real world where people interact via avatars.
Minigame: A minigame is usually embedded within another game, and may be either an optional or required part of the game. This more casual types of gameplay is often used to break up immersive gameplay experiences (for example hacking machines in Bioschock). Another example would be a Quick Time Event, in which players must push specific buttons in a given order and tempo. Quick Time Events are most notably related to console gaming, though the gameplay style originated with the popular arcade game Dragon’s Lair. An example of a popular contemporary game that utilizes Quick Time Events at certain points in the story is “God of War.”
Mod: Mod is shorthand for "modify." While moding is a common gaming practice which allows the user to change the look of a game, or in some instances even the functionality. Moding is not limited to games, or even to software. Case moding is a common practice that involves changing the housing of a computer, and people have been known to mod a wide variety of other tools and even common objects. Modding is also popular with some educators, enabling educators to focus properties of games to their specific designs. An example of this is found in Nora Paul’s mod of NeverWinter Nights, presented at the 2008 GDC.
Newbie (noob, n00b): "Newbie" is a portmanteau of the words "new" and "baby", and it has evolved with l33t-speak to be written succinctly as "n00b" or "noob." The connotation is that newbies are unfamiliar with the game, game world, or community, and it's used both mockingly and teasingly.
Open-API (application programming interface): Open-API refers to a type of coding that permits different applications to communicate with each other, which in turn lets people modify applications for various usages. For example, Google Maps are open-API, and people have done all sorts of unusual things with them--such as mapping out public bathrooms in certain cities.
POV (Point of View): POV refers to your viewpoint into the game. It can be first-person, as if you're looking directly into the game world; or third-person, so that you're navigating an avatar through the game that represents yourself. A third option is a "god-like" perspective, where you're looking down into the world and manipulating the world from a distance.
Role-play: Role-playing involves taking on a persona (or role) and acting out the part accordingly (i.e., a healer, an elf, a dictator, etc.).
RPG (role-playing game): RPGs are a genre of game which can be paper, pencil, and dice based (i.e. Dungeons and Dragons) and may also be referred to as table top games (a broader genre which includes RPGs), or digital games. The two types of games are actually quite different, although in both instances the setting is commonly one of fantasy.
RTS (Real Time Strategy): RTS games do not follow a turn-based playing style. Instead, you play against the computer (or other players) at the same time that they are playing against you. For more information on the RTS genre, check out this wikipedia entry.
Sandbox: A sandbox refers to a gaming space that either lacks explicit game objectives or narrative, or allows you to ignore these elements and focus on exploring the game world.
Server: Servers are a combination of software and hardware elements that are essential for all online activities. For example, the contents of this wiki are stored on the servers of pbwiki, so that the wiki is accessible to many computers and not stored only on one. Servers do not require specialized hardware to set up, but they do require specialized software. This general usage of the term "server" is not necessarily completely accurate, but this is what many people commonly mean when they use the term. This definition at whatis.com provides a little more depth, and of course you can always read up on servers at wikipedia.
Simulation: 1) A simulation is a model representing a phenomen (often created with digital technologies), designed to duplicate a real world situation or context. There is a simulation of some form underlying all games. 2) A training simulator (see below). For a more expansive defintion of simulation, check out this entry at wikipedia
Simulator: A simulator is a training environment designed to replicate the qualities of an actual working environment to the greatest extent possible. Simulators are used to train airplane pilots, soldiers, and others, since they offer the opportunity to duplicate a complex and expensive scenario. Simulators are often also referred to as simulations
Software: Software refers the non-physical components of a computer or console (such as a game, an operating system, or word processor program).
Turn-based games: such games involve taking turns. Consider, for example, chess: one player makes a strategic move, then the computer (or other player) makes a strategic move. The actions do not occur simultaneously.
Virtual school: Virtual schools provide online access to academic content, generally with homework deadlines and long-distance teachers (see also "e-learning"). Some virtual schools are private institutions, while others are public in nature (most often, but not always, charter schools).
Virtual worlds: A virtual world is an online space that looks and acts (within limits) like the real-world. For example, you can generally interact with other players and elements of the world, like cutting down a tree or buying a (virtual) beer. this definition requires further editing
Walkthrough:
w00t: The origin of this term is unknown, but it essentially means "hooray!". Suggestions for its origin are as an acronym for "We Own the Other Team and a portmanteau of "Wow loot!" Meriam-Webster named it 2007 word of the year for its open online dictionary. http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/07words.htm
Web-based: A web-based application refers to software that is accessed solely through a web browser (like this wiki).
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