Glossary 8-bit Console: A home videogame system from the era when the CPUs used in these devices had databases capable of handling 8 bits at a time, mainly the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). AAA: See Triple-A. Adventure Game: A game in which the player controls a single character who solves puzzles to unlock elements of a story and open up new areas of the game (see Text Adventure, Graphic Adventure). Examples: Zork, Myst, The Secret of Monkey Island. Alternatively, the official name adopted by the Game Manufacturer's Association, an organization of tabletop game publishers, for what is now more commonly known as hobby games. Alpha: At least in theory, the point at which an application is feature complete—that is, still very buggy, in all likelihood, but with all essential features in place. Alternative Reality Game (ARG): A game played partially online and partially in the real world, in which the game operators provide a story line, often set in a world much like but subtly different from our own, releasing hints, clues, and puzzles over time, with the players working to solve the puzzles and uncover the depths of the story. They have most often been funded as marketing vehicles for commercial products, although at least one (World Without Oil) was an advocacy game. Artificial Intelligence (AI): In a game context, any set of routines that govern the behavior of computer opponents is called "AI", and the opponents themselves referred to as "AIs." In fact, these routines are, by the standards of AI researchers, generally quite primitive. Beta: In software industry parlance, the point at which an application is released to testers. In the game industry, some form of testing (with a prototype) may have been ongoing since long before alpha; "beta" is more commonly used to mean the point at which the game is really feature complete, and by which at least crash bugs have been (largely) eliminated. BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless): A technology that allows application development for mobile phones that use Qualcomm's CDMA technology. More commonly used than J2ME to support games on phones connected to CDMA carriers (such as Verizon and Sprint). Casual Game: Casual games are sold primarily via download, through portals such as Yahoo Games!, RealArcade, and BigFish, to a largely female, middle-aged audience. They are characterized by simplicity and by gameplay that tends to be more relaxing and less intense than "hard core" games, and they generally eschew violence. Character Skill: Characteristic of a game in which the success or failure of actions is determined by numerical scores attributed to the player's character, not to the fine motor skills of the player himself (contrast with Player Skill).

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Glossary Computer Game: Usually refers to a game played on a home computer such as a PC, Macintosh, or Linux machine (as distinct from console games). In the game studies community, "computer game" is sometimes used in a sense that encompasses console games, the idea being that what distinguishes digital games from tabletop ones is the use of a computing device, and that this is a more important characteristic than the use of video. Console: A device specifically designed for the purpose of playing games, e.g., a Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3, or Microsoft Xbox 360 (see Handheld Console and Home Console). Digital Rights Management (DRM): A form of copy protection. Entertainment Software Association (ESA): An industry organization comprising most of the large game publishers; some demographic and other information is available at their website (www.theesa.com). Formerly known as the Interactive Digital Software Association. First-Person Shooter (FPS): A game in which players control individual characters, viewing the world as if through the character's eye (first person), and in which gameplay centers on shooting things (e.g., Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament). Flight Sim: A game in which the player controls a single aircraft, and in which the flight characteristics of the aircraft are simulated in detail. Game Designer: A game developer primarily interested in gameplay (see Lead Designer and Level Designer). Game Developer: Any person involved in the creation of a game, in whatever role, is considered a game developer. The term is also used to refer not to individuals, but to teams or studios (e.g., "Big Huge Games is a game developer located just outside Baltimore, Maryland"). Gameplay: A somewhat nebulous term referring to the experience of playing a game, as distinct from the visuals or other media components. Gold Master: The point at which a game is considered complete and ready for release to the public. (The term derives from an earlier era, when most CD-ROM drives were read-only, and writable CDs were gold, rather than silver in color; the "gold master" was the CD containing the final code, sent to the publisher for duplication.) Graphic Adventure: An adventure game in which the world and characters are graphically represented, and most gameplay is via the mouse (see Adventure Game and Text Adventure). Examples: Myst, The Secret of Monkey Island. Handheld Console: A portable device specifically designed for the purpose of playing games, such as a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP (see Console and Home Console).

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Glossary Heads-Up Display (HUD): A term for the control features typically surrounding the central play area in a digital game; the term was originally used by pilots, to refer to information projected on the windshield of an aircraft. Hobby Game: A term used to describe tabletop games that are sold primarily to game enthusiasts and through special game shops, comic stores, and book stores. Home Console: A non-portable device specifically designed for the purpose of playing games, such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3, or Microsoft Xbox 360 (see Console and Handheld Console). Indie Game: A game developed by an individual or small team, without any publisher financing, and distributed through means other than the conventional retail channel; the analogy is to indie film and music. Java 2 Mobile Edition (J2ME): A version of the Java programming language designed for use on mobile devices (by contrast to J2SE [standard edition], which runs on desktop machines, and J2EE [enterprise edition], which runs on servers). Almost all modern mobile phones support J2ME. Java-enabled: Characteristic of a device that supports the Java programming language (see Java 2 Mobile Edition). Lead Designer: The game designer primarily responsible for envisioning a game's user interface, and specifying gameplay algorithms, feel, and gameplay (see Level Designer). Lead Producer: The person responsible for overall management of a game project (used when the project is large enough to require more than one person in a producer role). Level-Based: Refers to a game which is broken up into discrete "levels," each of which is completed individually before going on to another. Level Designer: A game designer with responsibility for specifying the characteristics and goals of individual levels within a game (see Level-Based and Lead Designer). Live-Action Roleplaying Game (LARP): A game played in a real-world physical environment in which each player takes the role of an imaginary character, speaking in character, sometimes dressing in character, and often with real-world actions corresponding to character actions. Market Development Funds (MDFs): Money paid by publishers to retailers in exchange for shelf space and/or premium placement within the store; the practice is similar to the shelf-stocking fees charged by supermarkets. Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Game: A game, played exclusively online, in which hundreds or thousands of players exist simultaneously in the same game world. Example: World of Warcraft.

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Glossary Match-3 Game: One of the most popular genres of casual games. A match-3 game requires players to recognize groups of three or more identical objects. Example: Bejewelled. N-Series: A series of mobile smartphones produced by Nokia that run the Symbian operating system and also contain technology (originally designed for the unsuccessful N-Gage mobile phone/game console) specifically designed to support game development. Operator: In the mobile phone industry, a company that provides users with access to a cellphone network is called an operator. In North America, the term "carrier" is also used. Examples: Verizon, Vodaphone, and T-Mobile. Platform: A target device on which a game is expected to run. Modern platforms include the PC, Wii, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo DS, PSP, and a variety of mobile phones. Platformer: A game in which gameplay involves climbing (or jumping) from one platform or level to another. Example: Donkey Kong. Player Skill: Characteristic of a game the challenges of which depend primarily on reflexes and mastery of the interface (contrast with Character Skill). Playstation Network: Sony's channel for selling downloadable games for the Playstation 3, available and browsable only from the device itself (see WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade). Playtesting: Testing a game for the purposes of uncovering problems with balance or gameplay (as opposed to testing for bugs). Producer: A person responsible for the management and coordination of a game project (see Lead Producer). Quality Assurance (Q/A): The process by which testers ensure that a piece of software is stable, free of critical bugs, and conforming to end users' needs. RPG: Roleplaying game; any game in which the player(s) take the roles of specific characters, typically with rules for character advancement and increasing power (see Tabletop RPG). Examples: Final Fantasy, Oblivion. Real-Time Strategy (RTS): A game, usually centered on combat between opposing armies, in which units in the game move and act continuously (that's why it's "real time" as opposed to "turn-based"). In addition to combat, there is generally a resource-extraction component, as well as the ability to unlock new unit types and capabilities. Examples: StarCraft, Age of Empires. Rogue-Like: A game similar to the old academic game Rogue; a combat-oriented, turn-based roleplaying game in which everything in the game world is represented in ASCII characters, and input is primarily (or entirely) through the keyboard. Example: NetHack.

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Glossary Sidescroller: A game in which motion is primarily left and right, with the world scrolling behind the main character. Example: Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sim: Sometimes used as a synonym for simulation game, sometimes used to refer specifically to flight or other vehicle simulators. Simulation Game: Any game that purports to simulate some aspect of the real world, at whatever level of complexity and accuracy. Examples: Gary Grigsby's World at War, Roller Coaster Tycoon, SimCity. Skill and Action Game: A game that depends on player skill. Smartphone: Any phone that supports an operating system and for which compiled applications may be developed. Examples: The iPhone, Blackberry, Treo, Nokia N-series, and other Symbian and Microsoft Mobile devices. Streetfighter: A game, usually two-player, in which each player controls a character engaging in fast melee combat with the other. Examples: Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat. Symbian: An operating system for smartphones and other mobile devices, owned by Nokia but freely available for use by any mobile phone manufacturer; globally, far more smartphones run Symbian than any other smartphone OS (including iPhone OS or Blackberry RIM). Tabletop Game: Generally refers to any game that does not require a computing device for play, e.g., board, card, and tabletop roleplaying games. Tabletop RPG: A nondigital roleplaying game such as Dungeons & Dragons; a back formation to distinguish such games from computer and console RPGs. Technical Lead: The programmer responsible for defining a game's overall technical architecture and managing the programming team responsible for its implementation. Text Adventure: An adventure game with little or no graphics, in which gameplay is carried in text, and the player interacts with the game by typing (see Adventure Game and Graphic Adventure). Example: Zork. Trading Card Game (TCG): A type of tabletop game in which players buy packs of cards, assemble their own decks, and play games pitting their decks against each other. Unlike earlier card games, there is no single game package, but instead players can buy any number of cards, and the manufacturer typically releases new cards over time—a model similar to that for baseball and other trading cards. Example: Magic: The Gathering. Note: You may also occasionally see an older and now less-used term, "collectible card game" (CCG).

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Glossary Triple-A: Characteristic of a game development project with a budget close to or in excess of $10 million, and which is expected to produce a game that will ultimately sell in excess of one million units. Turn-Based: Refers to a game in which actions are resolved in discrete "turns," rather than continuously. Turn-based games can either be "IgoUgo" (players take turns sequentially) or "simultaneous movement," meaning players' actions are resolved simultaneously at the end of the turn. The opposite of turn-based is real-time (see Real-Time Strategy). Videogame: Generally used to mean any digital game (though ASCII games such as NetHack are not "video" in any meaningful sense). Historically, "videogame" meant a game played on consoles or on arcade machines, while "computer game" referred to a game played on home computers, but that distinction is now largely moot. Within the game industry, the term is rarely used, the terms "game" or (when a contrast to tabletop games is required) "digital game" being more common. Web Game: Any game playable within a web browser. White Label: Characteristic of any good or service that the provider rebrands for the distributor of the product (metaphorically, the "label" is white, or blank, until "printed" with the distributor's own branding). Example: Oberon/I-Play provides the games it has under contract to many portals and websites on a white label basis. WiiWare: Games that owners of the Nintendo Wii may purchase for download from Nintendo's online store, which is available and browsable only from the Wii itself (see Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network). Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA): Microsoft's channel for selling downloadable games for the Xbox 360, available and browsable only from the device itself (see WiiWare and Playstation Network). XNA: A set of tools provided by Microsoft for development of games either for PCs or the Xbox 360.

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