History of video games/Terminology

Many terms and phrases in this book require no explanation to be understood by a gamer. However to an outsider looking in, some aspects of gaming can be opaque. This section clarifies terms, practices, and other facts.

Genres and Sub Genres

Shooters

Games which feature projectile shooting as a primary mechanic. This covers an extremely large number of games and themes. Projectiles are often bullets, but magic spells, energy beams, arrows, etc can all be seen frequently in the genre, in addition to more exotic projectiles.

Culture

Review Score

Reviewers and critics of games, both professional and casual, often assign games and gaming products a grade. This rating is often out of 100, 10, 5, a star rating, a simple approval or disapproval, or some other quantifiable system. This is common practice in many industries, but review scores in video games have their own peculiar trends.

In particular the grading of games translates somewhat differently than in other industries. Below is scale based on common knowledge of these practices.

• A 1/10 or sometimes 0/10 is typically reserved for a game which outright fails to work, or is otherwise extremely antagonistic to the reviewer.
• A 6/10 or lower is poor quality, or awful.
• A 7/10 is mediocre or average. Most ratings fall between this and 8/10.
• A 8/10 is good. Most ratings fall between 7/10 and this.
• A 9/10 is an exceptional game, and perhaps among the best released in a season or year.
• A 10/10 is a masterpiece. Some reviewers see 10/10 ratings as equal to perfection and refuse to assign this rating to any game (Instead they might give a 9.9/10 as a substitute).

It is important to note that that some reviewers have avoided this trend, and choose to either enforce their own ratings (So a 5/10 refers to an average game and not a poor one). Some reviewers use a point rubric, or assign multiple scores to a game in different subcategories. It is ill advised to take these numbers alone at face value without knowing the standards and context of the reviewer.

Free Guy

An older expression (Late 1980's-Early 1990's) used to refer to an extra life.

Series Specific Terminology

• Gen Oner / Gen Wuner - A Pokémon Gamer who is particularly fond of the first generation games.
• Mats / Materials - Used in reference to crafting mechanics in crafting games.

Technology

Graphics Terminology

Frames per second

Similar terms often used interchangeably by gaming media, despite being technically different in significant ways: Refresh Rate.

The number of frames rendered in a second. Generally speaking, more frames per second is seen as desirable in games, with the caveat that increasing FPS can often require sacrificing visual effects or resolution depending on platform limitations. In early gaming history, when analog television standards were used, frame rate was roughly tied to the frequency of the standard in the region (Typically a multiple of 29.970 hertz for NTSC or 25 hertz for PAL), though small deviations were common.

This term is often shortened as FPS.