THE BASICS OF GAMING

The Basics of Gaming may seem unnecessary to explain to anyone who has played a game before, however we know that some of the audience directed to this site may have little to no experience with gaming.

 

THE CONTROLS

While every game has slightly different mechanics many of them operate on the same basic movements. Depending on the platform the controls will be different (console or pc). All games should have a tutorial that walks the user through the basic controls, and controls can be checked in settings of games so when booting up a new game make sure to peek at it’s specific controls.

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W - forward 

S - backwards

A - left 

D - right 

SPACEBAR - jump 

SHIFT - sprint

CTRL - crouch 

 

If you don't like the default controls of the game you can bind controls to different buttons in settings. 

 

GAMING PLATFORMS

Games can be played on different platforms which are different technologies that the games can be played on. 

 

PC - Personal Computer 

 

Console - Gaming consoles are designed specifically for playing games. They are like very specific computers meant to play games specifically designed for their platform. Examples of gaming consoles are devices made by 

• Xbox

• PlayStation

• Nintendo

 

GAME GENRES

Survival - Survival games place the player in an open world environment in which they start with minimal supplies, and the player must collect materials and craft supplies in order to survive.

 

Shooter - Games that involve a firearm or other long range weapon with the goal of shooting opponents and progressing through missions without dying. These games require special awareness and quick reaction times. Due to the fast pace of gameplay in a multiplayer setting, shooter games require specific communication and coordination. 

 

Platforming - Platforming games revolve around controlling a character who runs and jumps on multiple levels of platforms (essentially in-game parkour). These games require patience and precision. 

 

Role-Playing - A Role Playing Game (RPG) can fall into many other genres of games, but an RPG is one where the player controls a character and takes on the role of that character as they take on the game. This could be through acting on the part of the player or specific choices that develop the character through the gameplay. RPGs usually involve multiple people playing together and crafting a storyline. 

  

Strategy - Most games involve some strategic elements, but strategy games require the player to plan out and make specific choices in order to reach an end goal. 

 

Simulation - Simulation games simulate real life actions and are usually specific to one real life action. For example a flight simulator game would be one where the player flies a plane. 

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Sandbox - These games allow the player degrees of creativity and freedom. They provide a platform for players to create their own designs within games and interact freely with the in-game environment.

 

VOCABULARY

This can be broken down into a few sections; the first being vocabulary used to describe in game mechanics and story, and the second being vocabulary used to describe the user's interactions with games. 

 

AFK - Away from keyboard (AFK) means that the player will be away from the keyboard, and not controlling their in game character. 

 

Achievements - Otherwise referred to as awards, badges, trophies, etc., achievements are awarded to players by fulfilling certain requirements within games. However, the achievements are awarded outside of the game’s platform. For example if the player was using xbox as their gaming platform and they unlocked an achievement it would be displayed in their xbox profile and not their in-game profile.

 

Bosses - Bosses are the toughest mobs in games and they are the ones that need to be killed in order to obtain the best loot or progress through the game. Bosses are usually found at the end of missions or quests.

 

Buff - Buffs are performed to characters that are too underpowered to level the playing field.

 

Bug - Bugs in game are more serious glitches that impact gameplay. They often occur due to errors made in game code and will need to be fixed by gamemakers.

 

Camping - Camping in games refers to staying in one place for a long period of time, usually waiting to ambush enemies. 

 

Combo - A combo is a series of fighting actions that when performed together deal more damage to enemies. 

 

Cooldown - Cooldowns are a period of time which it takes for certain abilities to be ready to use again.

 

Crafting - The act of using materials in game to craft (create) useful items. Raw materials are often crafted into basic tools. Not all games have crafting and mechanics vary depending on the game. 

 

DC - Disconnect.

 

Default - The default settings are the options that are chosen for the user upon loading a game before the player changes anything

 

Discord - Discord is an app that is often used by gamers for communication. It's a free app that can be used to talk via text, voice, or video. Communities called servers are easy to create and can be used to organize different conversation threads and communication channels.

 

Easter Eggs - Elements of games that are hidden into the game for players to find. Often found off the beaten path, Easter eggs may be extra features or objects in game with hidden messages and references.

 

EZ - Stands for easy and is often said in a negative manner when fighting a team or player that is easy, implying they are bad.

 

FF - Forfeit

 

FoV - Field of view is as it sounds: the field which a player can view on screen at any point in time. 

 

FPS - Frames per second (FPS) describes the number of frames per second or images displayed per second while playing the game. Higher FPS looks smoother and leads to the game being more responsive. In contrast, low FPS results in choppy frame rate and can make games more difficult.

-FPS can also stand for First Person Shooter which are shooter games from the first person POV.

 

Game mode - Some games offer a selection of modes that they can be played in:

• In survival mode players can die and respawn if killed. They must collect supplies (this is usually the default game mode). 

• In creative mode players usually cannot die (if they are not invincible they can at least respawn), and they have access to unlimited resources. Flying is often available in this game mode.

• Hardcore mode in games is like survival mode but if the player dies they cannot respawn, all of their progress is lost, and there is no way for that player to get back into that world.

 

Game tag - A player's name that is displayed in games. 

 

gc - Game chat is the in-game text chat players can use to communicate. 

 

GG - Good game.

 

Glhf - Good luck, have fun.

 

Glitch - A temporary mistake within the game. If the graphics flicker for a second that would be an example of a glitch.

 

Griefing - Deliberately destroying property, being annoying, and harassing other players. 

 

Grinding - Grinding in game means repeating actions over and over in order to gain some advantage. Grinding often involves repetitive actions in order to obtain more resources.

 

HP - Hit points (HP) is the measure of a character's health. Taking damage makes a character loose HP and HP can usually be restored using consumable items or slowly over time.

 

Inventory - A player's inventory is where all of their items that they have on hand are stored. Players can often unlock more storage slots for their inventories through gameplay

 

KDR - Kill death ratio (KDR) is the number of kills a player has over the number of times they have died. A higher KDR is better and means the player is better at staying alive while getting  kills.

 

Lag - Delays in game that cause freezing or glitching due to network connection that cause a player to respond in a delayed manner to situations or a glitch in game. 

 

LAN- Local area network (LAN) is a private network connecting devices in a finite area (for example in a house).

 

Loot - Valuable supplies obtained through the course of gameplay. 

 

Main Quest - The main quest can be referred to with multiple terms (main objective, primary mission… etc) but it refers to the main goal of the game and the main story line. This quest is the main plot of the game and playing though it will eventually complete the game. 

 

Meta - The meta can describe a variety of things but is essentially the knowledge of specific items, characters, and tactics that are better and more overpowered in games. 

 

Minigames - Minigames are sub games within games that are often part of side quests. Players can also create minigames in sandbox games. 

 

Minimap - Minimaps are small maps that are often displayed in a corner of the screen that show a limited view of the player's environment. They can be helpful to navigate within the game and to know the location of structures, other players, and NPCs. 

 

Mob - A mob is the term to refer to a hostile NPC. They are monstrous characters that attack the player throughout gameplay.

-it should be noted that sometimes the term mob is used to refer to passive NPCs, however in that case it is usually specified that said creature is a “passive mob”.

 

Mod - Mods are modifications to games that change elements of gameplay or ways characters interact. They are extensions usually coded by third parties that can be added to games to add additional items, storylines, locations, or characters.

 

Nerf - Nerfs are performed to characters that are too overpowered to level the playing field.

 

NPC -A Non Player Character (NPC) is a computer generated character in game. They can be passive or aggressive, but players interact with them through gameplay.

 

Noob - Someone who is a newbie to a game. The term noob is often used in a derogatory way to say someone is bad at the game.

 

Passive - Some games that offer multiple characters to play will offer different passive abilities with each character that may make them better at certain things without the player even needing to use any additional controls.

 

Patch - Patches to games are updates that are released to fix bugs. They don't change major aspects of games, they just serve to correct mistakes in the game. 

 

Ping - Ping refers to the rate of communication between the player's computer and the game servers. A lower ping means more communication and higher ping means it takes more time for the server to communicate with the player's game. Therefore lower ping is advantageous. 

 

PvE - Player vs Environment means fighting NPCs (mobs).

 

PvP - Player vs Player.

 

Rage Quit - Quitting a game because the player is so angry or frustrated.

 

Respawn - Spawning back into the game immediately after a death. Respawning involves the reincarnation of characters.

 

Side Quest - A side quest is any quest that does not directly follow the main quest, and they can often be completed to get better loot. NPCs often offer side quests to help the player along the way. Just because side quests are on the side does not mean that they are unimportant, and they often reveal more details relevant to the main quest and plot of the game. Many players make it an objective to complete all of them. 

 

Skin - A player's skin is what their character looks like without any in-game clothing or armor. Many games offer multiple skins as options and some games have skins that can be unlocked  through gameplay.

 

Smurf - An alternate account (alt) that someone is using to play in lower level games with friends. A smurf account would have a lower rank than the skill level of the player controlling the account.

 

Spawn - Spawn refers to the physical location in which a character spawns in. Some games allow you to set new spawn points throughout the game and others just have one spawn where the game begins.

 

Spawning - Spawning into a game means an entity is loaded into the virtual world of the game and can begin interacting with the game. So if the player loads their character into the world their character will spawn in. NPC and mobs can also be spawned into games.

 

Throwing - Doing badly in a game in a situation where the player should have been able to complete the action. Often used to describe when players are doing badly, throwing can be intentional or unintentional.

 

Troll - Someone not playing the game seriously and just messing around with people. They are often someone doing badly or intentionally messing with teammates.
 

Ultimate - The ultimate ability (ult, ulti) is the best ability a character possesses in game. 

vc - Voice chat is the in-game voice chat players can use to communicate.

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