Quicktime Event (n) A gameplay mechanic in which players are instructed to push buttons exactly as they are displayed on the screen. Frequently accompanies a cinematic-like sequence of the player character doing something cool but outside the game’s control schemes. … Continue reading
Verb (n) An action the player can use to interact with the game or game world. Verbs include shooting, running, jumping, pushing buttons, insulting people, and eating food. Usage: We never properly trained the chicken-kicking verb, so how can we … Continue reading
Joe Six-Pack (n) A proverbial average player who is not interested in thought-provoking game experiences and has a low tolerance for complex rules that he needs to learn. Usage: The mind reading hamburger character an interesting concept, but do you … Continue reading
Parse (v) To absorb and understand information presented by the game. Usage: The menu screen threw so much information at the player that it was impossible to parse. Comment: Parseability is extremely important. It’s one of the main reasons (if … Continue reading
Bottomless (adj) A bottomless game has more strategic depth than can be explored within years of study. Examples include Chess, Starcraft, and Street Fighter 2. Bottomless games require constant thought and re-strategizing to play properly.Expert players will be constantly inventing … Continue reading
Degenerate (adj) A degenerate game has very little strategic depth. Tic tac toe is a good example. Degenerate games can be played using very simple strategies with no meaningful decision making. These are known as degenerate strategies. A good game … Continue reading
Strategic Depth (n) The complexity of the strategic space that the game creates. Basically, it is a measure of how many viable strategies there are, how many ways they can interact with other strategies, and how many decision branches there … Continue reading
And (adj) A gameplay concept that has too many different things thrown into the pot. Lacking in focus and design discipline. Usage: There’s a lot going on in this system. It’s very ‘and’. Comment: It’s common for projects to be … Continue reading
Minmax (verb) To play in a style a player tries to achieve a mathematically optimal gameplay result by systematically working out the best way to play the game. Derived from Minimax, a common algorithm used by brute-force AIs to find … Continue reading