Twenty years ago, all you needed to know about video games was how many 20c pieces it took to get to the final boss on Double Dragon. Now, it's a billion-dollar industry that has created its own language.
In the first of a two-part series, Hayden Meikle offers this glossary of terms to help you understand the gaming world. Next Week: M through Z.
Avatar: You know those cute little virtual characters that represent you in a game or a social setting online? They're called avatars. From a Sanskrit word meaning incarnation.
Button-masher: Any game, particularly various fighting or sports titles, that requires one thing: fast fingers. Also the name of a New Zealand gaming website.
DLC: Sounds like an '80s rap band, right? But it's actually DownLoadable Content: the extra levels, new characters and different uniforms you can add to a game by going online.
DS: The name of Nintendo's popular handheld console. Stands for Dual Screen.
EA: Electronic Arts. The biggest game development company in the world. Responsible for the Need For Speed, Godfather, Battlefield and Harry Potter Games, not to mention the sporting brands of Tiger Woods, Fifa, Madden, NBA Live and NHL.
Easter eggs: Imagine an Xbox 360 made of chocolate.
These eggs are bonus items hidden within a game.
Face buttons: On console controllers, those buttons facing up.
The PlayStation has Square, Circle, X and Triangle.
The Xbox 360 has A, B, X and Y.
Fanboy: Someone who believes one console is inherently superior to another.
FPS: First-Person Shooter. Any game that uses a default view from the player's perspective. You know, the ones where you just see an arm and a gun. Also Frames Per Second, relating to the quality of graphics.
Frag: A popular term with players of Halo and other first-person shooters. Fragging someone just means blowing them to smithereens.
Hotkeys: One for the PC (personal computer, not politically correct) gamers. Keys used during a game. T for Target, I for inventory, that sort of thing.
HUD: Heads Up Display. The stuff that shows on screen during a game. Maps, health bars, ammunition count etc.
Lag: New Zealand gamers know all about this. Lag is what happens when some of us have sloooooow broadband and others have the proper stuff.
Levelling up: Standard in fantasy and action-adventure games. Complete quests, kill creatures and discover new places to progress your character to higher levels of experience.
