Games Key Terms

World- terrain, architecture and objects- This refers to the world around you in the game, with terrain referring to the ground, the look and feel of it, how it responds, architecture the buildings around and objects the other ‘things’ (that aren’t the players). Objects could be things light lampposts, crates, blocks. Together they form a world, for instance, an Urban environment might have concrete and Roads for terrain, high rises for architecture and all the trappings of a city for objects.

Feedback vs Feedback interface- feedback refers to the game telling you how well (or not) you’re doing and what’s going on. it should happen in response to any sort of action or event in the game. Feedback interfaces are how the game does that, for instance via vibration, sound, on screen text, huds, etc.

Perspectives- these refer to the dimensions of the game (2D- flat, 2 axis, 3D- 3 dimensional interact in 3 axis, 2.5D- 3D graphics, 2D gameplay) but also the way in which you view the camera. This could be side on, top down, first person, third person, even omnipresent where you can see and interact with the whole map at once (think age of empires or Farmville for instance) or some combination of all. Games that aren’t omnipresent and you are represent by something (either character or object) are called avatar driven.

Narrative vs Ludic- Narrative games are driven by story, Ludic games are driven by fun (think flappy birds, tetris, etc.)

Physical, Temporal Environmental- These refer to the setting of the game- linking in with the world settings like terrain this describes the physical – e.g. what is around you, the place, the things you can interact with, their look and feel and suitability. Temporal relates to time, the time period the game takes place in. Together they form a setting, a sense of environment, e.g. Urban, Forest, Fantasy, Futuristic, SciFi, etc. etc. these help to build a sense of place in the game.




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