The Game-shunary

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GR's guide to gaming terminology, insider lingo, and technobabble

Table of Contents
123ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ RSTUVWXY Z

S
sandbox games - These games mostly involve hookers and random violence, though you may find yourself building rollercoasters now and then. Rollercoasters that kill random people.
Second Life- Generally considered inferior to the original version of life (the one in reality),except perhaps by clueless advertisers and shut-ins.
shaky-cam - Gameplay footage recorded off of a screen by a handheld camera.
shovelware - What you get whendevelopers attempt squeeze out as many games as possible before they have to wipe.
spawn camping – Staking out next to spawn points with the intention of killing players who have just respawned and are vulnerable. The dregs of online shooters.
-splosion (suffix)- GamesRadar is known for its overuse of “splosion” with such classic examples as “goresplosion,” “babesplosion,” and the rare “explosionsplosion.”
story(in games) - All life will cease toexist unless you hold right on the analog stick!
swag- Useless pieces of plastic and XXL t-shirts given by publishers to editors, and often regifted via Photoshop contests.

T
tea bagging – Dipping one’s crotch onto and off of a downed opponent’s face, generally via the “crouch” action.
Thompson, Jack – Our industry’s classic villain.
troll – There’s one in the dungeon! And possibly your forums. Don’t respond to them, they feed on rage.
turtle – To focus only on defending one’s base in an RTS, drawing out the game like a little bitch.

U
unthusiasm – The forced enthusiasm an editor musters when viewing an upcoming game that he or she has absolutely no interest in.

V
vector graphics – Non-pixel based graphics which utilize points and lines, such as the graphics in Asteroids or the crappy Flash games you play at work.
virtual reality – Something we were promised in the ‘80s, gotcrappy versions of in the '90s, and has disappointed us ever since (see Lawnmower Man. No seriously, see it).
voxel – The three-dimensional equivalent of a pixel. Something probably not worth understanding.