Video Games Key Terms Flashcards
Computer Role Playing Games (CRPGs)
Allow the player to assume a role in a virutal world. They are forced to make decisions, solve puzzles, engage in combat, or peform a variety of moves to progress.
e.g Fallout, Skyrim and the Final Fantasy series.
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs)
Unlike a CRPG where the user plays alone, in a MMO a large number of players are part of the game at the same time.
The game continues and the story progresses even when one or more player logs out.
e.g World of Warcraft, DC Universe Online etc.
Video-games are marketted using a range of class-platform techniques.
Name some of these techniques
- Game trailers: A mix of in-play game footage and cinematic cutscenes which are released online, on TV and in the cinema.
- Digital Press packs - these contain press releases, screenshots and game demos sent to many online media publishers to create hype before the game is released.
- Official website: This will contain more information about the game, and a forums allowing fans to interact.
and more such as…
- Promotional apps
- Limited editions
- Pre-order bonuses
- Post-release
Codes and conventions of video-game cover art
- A central image on the cover to attract the attention of the user; this is usually a main character from the game
- Images featuring actual game, usually on the back cover which work as narrative teasers alongside a story synposis.
- A tagline which can become a hashtag on social media.
- Expert comments and reviews.
Subject-specific lexis
The use of vocabulary that gamers will understand but other people may not. E.g FPS, CRPG (first-person shooter, or computer role-playing game).
Regulation
What does GRA stand for and what does it do?
Video-game ratings are mandatory under UK law.
The Games Rating Authority - which is part of the video standards council - rates games using the PEGI systen.
Types of narratives in video games:
Linear - The player has various choices and options within each chapter which are arranged in order.
Branching - The player can choose different courses of action that will result in different outcomes.
Multi-stranded - Many players interact in one world building a complex multi-standard set of narratives.
Amusement park model - The player can choose some or all of the various units / sub-plots to create a story.
Building blocks / sandbox - No traditional narrative structure. e.g Garry’s Mod
Sandbox
A style of game which allows the gamer to roam and change the virtual world at their will.
A sandbox game is also know as an open-world or free-roaming game.
