Glossary
Video games have their own unique vocabulary, where familiar words may take on entirely different meanings within the in-game context. While these terms are instantly recognisable to gamers, they may be unfamiliar or hold different meanings for those outside the gaming community.
The glossary below contains most of the commonly used words and terms in video game environments. My aim in providing this list is to empower the charity sector to engage with gamers in a more authentic and connected way. By knowing their world, gamers/streamers will be more likely to engage with you and your cause.
If you think there are additional terms that should be included in this glossary, please feel free to submit your suggestions to hello@levelupjake.com.
A
Achievements: Special milestones or goals within a game that players can complete to earn rewards or trophies.
Action-Adventure: A genre that combines action (combat, challenges) and adventure (exploration, puzzles). Zelda and God of War are well known examples.
Alpha: An early version of a game in development, typically following the initial prototype phase used for internal testing.
Ammo (Ammunition): Resources required to fire weapons in shooters, like bullets or shells.
Avatar: The player’s character or digital representation in the game world.
Aggro (aggressive): The amount of attention enemies give a player, often used in RPGs to determine which player the enemy chooses to target.
Arena Shooter: A first-person shooter game with smaller, confined maps where players engage in combat. Quake (Champions) is an example.
Auto-aim: A feature that assists players in aiming at enemies automatically, commonly used in console shooters.
Action: A genre focused on fast-paced gameplay with combat and reflex-based challenges.
Adventure: a genre where the player explores the world that is narrative and/or puzzle driven.
Levelupjake tip: Achievements - In partnership with game devs, charities could create unique in-game achievements that players unlock by donating or participating in charity events. For example, an achievement could be unlocked for contributing a specific amount to a charity partnership, like a special “Charity Champion” badge or banner which is shown on their character for others to see. Bungie Foundation Destiny 2 emblems is an example of this.
B
Balance: The process of adjusting game mechanics to ensure that no character, item, or strategy is too powerful/over powered (OP).
Battle Royale: A game genre where players compete against each other until one player/team is left standing. Fortnite and Overwatch are famous examples.
Beta: A pre-release version of a game in development, made available to the public for testing.
Booster: An item or effect that temporarily improves a player’s abilities or stats.
Boss: A tough enemy that usually appears at the end of levels that can require a special strategy to defeat.
Buff: A temporary enhancement to a character’s abilities, often applied via items or spells.
Bug: An unintended flaw or glitch in a game’s programming. Players can utilise bugs as a strategy to progress in the game.
Button Mashing: Repeatedly pressing buttons as quickly as possible, often used in fighting games or games with quick-time events.
C
Character Class: A specific role or archetype that a character takes on in a game, often dictating starting skills and abilities. Dark Souls is an example of a game having character classes.
Checkpoint: A point in a game where progress is saved, allowing players to resume from that point after losing or dying.
Combo: A sequence of moves or actions in fighting or combat games that results in extra damage.
Co-op (Cooperative): A multiplayer mode where players work together towards a common goal.
Crafting: A game mechanic where players create items, weapons, or armour by combining resources.
Creative Mode: A game mode where the player has all resources and unlockable items at the start of the game in order to freely create anything they want. Subnautica is an example of this.
Crit (Critical Hit): An attack that deals more damage than usual, often triggered by the player's character stats, luck or a special mechanic.
Cutscene: A non-interactive sequence in a game used to advance the story.
Levelupjake tip: Co-op (Cooperative) - Charities could organise co-op events, where players team up to achieve in-game goals while supporting a charitable cause. For instance, every successful co-op mission could unlock a small donation made by the game studio or sponsor. Live stream this and team up unlikely duos for comical results.
D
Damage: The amount of harm a character, attack, or weapon can inflict on enemies.
Debuff: A status effect that weakens a character’s abilities or stats.
Demo: A short, free version of a game designed to showcase its mechanics and give players a taste before buying the full version.
DLC (Downloadable Content): Additional content released for a game after its launch, often available for purchase. This can be something small like cosmetic items or a large expansion which adds a considerable amount to the game.
DPS (Damage Per Second): A stat used by players to determine their weapon choice or character build on how impactful it is in relation to damage inflicted on an enemy per second.
Drop Rate: The probability that a specific item or resource will be dropped by enemies or from chests.
Dungeon: A complex area in many RPGs filled with enemies and puzzles to solve, often resulting in a boss and high value rewards at the end.
Dynamic Difficulty: A system that adjusts the game’s difficulty based on the player’s performance.
LevelupJake Tip: DLC is a great space for charities to explore partnerships for fundraising and awareness. The games company wants as much PR for their DLC so a partnership like this could be a cost effective way to further promote their upcoming DLC through great PR with a charitable aspect.
E
Easter Egg: A hidden feature or reference placed in a game by developers as a fun secret for players to find.
Elite: A term used to describe a stronger version of a regular enemy or boss.
Emote: An in-game animation or action that expresses a character’s emotions, often used in multiplayer games.
Endgame: The phase in a game that occurs after the main story or objectives have been completed, often with additional challenges or content to drive longer term playability.
Environmental Storytelling: The use of the game world itself to convey narrative elements, such as through visual cues or setting design.
Experience Points (XP): Points earned by completing tasks, defeating enemies, or progressing in a game, used to level up a character and its stats.
F
Farming: The repetitive action of collecting resources or earning rewards in a game, usually to progress or build a character’s stats or resources.
Fast Travel: A game mechanic that allows players to quickly travel between previously visited locations.
Final Boss: The last major enemy or challenge a player faces, often before the game’s conclusion.
Flanking: A strategy in combat games where players move around an enemy to attack from the side or behind.
FOV (Field of View): The extent of the observable game world seen on the screen, often adjustable to provide a wider or narrower view.
FPS (First-Person Shooter): A genre where players engage in combat from a first-person perspective.
Free-to-Play (F2P): A game model where the game is free to play, but players can make in-game purchases for cosmetic items, season passes or progression.
Levelupjake Tip: Free-to-Play - Explore partnerships with free-to-play games to create donation-based in-game events, where players could unlock cosmetic items or features by donating to a cause. This can raise awareness and involve a large player base without costing the developers a huge amount of resources and time but can result in great Pink Mercy (Overwatch) partnership with BCRF 2018 & 2024 is a leading example.
G
Gacha: A mechanic commonly used in mobile games where players spend in-game currency to receive random items, characters, or rewards, Genshin Impact is a well known example.
Game Engine: The software framework used to build and develop a video game, responsible for rendering graphics, physics, and other core gameplay systems. Unreal Engine is a well known example.
Game Mode: A specific rule set or style of play within a game, such as story mode, multiplayer mode, or survival mode.
Glitch: See Bug
Grinding: The repetitive process of performing tasks or battling enemies to earn resources or experience points.
Guild: A group of players who join together to achieve shared goals, often in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games).
H
Hack: A modification or cheat that alters the gameplay or gives a player an unfair advantage, often in online games.
Hardcore Mode: A game mode that is significantly more difficult than the standard, often with permanent in-game death or less resources.
Healer: A role or class in a game focused on healing other players, especially in multiplayer games like MMORPGs where different players take on different specific roles within a group.
Healing: The act of restoring health to a character, often done through items, spells, or abilities.
Health: A measure of a character's life or vitality, usually represented by a health bar or points.
Heavy Attack: A slower but more powerful attack, often seen in fighting games, action games or RPGs.
Hitbox: The invisible area around a character or object that determines whether an attack hits or misses.
Horde Mode: A game mode where players fight off waves of enemies, often in a survival or cooperative setting. End of Days is a modern example of a horde game.
HUD (Heads-Up Display): The on-screen interface that shows critical game information like health, ammo, in-game chat and objectives.
I
Immersion: The sense of being fully engaged in the game world, often enhanced by strong visuals, sound, and narrative.
Indie Game: A game developed by a small, independent team or individual, typically with a focus on creativity over commercial success.
Input Lag: A delay between a player's input (e.g., pressing a button) and the corresponding action happening on screen.
Instancing: A system in multiplayer games where each player or group gets their own version of a particular area or moment, preventing overcrowding.
Inventory: A system where players store and manage items, weapons, and other resources they collect in-game.
Itemisation: The process of creating and managing the various items that players can collect, equip, or use in a game.
J
Joystick: A physical input device used to control characters or objects in games, particularly used for arcade game consoles or by fighting game players.
Jrpg (Japanese Role-Playing Game): A subgenre of RPGs, often characterized by turn-based combat, linear storylines, and anime-style visuals. Final Fantasy is a well known example.
Jump Scare: A tactic used in horror games where a sudden event or visual causes the player to be startled. Outlast is a well known example.
K
K/D Ratio (Kill/Death Ratio): A measure of a player's combat effectiveness, calculated by dividing the number of kills by the number of deaths. Call of Duty is a well known example.
Kill Streak: A series of consecutive kills made by a player without dying or timer running out, often rewarding them with bonuses or special abilities.
Knockback: The force that pushes a character or enemy backward after being hit, often used in combat-based games.
L
Lag: Delays in game performance, often caused by network or hardware issues, affecting gameplay responsiveness.
Leaderboards: Rankings that display the top players in a game based on specific criteria, such as score or achievements.
Level-Up: The process of increasing a character’s stats, abilities, or experience, usually through completing tasks or defeating enemies.
Loading Screen: A brief period where the game is preparing content or transitioning between levels, often accompanied by tips or visual elements.
Loot: Items, equipment, or resources that players collect from defeated enemies, chests, or the game world. Often having different rarity and values.
M
Mana: A resource used to cast spells or abilities in many fantasy-based games.
Matchmaking: The process of pairing players together for a game based on skill level, rank, or other criteria. In multiplayer games, matchmaking helps ensure balanced and fair gameplay
Meta: The current state of the game or genre in terms of strategies, characters, or tactics that are considered the most effective.
Micro transactions: Small in-game purchases, usually for cosmetic items, upgrades, or convenience.
MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online): A game genre that allows thousands of players to interact with each other in a persistent world. World of Warcraft is a well known example.
Mod: A user-created modification to a game that alters its content or mechanics, often to add new features or fix bugs. Skyrim or fallout are well known examples.
Multiplayer: A mode that allows multiple players to interact with each other, either cooperatively or competitively.
MVP (Most Valuable Player): The player who performs the best in a game, often in terms of skill, teamwork, or key contributions.
N
Nerf: A term used when a game element (such as a character, weapon, or ability) is weakened or made less powerful through a patch or update. Games are “Nerfed” in an effort to make the game more balanced and fair.
New Game Plus (NG+): A game mode that unlocks after completing the main story, allowing players to replay the game with their character's abilities or equipment from the first playthrough and often unlocking new mechanics.
Noob: A derogatory term used for an inexperienced or unskilled player.
NPC (Non-Player Character): A character controlled by the game rather than the player, often used to provide quests, services, or lore.
Levelupjake tip: Nerf - Host "Nerf for Charity" event where specific game elements (e.g., weapons, characters or abilities) are temporarily nerfed to create unique charity competitions or challenges. Warchilds Armistice event is a great example of this.
O
Objective: A task or goal that players must complete to progress in a game.
Open-World: A game design where players can freely explore a large world without being restricted by linear levels or maps.
Overpowered (OP): A term used to describe a character, item, or ability that is deemed too strong compared to others, leading to an unbalanced experience.
P
Patch: A software update for a game, usually aimed at fixing bugs or balancing issues.
Patch Notes: A document or list that accompanies a game patch, explaining the changes, bug fixes, new content, and improvements made in the update. Patch notes help players understand what was fixed or added to the game.
Permadeath: A gameplay mechanic in which a character’s death is permanent and cannot be undone, meaning the player loses all progress associated with that character. This is common in roguelikes and some RPGs. Deadcell is an example of a Roguelike game.
Platformer: A genre of games where players navigate through environments, often by jumping across platforms. Super Mario, Crash Bandicoot and Astro Bot are examples.
Point-and-Click: A genre of adventure games where players interact with the environment by pointing and clicking with a mouse or cursor. These games typically involve solving puzzles and uncovering stories, such as in The Secret of Monkey Island.
Power-Up: An item that temporarily enhances (power up) a character’s abilities or stats, Often in platformers like Metroid, Super Mario or the fighting game Super Smash Bros (SSB).
Pro Gamer: A professional video game player who competes in tournaments, leagues, or competitions for a living. Pro gamers are often sponsored and play at the highest level in competitive gaming scenes.
Prototype: The earliest, rough version of a game, often created to demonstrate its core gameplay mechanics and concepts.
PvE (Player vs. Environment): A game mode where the player fights against computer controlled enemies. PvE is common in role-playing games (RPGs), survival games, and cooperative multiplayer games.
PvP (Player vs. Player): A game mode where players compete against each other rather than against the game's own enemies.
Q
Quality of Life (QOL): Features or improvements in a game designed to make the player's experience more convenient and enjoyable, without necessarily affecting the core gameplay. Examples include faster menus, better inventory management, or auto-saving.
Quest: A mission or task given to the player, typically in RPGs, that involves completing objectives for rewards and game progression.
Queue: A system that places players in a line or waitlist for specific in-game activities, such as matchmaking or server access. Players wait in the queue until it's their turn to participate or the game has enough players.
Quick Match: A game mode where players can quickly join a match without the need to wait for long periods or go through complex setup procedures. It is often used in multiplayer games for fast matchmaking.
Quicksave: A feature in video games that allows the player to save their progress at any given moment, usually with the ability to load that save instantly. It is often used in action-adventure games or RPGs.
Quick Time Event (QTE):A gameplay mechanic where players must perform specific actions (usually button presses or quick gestures) within a limited time frame to progress through an event or story sequence. These are often used in action games. God of War is an example.
R
Rage Quit: A term used when a player abruptly leaves a game, usually due to frustration, anger, or losing. It’s often used humorously or critically in competitive gaming communities. The Dark Souls series is a good example of games that induce rage quitting.
Raid: A large-scale, cooperative mission where players work together to defeat powerful bosses or complete challenging tasks for high value rewards.
Rank/Ranking: The classification of players based on their performance in competitive games, often displayed on leaderboards. Higher ranking can also unlock new game mechanics or features for the player to use and/or change the way they play the game.
Respawn: when a character or enemy reappears after being defeated, allowing the game to continue. Overwatch or Call of Duty are examples of this.
Retro: A term used to describe games, consoles, or gameplay that are reminiscent of older, classic video games. Retro gaming often refers to titles from the 80s and 90s, like Super Mario Bros. or Pac-Man. Retro typically refers to games which are pixelated.
Rogue-like: A subgenre of RPGs characterised by procedurally generated levels, permanent death, and turn-based combat. In rogue-like games, players typically need to restart from the beginning after dying, with each run being different from the last. Examples include The Binding of Isaac and Dead Cells.
RPG (Role-Playing Game): A genre where players assume the roles of characters in a narrative-driven world, with stats, combat, and exploration. Final Fantasy is a prime example.
S
Sandbox: A game mode or genre that gives players freedom to explore and interact with the game world, usually without strict objectives. Minecraft is a notable example.
Skill Tree: A progression system where players can unlock new abilities and upgrades by spending earned points. Usually in RPGs or action adventure games. Skyrim and Assassins Creed are well known examples.
Spawn point: The location where enemies, items, or players appear in the game world.
Speedrun: A playthrough of a game completed as quickly as possible, often using specialized techniques or exploits. Speedrunning is a popular competitive activity, where players compete to finish games in the shortest time possible, often in a specific category.
Strategy: A genre of games that focuses on tactical decision-making, often involving resource management and combat.
Survival Mode: A game mode where the player must manage resources, health, and other vital factors like hunger, hydration and weather impact to stay alive for as long as possible. Survival modes are common in games like Ark: survival evolved, Rust and Minecraft.
Skin: cosmetic items or virtual products that change the appearance of a character, weapon, or other in-game elements without affecting gameplay or performance. Skins are purely aesthetic and are often used to personalize or customize the look of a player's character or gear.
Levelupjake tip: Survival Mode - Host charity survival events in collaboration with survival game communities where each player competes to survive the longest, with donations benefiting the charity and rewards unlocked based on performance.
T
Tank: A role or class in a game focused on absorbing damage to protect other characters, especially in multiplayer games like MMORPGs.
Team Deathmatch (TDM): A multiplayer game mode where two teams compete to score points by eliminating members of the opposing team. The team with the most kills at the end of the match wins.
Time Trial: A game mode where players race against the clock to complete challenges as quickly as possible.
Tower Defense: A genre of strategy games where players place defensive structures (such as towers) along a path to stop waves of enemies from reaching a specific point. Plants vs. Zombies is a well known example.
Trophy: A virtual award given to players for completing certain tasks or achievements within a game. PSN Trophies are a good example of this.
Turn-Based: A system where players and enemies take turns performing actions, typical in strategy or RPG games. Final Fantasy (before FFX) is an example of this.
U
UI (User Interface): The means by which a player interacts with a game, including menus, buttons, HUD (Heads-Up Display), and other visual elements that provide information to the player. A well-designed UI improves usability and player experience.
Ultimate (Ability): A powerful, often game-changing ability or skill that is available to a character in a game, typically after building up some resource or charge. Ultimate abilities are common in team-based games like Overwatch or League of Legends.
Unlockables: Content, such as characters or items, that become available after meeting specific requirements in a game.
Update: See patch
Upgrade: The process of improving a character’s abilities, weapons, or stats, often through in-game resources, achievements or narrative progression.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Content created by players of a game rather than the developers, such as mods, maps, skins, or entire game modes. Many games, like Minecraft and LittleBigPlanet, and Skyrim encourage UGC to expand the game's lifespan and creativity.
Utility: In gameplay, refers to items, characters, or abilities designed to serve practical purposes, often providing support or healing.
V
Vanilla: A term used to describe the original, unmodified version of a game, without any mods, updates, or expansions. "Vanilla" games are in their most basic, default state after release.
Victory Royale: A term used in battle royale games (Fortnite is an example) to signify a player's victory in a match. It typically appears on-screen after the player is the last one standing or team remaining.
Voice Chat: A communication feature in multiplayer games that allows players to talk to each other in real time through microphones. This is commonly used for coordination in team-based games. Call of Duty or World of Warcraft are examples.
W
Walkthrough: A guide or set of instructions designed to help players complete a game. It typically provides step-by-step directions, tips, and strategies for overcoming challenges or puzzles.
Wargame: A genre of video games that focuses on military strategy, tactics, and combat. These games simulate real-world warfare or fictional battles, often with emphasis on strategy and resource management.
Wave: A set of enemies that appear in succession, often in wave-based modes or survival games. Tower defence games are an example.
Weapon Swap: A mechanic that allows players to switch between different weapons during gameplay.
Worldbuilding: The creation of a detailed, immersive game world, including its lore, culture, and geography, often important in RPGs.
X
XP (Experience Points): Points gained by completing tasks, defeating enemies, or progressing in a game, used to level up characters.
Y
Yellow Health: Often used to indicate a character or enemy’s low health state, signalling the need for healing or caution.
Yield: In game mechanics, refers to the amount of reward or outcome a player receives after completing specific actions.
Yomi: A Japanese term used in some fighting games communities, referring to reading or predicting an opponent's moves. It involves the successful predicting what the opponent will do next based on their behaviour or patterns.
Z
Zerg: A term borrowed from the popular real-time strategy game StarCraft, referring to overwhelming an opponent with large numbers of low-cost units. It’s often used in strategy games to describe a rush tactic where players flood their opponent with units, aiming to overwhelm them.
Zombie Mode: A game mode or scenario where players face waves of zombie-like enemies. Call of Duty has the most well known Zombie Mode.
Zoning: A strategy in competitive games where players control certain areas to limit the opponent’s movement or options.