Video Game Terms You Need to Know

Video games have come a long way since the first ones were created. There are now so many different types of video games that it’s hard to keep up! We’re here to help you out with this blog post, which will give you terms that can be found in video games today. All you need is some time and curiosity to learn about these new words!

Video Game Terminologies You Need to Know

• Achievement – An Achievement is an award within video games that players can unlock by performing certain tasks or completing specific in-game objectives. These goals are usually documented with counters, such as how many times they were completed successfully – and often come with rewards such as achievement points, in-game items, and unlockable content.
• AFK – AFK is an acronym for Away from Keyboard – a term gamers use to describe when they are not actively playing the game because of some reason outside of their control (e.g., looking at Twitter). To avoid being disconnected or penalized by other players, some players will “AFK” for a short amount of time and then return to the game.
• Aimbot – Aimbot is an abbreviation for Aim-bot, which is a type of cheat where the player uses it to automatically aim at an enemy target.
• Avatar – A person’s Avatar refers to their in-game representation or character – often self made and unique across many games for each individual player. Avatars are used as representations of players in video games and can be customized to suit the player’s needs.
• Armadillo – The term Armadillo refers to an animal that is known for its hard shell and slow. The term refers to gamers who play slowly.
• BMing – BMing means doing something that disrupts other players or makes the game less fun for other people. BMing can be anything from killing a player over and over again to spamming chat channels with offensive messages.
• Boss – A Boss is an enemy or obstacle which the player must fight at the end of a level in order to progress.
• Boss Fight – A Boss Fight refers to an intense fight sequence where the player must defeat a boss enemy at the end of each level before continuing through the game’s story mode.
• Bot – The term AFK refers to software programs that are designed with artificial intelligence (AI) in order to automate tasks or imitate human behavior – often found in video games as computer controlled opponents during gameplay sessions.
• BRB – The term BRB is an abbreviation of Be Right Back – which means that someone will return shortly, usually because they are getting something in real life (e.g., a drink) or they are using the restroom.
• Bug – The term Bug refers to an error within video games that causes undesired behavior in computer software and hardware – often leading to unexpected game crashes, glitches, data loss, missing content or other similar issues.
• Brez – Brez is a shortened form of the word “Break” which refers to when a player goes offline in order to take a break from playing the game.
• Clan – A Clan refers for gamers who want to group up and play with other players on their team, typically organized through an online chat room or forum website.
• Cooldown – Cooldown refers to how long you must wait after using an ability before you can reuse them again, usually measured by seconds (e.g., if your cooldown timer says 60 seconds then you cannot use that same power until at least one minute has passed). These types of mechanics exist because they help balance games by controlling how often certain abilities can be used in a row, as well as to make them more tactical and challenging.
• Cosplay – Cosplay is a Japanese term meaning “costume play” which refers to people dressing up as characters from movies, video games and so forth – often at conventions or at fan events.
• Crossplay – Crossplay is a term that refers to the ability and availability for players of one game platform (e.g., Sony’s PlayStation) to play games on another type of device or console – such as Microsoft Xbox One, Nintendo Switch etc.
• Cross-platform – Cross-platform is when video games are available across multiple platforms – so that players on one type of device can play against other gamers who are using a different kind.
• Easter Eggs – Easter Eggs refer to hidden messages or jokes embedded in video games, typically as rewards for those who find them.
• FPS – FPS is an acronym for First Person Shooter which is what it says – shooting from the perspective of someone (usually you) running around killing enemies in first person view rather than third person view like most traditional shooters these days.
• Ganking – Ganking is a term used to describe when a player or group of players attack an unsuspecting opponent, typically with the intent of killing them and taking all their items.
• Gameplay – The word Gameplay refers specifically to how players interact with games between their computer keyboard, mouse, or controller during gameplay sessions. These interactions are used as inputs for controlling video games on-screen – whether it is navigating menus, interacting with objects in virtual worlds (e.g., lifting up boxes) fighting enemies like bosses), and so forth.
• Game Over – A Game Over is when the player has lost a game and must restart from the beginning.
• Guide – Guides are documents that offer advice about ways of achieving various goals within games – often providing tips, tricks and cheats to unlock achievements or complete game objectives. Guides may also offer information about how to beat a particular level, boss fight or other challenge in the game.
• Grind – To Grind is to spend many hours playing games in order to acquire as much experience points (XP), currency and other rewards as possible – often done by completing repetitive tasks such as farming enemies for money etc.
• Lag – Lag refers to slowdowns or interruptions in Internet connectivity which can lead to gameplay issues like stuttering graphics, game freezes, failure animations and more. This term also has been applied outside of gaming into broader fields including networking and telecommunications industries where it means “a delay between cause and effect.
• Level – The term Level refers to a stage within each game’s story mode, usually with enemies and various obstacles that must be overcome before advancing through the story.
• Mana – Mana is usually found within RPGs that refer the life force needed by the player’s character to use abilities or cast spells – which is depleted by using these skills.
• Minigame – In Video Games, Minigames refer to smaller parts of larger games where players may have to accomplish a specific goal, often for the purpose of unlocking new content.
• MMORPG – MMORPGs are Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games that allow thousands of people from all over the world to connect and play together at once – usually taking on some form of heroic character who starts out weak but then becomes stronger through various quests etc.
• Noob – The term Noob refers to a new, inexperienced and/or unskilled person who has just started playing the game (e.g., someone with little experience). It can also refer to people in MMORPGs that are so low level they don’t have any decent equipment or gear.
• PvE – PvE is an abbreviation for Player versus Environment – which refers to when you’re playing against the computer or other artificial intelligence controlled opponents rather than any actual players (usually found in single-player video games).
• PvP – PvP is the opposite of PvE where it stands for Player vs Player.
• Respawning – Respawning is when someone will come back into gameplay after having died in order to continue progressing through the game – often done automatically but sometimes it requires assistance from other players before coming back into play. 
• RNG – RNG is an abbreviation for a term which originated from the gaming community: Random Number Generator. This refers to features that use algorithms to generate random outcomes – and it’s often used in video games where these are programmed into things like loot boxes or when generating quests etc. The idea behind this design was originally about making game play more fair but some players have criticized it as being too unpredictable since its not based on skill alone.
• RPG – RPG is an abbreviation for Role Playing Game which are games that usually allow players to create their own characters and develop them by gaining experience points, inventory items and other rewards as they progress through the storyline – combining elements of action, adventure and strategy in order to complete objectives or defeat enemies.
• Sandbox – Sandbox refers to video games where you can do whatever you want – typically without restrictions on how, what or why you’re playing (often with open world gameplay). A sandbox will often contain many different types of features such as building tools so that gamers can construct new structures etc. These types of titles may also offer various types of in-game objectives, such as for players to explore different regions and find various items.
• Server – A Server is a computer system that manages the network resources shared by client systems – which may include web pages, files or applications etc. It provides services like access control, data storage and communication between users on the same network without slowing down their connections (which can be very important when playing video games). Servers are used across many industries including business networks but also at home where they provide Internet connectivity through broadband or DSL modems.
• Spam – The term Spam refers to unwanted messages sent over e-mail, social media sites etc., typically with intent to annoy people who receive them so much that they will eventually stop using those channels. It can also refer to the act of sending many messages in quick succession.
• XP – XP is an abbreviation for eXperience Points, which are awarded by completing various tasks within a game – often rewarding players with new abilities or access to hidden content when they’ve gained enough experience points.