The world of video games is a vast and complicated place, littered with coins and spikes and bottomless pits, and discussed using a unique vocabulary: a lexicon packed with abbreviations, technical terms and snippets of Japanese. Video game words can be daunting or confusing to the uninitiated.

We’re here to help.

Here is a brief glossary of handy video game words. May it never be said TMTF has not done its part to promote the spread of knowledge and the betterment of humankind!

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Action RPG: An RPG featuring real-time action instead of turns, e.g. Kingdom Hearts; see Turn-based RPG

Boss: A powerful enemy, usually fought at the end of a stage or dungeon

Co-op: A form of multiplayer in which players cooperate to complete an objective

Combo: In fighting games, an unbroken combination of moves or attacks

Console: A device for playing video games; generally connected to a television

Cutscene: A scripted visual sequence used to advance a game’s story

Developer: The person, group or company that makes a game

DLC: Downloadable Content, extra features in a game for which players pay an additional fee

Dungeon: A kind of stage fraught with enemies, puzzles, treasures and challenges; often concluded with a boss

Dungeon-crawler: A game with a strong focus on traversing dungeons

Easter egg: A hidden feature, often of a humorous or frivolous nature; sometimes a reference to another work; tragically, not actually made of chocolate

Escort quest: An objective requiring the player to protect an object or character; for most players, an excruciating nuisance

EXP: Experience, also abbreviated XP, generally awarded to the player in the form of points, which make characters stronger by causing them to level up; common in RPGs

Extra lives: Additional chances for a player to play without incurring a game over

Fetch quest: An objective requiring a player to retrieve an item or character; generally very tedious

Final boss: A powerful boss fought at the end of a game

FPS: First-Person Shooter, a genre of game in which the player wields a weapon from a first-person perspective, e.g. Halo

G: Gold, a standard form of currency in games

Game over: The point at which a player runs out of chances to play, and must begin the game from the beginning or a save point

Gameplay: The player’s interactions with a game; the interactive aspects of a game

Gameplay mechanic: A specific gameplay aspect

Gamer: A person who plays video games

Graphics: A game’s visuals

Hadouken: A colloquial term for projectile attacks in fighting games; named for a move in the Street Fighter series

Handheld: A portable video game device

HP: Health Points or Hit Points, a numerical representation of how much damage can be sustained by an object or character; see Life bar

Inn: In most RPGs, a location in towns where players can restore the HP and MP of their characters

Item: An object usable by the player; often depleted upon use

JRPG: Japanese Role-Playing Game, a style of RPG traditionally associated with Japanese developers, e.g. Final Fantasy; characterized by a linear narrative and stylized visuals; see WRPG

Level up: An increase in a character’s strength or ability, generally earned by accruing a predetermined amount of EXP

Life bar: A visual representation, typically in the form of a horizontal gauge, of how much damage can be sustained by an object or character; see HP

Metroidvania: A kind of platformer with RPG elements and a strong emphasis on exploration; named for Metroid and Castlevania, game series which exemplify the genre

Miniboss: A less powerful boss fought partway through a stage or dungeon

Minigame: A small, simple game within a larger, more complex one

MMORPG: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, an RPG that connects multiple gaming systems and hosts numerous players in a single virtual world, e.g. World of WarCraft

MP: Magic points or Mana points, a renewable asset that can be spent to perform special moves

Multiplayer: A game feature that allows for multiple players to play the same game simultaneously

NPC: Non-Player Character, a character not controlled by any player

Open-world: A kind of game stage in which the player is given freedom to roam a large virtual world and flexibility in approaching game objectives

Overworld: The space connecting dungeons, towns or stages

Pixel: One of many tiny squares or dots that make up a larger image

Platformer: A genre of games in which gameplay usually consists of traversing platforms, pitfalls and other obstacles, e.g. Super Mario Bros.

Power-up: An object which temporarily grants a character greater strength or a new ability

Production values: All aspects of a game apart from gameplay; e.g. music, writing and graphics

Quick time event: An interactive cutscene in which a player must press a button or sequence of buttons displayed on screen; generally a terrible game mechanic

Random encounter: In RPGs, a gameplay mechanic that puts players at risk in certain areas of being ambushed by enemies and having to fight

Respawn: When a defeated character disappears from the game and reappears at a predetermined point

RPG: Role-Playing Game, a genre of game in which player controls a character or group of characters who become stronger as the game progresses; generally emphasizes storytelling and strategic gameplay

RTS: The Real-Time Strategy genre, which puts the player in command of a group of units and emphasizes micromanagement of resources, e.g. StarCraft

Save point: A checkpoint at which the player’s progress is recorded

Shovelware: Badly-designed games fit only for taking up space in landfills

Side quest: An optional objective or set of objectives available for the player to complete

Sprite: A two-dimensional image or animation integrated into a larger scene

Stage: A self-contained area in a game featuring a specific objective; also called a level, course, act or zone

Superboss: An optional boss, often more powerful than the final boss; a challenge for expert players

Town: A space in a game, generally neutral and free of enemies, offering services to the player such as shops, inns and save points

Turn-based RPG: An RPG featuring sequential moves or turns instead of real-time action, e.g. Final Fantasy; see Action RPG

Tutorial: A section of a game that instructs the player how to play

Vaporware: A game supposedly in development that shows no signs of imminent release

WRPG: Western Role-Playing Game, a style of RPG traditionally associated with Western developers, e.g. The Elder Scrolls; characterized by a nonlinear narrative and realistic visuals; see JRPG