Terms to know

So you wanna play games or already like playing games, but have no idea what all these words like esports, DLC, or GG means? Have no fear we got the low down on all the gamer slang below!

Gaming Community Positions

Game creator: amazing individuals who dedicate time, energy, and sometimes money to creating a game (board or video) that they then share. You don't have to use fancy graphics and game creation software, make your game complicated or expensive, or even share your game beyond yourself and your family/friends.

Gamer: someone who plays games (board or video) casually, consistently, or professionally (eSports, MLG, etc.- see Get Paid to Play page for more). You don't need to play games all the time, play the most difficult or popular games, be amazing at gaming, play on a certain console, spend all your money of gaming tech and merch, etc to be one. You just gotta like playing games.

Gaming fans/watchers: just like with physical sports, there are those who like watching others do the thing and cheering them on. You don't need to know all the kinds of games out there, follow only the biggest twitch/streaming stars, or even game yourself. You just gotta like watching others game, knowing more about games/community/industry, etc.

eSports commentators/hosts: also like with physical sports, there are people are who are paid to watch and commentate live, interview, and host streams of eSports competitions, teams, video game creation companies, and individual eSports players. See Get Paid to Play page for more

Game educator: speakers, teachers, and those who have studied games and gaming (e.g. history, playing, creating, ethics, etc.) in some way, either through educational degree/certificate or experience playing/independent study. You don't need to have a degree, know everything there is to know about games and gaming ever, be a gamer, etc. You only need to learn and teach others what you know in some way (i.e. research paper, youtube tutorial, etc.). See Become a gaming scholar page for more info.

Gameplay terms

  • AI/artificial intelligence: refers to any characters or mechanisms in a game that are simulated via automated controls/code, AI characters are also called NPCs or non-playable characters.

  • Avatar: a virtual representation of the user, whether realistic or fictional.

  • Beta: The software of a game in this stage is quite buggy and possibly crash, resulting in the loss of data.

  • Boss: a computer controlled enemy that you would challenge against.

  • Check points: once reached they are the safe point to which a player will be reverted if they lose a life (unless they are on their last one, in which case there usually will be a “game over”).

  • Combo: is a number of continuous hits, tricks or item collects which are done in a very short time without being disrupted by for example an enemy attack.

  • Co-op: when two or more people are able to play the same game on the same system with each other just as long as you have an extra controller. Co-op is also possible through multiplayer gaming through online compatibility depending on the game or possibly even system link as long as the group of people have the same game

  • Cutscenes: cinematic events that take place during a game and are uncontrollable. Almost all games use cut-scenes to further the story, often filled with dialouge.

  • Demo: free playable demonstration of a game that is intended to entice the player to purchase the full version.

  • DLC/downloadable content: an addition to the game that is available by download usually at a cost.

  • F2P/Free to play or P2W/pay-to-win: is a type of game, usually on the PC or mobile, that is free to access. They often feature in-game stores with weapons and other sorts of perks that can be bought with real world money, giving those who spend money an advantage over those who don’t.

  • Grinding/farming: to explain the amount of time needed to build character experience, power, strength, and items.

  • HP: This is the amount of health that a character may have and is usually shown on the health bar.

  • Level (experience): refers to the power and skills a player has; leveling up often comes with added benefits including abilities, higher damage, and fulfilling requirements for better gear. Higher level players aren't invulnerable to lower level characters skill or luck.

  • Level (map): the stage or point at which a player is in within a game; think of it like the time stamp in a movie, the farther along the more advanced or built up a player can be and the closer to the end of winning they are.

  • MOB(monster or beast): a boss character or monster that needs to be defeated.

  • PvP/Player vs. Player: a type of game in which the in-game combat takes place between two human players.

  • PvE/Player vs. Environment: a type of game in which a player is fighting computer-controlled enemies.

  • XP/Experience Points: points signify your character’s experience and time put into the game, and you typically get rewards if you reach a certain amount. Often you will “level up” as well when you reach a certain amount of experience points.

Intra game community slang

  • AFK/away from keyboard: when player is not currently playing or offline, they may have stepped away for a moment or be done playing for the time being.

  • Button Mashing: Randomly pressing buttons on controller without regard for what it does.

  • Camping: This is the practice of one playing staying at the place where their enemy respawns to kill them or staying in place of good resources/valuable NPCs.

  • Emotes (twitch): Used in twitch/livestream gaming to convey feelings about what the player is doing and communicate with other viewers. Popular ones include: Pogchamp (excitement/wow),

  • Git gud: a slang rendering of get good, refers to getting better at a task or skill.

  • GG/Good game: A phrase said by players to one another after a match to show good faith and good sportsmanship

  • Save scumming: Very frequently saving the game and reloading after mistakes

  • Spamming: Repeatedly using same combos/buttons over and over against your opponent in a game. Alternatively, this term is also used to describe someone filling the chat with useless information or the same meaningless words/emotes over and over.

  • Trolling/spammer: ranges from someone doing/saying something silly for sake of humor/fun to cyberbullying.

Note: There are a lot of harmful terms/acronyms used by gaming folks out there and people who want to do harm, so please be careful and know this list isn't exhaustive.

Sources: