Gaming Terminology: The Simple Stuff

The gaming world and its terminology is very overwhelming for new players. So, to help out, here are some of the definitions to phrases and words you might hear when you're in the midst of a gamer.

If it's in quotation marks, it's from the website The Average Gamer. Check it out! It has even more terminology, and it's very informative.

AFK: It means away from keyboard.

Avatar: No, it's not the freaky blue people. It's a character model or picture used to represent each player.

Camp: "To stay in one strategic place and repeatedly kill people or mobs."

E3: Electronic Entertainment Expo. We love this one. It’s basically Comic Con for video games.

Frag: "Kill. Usually used as a verb or a noun."

FPS: First person shooter. (Halo, Goldeneye)

Gank: "Your character is killed by unfairly overwhelming odds."

GDC: Game Developers Conference.

Grind: "Performing mindlessly repetitive tasks in order to level up or proceed in the game."

HP: Hit points. "The number of points of damage that your character can take before dying."

IGN: One of the top gaming websites out. We’re big fans of this site.

Lag: "Time delay that is longer than expected." It’s very frustrating. Your internet browser and YouTube videos can do the same thing.

LFG/LFP/LFM: Looking for group, party, person or members. Used for online gaming

MP: Magic Points. Commonly used in RPGs.

MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. (World of Warcraft)

Noob (Alternate spellings include n00b, newb): "A new or inexperienced player (often derogatory)."

NPC: Non-player characters. "Background people that wander around areas or people you can talk to."

PK/PKing: Player killing. "In MMOs, it's where killing other players isn’t really the object of the game."

Platform: "The medium required to play the game." (PS4, Wii U,XBoxOne,PC)

Pwned (Pronounced Poned): A typo that occurred in the online game Warcraft that in turn became a word itself. Means owned.

RPG: Role playing game. Now there are two kinds of RPGs, Western and Japan. The Gamer sent me a video that explains the differences very well.

RTS: Real-time strategy game. (Starcraft and Red Alert)

Sim: Simulation. "Also refers to any character in The Sims franchise."

Strafe: Move sideways, used as a maneuver while shooting.

Tank: "A character that can take a lot of damage."

TBS: Turn-Based Strategy game. (Final Fantasy Tactics and Civilization)

TPS: Third-Person Shooter game. (Gears of War)

XP: Experience Points.

Those are just some of many definitions out there for the gaming world. If you have any questions or updates on any of these definitions feel free to contact us!