Glossary

This glossary is meant to act as an central source for terms that provide additional information towards terms that readers may not be fully aware of. Terms are sorted by relevant topics, and are alphabetized within them.

## Genres

###### Action

Games in the action genre place the player in the perspective of one or more characters through a first person or third person view with a focus on immersion. Some examples include shooter games and adventure games.

###### Fantasy

Games in the fantasy genre allow the players to explore a themed game environment to fulfill objectives with an emphasis on imagination and role playing. Some examples include role-playing games (RPGs) and massive multiplayer online RPGs (MMORPGs).

###### Simulation

Games in the simulation genre aim to reflect real life activities with varying levels of realism. Some examples include sports games, driving games, and town building games.

###### Strategy

Games in the strategy genre give the player a global view of the game world and emphasize decision making based on visual information. Some examples include real time strategy (RTS) games, turn based games, and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games.

###### Traditional

Games in the traditional genre are grounded in board games that exist in real life, borrowing their rules as the foundation and building off of it. Some examples include puzzle games, card games, and board games.

## Microtransactions

###### Battle Pass

Battle passes are time-limited tiered progression systems where players are able to level up the battle pass through certain objectives and unlock rewards in the form of in-game items.

###### DLC

Downloadable Content (DLC) refers to purchasable content updates for an already purchased game that provides bonus content such as levels, chapters, items, and areas.

###### Editions

Editions are versions of the game that can be purchased by the player, with more expensive offerings typically bundling DLCs or other microtransactions with the video game.

###### In-Game Items

In-game items are virtual items that can either be purchased from a video game store or traded from other players. They either serve as cosmetic options or provide gameplay advantages.

###### Loot Boxes

Loot boxes are virtual containers that contain a random selection of in-game items. Games will typically assign arbitrary rates of obtaining certain items in the pool based on their desirability or effectiveness.

###### Pay-to-Win

Pay-to-win elements of a game are a contentious topic, with communities often being divided on what counts as pay-to-win. For the purposes of this wiki, pay-to-win microtransactions allow players to skip past in-game obstacles or provide an advantage over players that choose to not spend on these types of microtransactions.

###### Subscriptions

Subscriptions provide the player with a predefined set of benefits that is paid for through a repeated fee. The benefits are active only for the periods that are paid for.

## Other

###### Currency Exchange Rate

A proper breakdown of the currency exchange rate can be found on it's own page here.

###### Free-to-Play

Free-to-play are types of games where it is free to download the game and play through the majority of the content. The developers of these games typically make money through the implementation of a microtransaction model, with players being retained long-term through consistent free content updates.

###### Gacha

Gacha games are similar to free-to-play games with a specific emphasis on loot boxes with many of the games fundamental mechanics being centered around earning in-game currency (or paying for it) to pay for loot boxes.

## Resources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Commercial video games and cognitive functions: video game genres and modulating factors of cognitive enhancement
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The relationship between videogame micro-transactions and problem gaming and gambling: A systematic review