Vernacula-X
I've resurrected this old area of the site for two reasons. It's mostly a small glossary of various video game terms. The second reason is that I have a bad habit of using unfamiliar slang including a few that I just made up myself. This area is still under construction and I apologize in advance for spelling errors, mistakes and just out-and-out stupidity. This is meant only as a quick 'oh, THAT'S what that means!' resource. Links to much better sites (many of which are referenced for the more technical bits here) are included at the bottom.
Action RPG (Full page here.) - These are action games with a lot of elements (character stats, item management, puzzles, world maps, etc.) borrowed from tabletop role-playing games, computer text adventures and early RPG computer games. Examples include Adventure, Tower of Druaga, Gauntlet and The Legend of Zelda. Another variation of these games play just like an RPG, but then switch to an action game engine during enemy encounters (like Actraiser). Other Action RPGs include Golden Axe Warrior, Cadash and Beyond Oasis. The whole genre is often described incorrectly as Zelda Clone, though there are enough true Zelda Clones to be a true genre.
amazon (Full page here.) - Warrior from an all-female tribe of warriors.
arcade (Full page here.) - An amusement center where customers enjoy a variety of entertainment or merchandise machines, such as video games, pinball, claw crane, redemption, skill, sports and more. The concept dates all the way back to at least the late 1800's.
area (Full page here.) - One of the many terms used to describe a section of game play. Many times, area is used as a sub-section of a level or stage (like Level 1 Area 2 or Level 1-2), but some games use the term just like level or Section. Area is often used to describe places on maps as well.
auto-scroll (Full page here.) - When the play area automatically moves in some direction without any input from the player. Auto-scrolling playfields are commonly used for vehicle-based shoot 'em ups, but the technique appears in side-scrollers like Altered Beast. Sometimes, auto-scrolling is specific to certain levels of a game. Examples include the specific World sections of the 2-D Mario games, the horseback riding scenes in Sunset Riders, and the infamous Turbo Tunnel level in the original Battletoads.
External Info sources and references:
CPS-2 Shock
System 16
Vidgame.net
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