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Michael Duetzmann

Video Game Definition of the Week: Aggro

by Michael Duetzmann August 5, 2021

Every other week the EFG staff will be defining a gaming term that is either confusing or ill-defined. Please leave a comment with any terms you are confused by and we will try to include them in future editions!

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to BOTH video games and can also be applied to board games, tabletop RPGs, and even collectible card games.

Aggro (often shorthand for Aggressive)

In board games, tabletop RPGs, and collectible card games, Aggro describes a style of play featuring consistent and fast actions. It describes a character, game object, (or constructed deck) that is designed to be played with the intent to win in as few turns as possible.

Red Decks in Magic the Gathering are often Aggro Decks, built mostly of low-cost spells that deal direct damage and low-cost creatures with haste or high power.

Aggro characters in tabletop RPGs focus heavily on offense and try to eliminate opponents quickly and efficiently.

In video games, Aggro is used to describe the behavior of a player or enemy character in a game. A character who is aggro will often directly attack non-allied characters and follow them to within limits of play. Computer-controlled characters will often display visual and audible cues before “becoming aggro” and will often change behaviors when the non-ally character travels a certain distance or specific area of play or is eliminated.

Multiplayer RPGs like Final Fantasy 14 will feature monsters that actively seek out players as they enter their field of vision in order to attack. “Aggro’ing” too many monsters is often a dangerous or unwise choice for the unprepared.

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August 5, 2021 0 comment

Video Games

Video Game Definition of the Week: Spawn Location/Spawn Camping

by Michael Duetzmann May 13, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

Every week the EFG staff will be defining a gaming term that is either confusing or ill-defined. Please leave a comment with any terms you are confused by and we will try to include them in future editions!

Spawn Location

The areas where players, threats, or resources return to play after being either defeated or collected. Spawn Locations are sometimes marked if they are commonly used during play.

Spawn Camping

Spawn Camping is the behavior, sometimes unintended but often malicious, of staying near or directly on a Spawn Location in an attempt to gain an advantage, either in defeating players or collecting resources.

Spawn Camping in multiplayer games is often considered bad sportsmanship by players.

Example:

There are dedicated spawn locations on Overwatch maps that change as objectives are completed.

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May 13, 2021 0 comment

Video Games

Video Game Definition of the Week: Idle Clicker

by Michael Duetzmann April 8, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to video and mobile games: Idle Clicker

Idle Clicker: An online game, playable on a tablet, phone, or computer browser, built around very simple actions: Clicking the mouse, tapping the phone or tablet, or swiping your mouse/finger across the screen. Overall these games appeal to players looking for low complexity games to help them focus or recover from other tasks.

Players should be aware that their repetitive nature can also have negative effects as well if not played in moderation.

Examples

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April 8, 2021 0 comment

Parent Resources Online Gaming Video Games

Video Game Definition of the Week: DPS

by Michael Duetzmann April 1, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to video games

What does DPS – Damage Per Second mean?

DPS, or Damage Per Second, is a term commonly used in video games to describe the amount of damage a particular attack or ability can deal over a fixed period of time. This measurement allows players to make comparisons between different abilities, weapons, or characters more objectively and can be used to determine the effectiveness of a particular strategy or build.

In role-playing games like World of Warcraft (WoW) and Final Fantasy, DPS is often used to describe characters that are built specifically for dealing damage to enemies. These characters may be equipped with powerful weapons and abilities that allow them to deal high amounts of damage in a short period of time. They are often contrasted with other character types, such as tanks, who are built for taking damage, and healers, who are focused on healing and supporting other players.

The concept of DPS is not limited to role-playing games but is also used in other types of games like first-person shooters and action-adventure games. In these types of games, players may choose weapons or abilities that have high DPS in order to quickly take out enemies or complete objectives.

In general, players are encouraged to choose items and characters based on their personal style of play, and the concept of DPS is a way to help players make more informed decisions about how to build their characters and what items or weapons to use in the game.

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April 1, 2021 0 comment

Parent Resources Video Games

Video Game Definition of the Week: Open World

by Michael Duetzmann March 25, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to video games: Open World

Open World: A game feature that puts the player or players in a large explorable common space with little to no marked boundaries (visual or otherwise) between encounters. Open World games will often have game wide systems in place for various player and computer controlled characters and objects to interact with each other. In Open World games you might encounter: Weather, Traffic, Night/Day cycles, and wandering computer controlled threats.

The gameplay is considered nonlinear with multiple ways to reach game objectives. Often times sections of the map reveal as players explore the region. In some games, such as Minecraft the biomes randomly generate as players enter an area. However in Terraria when you create a world the whole space in randomly generated at once.

Examples:

Minecraft
Horizon Zero Dawn
Terraria
Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
No Man’s Sky: Beyond

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March 25, 2021 0 comment

Board Games Parent Resources Video Games

Gaming Definition of the Week: Kaiju

by Michael Duetzmann March 12, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to Board Games, Video Games and Movies: Kaiju

Kaiju: A genre of action and horror movies that originated from Japan. Kaiju’s direct translation from Japanese is “Strange Monster”. The Kaiju genre has always featured a gigantic, building sized creature, often several of them fighting each other, or a large monster against many, many people.

In the context of gaming, The Kaiju genre refers to games where the player either plays as or is pitted against a giant monster, and is either the general theme of the game, or the centerpiece of a dramatic climax in the story.

Example of Famous Kaiju:

King Kong
Godzilla

Kaiju in Video Games:

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
City Shrouded in Shadow
Shadow of the Colossus Remake

Kaiju in Board Games:

Last Defense
Kaiju Crush
King of Tokyo

Kaiju in Movies:

(There is an extensive library of movies with Kaiju, this is just a small sampling of films)

Pacific Rim (2013)
‘Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Rampage (2018)

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March 12, 2021 0 comment

Parent Resources Video Games

Video Game Definition of the week: Farming/ Grinding

by Michael Duetzmann March 5, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to many video games: Farming/Grinding

Farming/Grinding: Intentionally and repeatedly performing the same game sequence in order to guarantee in game experience/levels, resources, materials, or equipment. This can be as simple as playing in the same area for long lengths of time, or as complex as repeatedly organizing and replaying entire multiplayer encounters. Farming can also be more materials and resources focused. In contrast Grinding tends to focus more ion gaining levels or XP. Grinding can also refer to an extreme case of farming where the optimal sequence to guarantee what is being sought after is not fun, or even worse, frustrating and disengaging. The line between farming and grinding is subjective and can differ wildly between players.

Examples:

Horizon Zero Dawn: You can search an area and collect the parts. Once you have gathered everything leave the area and reenter. This may trigger a new battle in certain areas and the resources will respawn.
World of Warcraft: Provides areas you can continue to reenter to battle and gain resources or experience
Minecraft: You can create spawn points for resources that you can repeatedly harvest and structures called mob grinders allow the structure to gather the enemy. Depending on how the structure is created, the destruction of the enemies can be automated or not.

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March 5, 2021 0 comment

Parent Resources Video Games

Video Game Definition of the Week: PvE/PvP

by Michael Duetzmann February 26, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to many video games: PvE/PvP

PvE/PvP: Shorthand for Player Versus Environment and Player Versus Player. The phrases describe the type of interaction players will experience in the game and where they receive feedback and interaction from. Many games have both PvE and PvP components to their experience, each gaining benefits to the other.

PvE

Player Versus Environment (PvE) interactions are situations in which one or more players collaborate to interact/overcome a computer-controlled threat or problem.

Wii U Splatoon screenshot — Tower Control – one of the game modes in the ranked battles!

PvP

Player versus Player (PvP) puts players in competition with each other, often providing a direct threat or problem to each other. PvP often provides a short play experience for players, but since they involve other people they cannot be paused or stopped early without disrupting the experience for other players.

Entire PvE narratives have been designed as tutorials to bring players into the PvP experiences (eg. th story mode for many first-person shooters ).

Examples:

Splatoon is PvP: Players are shooting other players with paint and trying to send them back to start point for your team.
Super Mario Odyssey is PvE: Your challenges in the game come from the environment not other players.
World of Warcraft contains both PvE and PvP: most of the content in the game is PvE, but players can opt into a PvP experience or enter specific PvP battlegrounds.

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February 26, 2021 0 comment

Parent Resources Video Games Handheld Devices Console / PC Gaming

Video Game Definition of the Week: Skill Tree

by Michael Duetzmann February 19, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to many video games: Skill Tree

Skill Tree: A set of abilities listed in a linear path (often with some or many branches) where access becomes available in sequence. As a player purchases skills in the beginning of a tree, it unlocks the next skill, or choice of skills, in the linear path. Skill trees are often themed, and are designed to encourage a particular style of play (or several closely tied styles of play). Skill Trees are often visible to the player, showing potential abilities (and potential styles of play) that are available through spending resources on this particular path. Skill Trees are often built in collections of multiple Trees, and often share the same resource, requiring the player to make careful choices to best suit their style of play. The availability and combination of Skill Trees are often used to help better describe a character (or a class) and its interactions with others.

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February 19, 2021 0 comment

Parent Resources Video Games

Video Game Definition of the Week: Port

by Michael Duetzmann February 12, 2021

written by Michael Duetzmann

The gaming definition this week is a term that is applicable to many video games: Port

Port: A reference to import/export. Port refers to a game originally designed or published for one console or device, that has been redesigned or republished for a new one. Porting a game intends to provide players with a similar experience, but as the differences between the original and new device/console increase, the greater the difference in quality or play experience.

Ports vary depending on the limitations of the machines being imported to or exported from, and features will be removed or altered (such as removal/additions of touch screens, simplified controls, and graphical resolution and frame rate).

Examples of Ports:

Minecraft Pocket Edition: Originally on PS3 and Xbox 360 and ported over to mobile
Fortnite: Originally on PS4, Xbox One and PC and ported to mobile
Mario Kart 8: Originally on Wii U and ported to the Switch

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February 12, 2021 0 comment

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