Game Acronyms and Concepts
There is nothing more frustrating that repeatedly hearing an acronym or term you haven't heard before. This page is a list of the ones I reference throughout this website.
Everything is in alphabetical order. If you find one that should be here or is missing, please let me know!
Everything is in alphabetical order. If you find one that should be here or is missing, please let me know!
Affinity Spaces – A place where informal learning takes place and affinity groups gather.
Affinity Group – A group that is bonded primarily through shared endeavors, goals, and practices and not shared race, gender, nation, ethnicity, or culture
Alternate reality game (ARG) – A game you play in real life and not in a virtual environment by using real life as a platform and uses transmedia to deliver the story. ARG’s employ human interaction and is the least digital out of ARs and VRs [McGonigal 2011]
Augmented reality (AR) – AR’s exist in the physical, real-world environment but has elements that are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, graphics, video, or GPS. Basically, ARs impose technology on real scenarios, enriching the perception. (see Environmental Detectives or Mad City Mystery in games archive)
Epistemic Frames – The ways of knowing, of deciding what is worth knowing, and of adding to the collective body of knowledge and understanding of a community of practice. (Shaffer 2006)
Epistemic Games – Games in which players become professionals (scientists, doctors, mathematicians) to develop innovative and creative ways of thinking using that professional’s frame of reference and knowledge base (Shaffer 2006)
Eustress – Positive stress. McGonigal believes that eustress can be realized from failure in games) [McGonigal 2011]
Fan fiction - Fan Fiction includes stories or poems written about existing media, including games, books, movies, or television shows. Popular fan fiction writers often have large fan bases and extremely engaging, erudite stories on sites like www.fanfiction.net. Machinima and fan fiction make up what is often called “fan labor.”
Fiero – Italian for personal triumph over adversity. For example, that moment in the game where you defeat a boss that has taken you dozens of attempts [McGonigal 2011]
Gamification – The use of game-based motivators and mechanics in non-game contexts. It uses motivators, such as points, titles and achievement, to produce a desired behavior by appealing to the human psychology. It has become very prevalent in the business world as companies use games to get customer loyalty and engagement.
Happiness hacking – The experimental design practice of translating positive psychology research findings into game mechanics [McGonigal 2011]
Machinima – Machinima is the creation of animated movies using a real time, 3D virtual environments. “Machinimists” often use video games to make these animations, which they share on YouTube, game forums, and other online communities. Video games are often used to generate the computer animation. The Sims and Second Life are very popular for machinima. Machinima and fan fiction make up what is often called “fan labor.”
Microworld – A tiny world in which a student can explore alternatives, test hypotheses, and discover facts that are true about the world. It differs from a simulation in that the student is encouraged to think about it as a “real” world, and not simply a simulation of another world. Microworlds are small, interactive, dynamic, real world environments that contain programmable objects that can be manipulated and studied.
MMO – Massively multiplayer online game. This refers to games where thousands of strangers log into a game and can interact with another in a persistent world. Popular examples are Everquest, World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars. This is not to be confused with games like Halo or Starcraft where players can simply log into a network and battle each other.
Mod - Stands for modification. Many players make mods to their favorite games to either tweak something about the game mechanics/graphics or create entirely new games. For example, many people make mods for Civilization to reenact certain events, like the Civil War. People may make mods for The Sims to design new skins or mods to Skyrim to make the graphics photo-realistic.
MUVE – Multi-User Virtual Environment. MUVE are similar to MMO’s in that they enable multiple simultaneous participants to access virtual contexts, interact with digital artifacts and represent themselves through “avatars.” However, MUVE’s are often used to describe MMO’s that are not game-specific (that is, they may not have a game quality to them).
Naches – A Yiddish term for the “bursting” pride we feel when someone we have taught or mentored succeeds. For example, the feeling a big brother might have for a younger brother when he defeats his first Pokemon gym leader under his brother’s guidance. [McGonigal 2011]
Pro-Ams – Professional amateurs that become experts at whatever they have a passion for, whether it is writing a game strategy guide or writing stories for their favorite novel [Gee 2003]
Sandbox – A type of game genre where players are given considerable freedom on how or when to approach objectives. The features high creativity with no “right” way to play (also known as open world or free-roaming games).
Serious games – Games that are designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment (i.e. education, training, creating a community, customer loyalty, etc.) It was established by Clark Abt in the 1970's and described as "the experimental and emotional freedom of active play" with "the seriousness of thought and problems that require it".
Social presence – A communication theory term for the sensation of sharing space with other people (such as MMO’s). For example, a player in an MMO may enjoy the presence of other players simply existing in the world with her, even if she does not interact with them. [McGonigal 2011)
Virtual Reality (VR) – A game that entirely replaces the world so that everything is simulated by a computer. It is a 3D visual experience that the user manipulates and inspects (for example, Star Trek’s hologram deck)
Affinity Group – A group that is bonded primarily through shared endeavors, goals, and practices and not shared race, gender, nation, ethnicity, or culture
Alternate reality game (ARG) – A game you play in real life and not in a virtual environment by using real life as a platform and uses transmedia to deliver the story. ARG’s employ human interaction and is the least digital out of ARs and VRs [McGonigal 2011]
Augmented reality (AR) – AR’s exist in the physical, real-world environment but has elements that are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, graphics, video, or GPS. Basically, ARs impose technology on real scenarios, enriching the perception. (see Environmental Detectives or Mad City Mystery in games archive)
Epistemic Frames – The ways of knowing, of deciding what is worth knowing, and of adding to the collective body of knowledge and understanding of a community of practice. (Shaffer 2006)
Epistemic Games – Games in which players become professionals (scientists, doctors, mathematicians) to develop innovative and creative ways of thinking using that professional’s frame of reference and knowledge base (Shaffer 2006)
Eustress – Positive stress. McGonigal believes that eustress can be realized from failure in games) [McGonigal 2011]
Fan fiction - Fan Fiction includes stories or poems written about existing media, including games, books, movies, or television shows. Popular fan fiction writers often have large fan bases and extremely engaging, erudite stories on sites like www.fanfiction.net. Machinima and fan fiction make up what is often called “fan labor.”
Fiero – Italian for personal triumph over adversity. For example, that moment in the game where you defeat a boss that has taken you dozens of attempts [McGonigal 2011]
Gamification – The use of game-based motivators and mechanics in non-game contexts. It uses motivators, such as points, titles and achievement, to produce a desired behavior by appealing to the human psychology. It has become very prevalent in the business world as companies use games to get customer loyalty and engagement.
Happiness hacking – The experimental design practice of translating positive psychology research findings into game mechanics [McGonigal 2011]
Machinima – Machinima is the creation of animated movies using a real time, 3D virtual environments. “Machinimists” often use video games to make these animations, which they share on YouTube, game forums, and other online communities. Video games are often used to generate the computer animation. The Sims and Second Life are very popular for machinima. Machinima and fan fiction make up what is often called “fan labor.”
Microworld – A tiny world in which a student can explore alternatives, test hypotheses, and discover facts that are true about the world. It differs from a simulation in that the student is encouraged to think about it as a “real” world, and not simply a simulation of another world. Microworlds are small, interactive, dynamic, real world environments that contain programmable objects that can be manipulated and studied.
MMO – Massively multiplayer online game. This refers to games where thousands of strangers log into a game and can interact with another in a persistent world. Popular examples are Everquest, World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars. This is not to be confused with games like Halo or Starcraft where players can simply log into a network and battle each other.
Mod - Stands for modification. Many players make mods to their favorite games to either tweak something about the game mechanics/graphics or create entirely new games. For example, many people make mods for Civilization to reenact certain events, like the Civil War. People may make mods for The Sims to design new skins or mods to Skyrim to make the graphics photo-realistic.
MUVE – Multi-User Virtual Environment. MUVE are similar to MMO’s in that they enable multiple simultaneous participants to access virtual contexts, interact with digital artifacts and represent themselves through “avatars.” However, MUVE’s are often used to describe MMO’s that are not game-specific (that is, they may not have a game quality to them).
Naches – A Yiddish term for the “bursting” pride we feel when someone we have taught or mentored succeeds. For example, the feeling a big brother might have for a younger brother when he defeats his first Pokemon gym leader under his brother’s guidance. [McGonigal 2011]
Pro-Ams – Professional amateurs that become experts at whatever they have a passion for, whether it is writing a game strategy guide or writing stories for their favorite novel [Gee 2003]
Sandbox – A type of game genre where players are given considerable freedom on how or when to approach objectives. The features high creativity with no “right” way to play (also known as open world or free-roaming games).
Serious games – Games that are designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment (i.e. education, training, creating a community, customer loyalty, etc.) It was established by Clark Abt in the 1970's and described as "the experimental and emotional freedom of active play" with "the seriousness of thought and problems that require it".
Social presence – A communication theory term for the sensation of sharing space with other people (such as MMO’s). For example, a player in an MMO may enjoy the presence of other players simply existing in the world with her, even if she does not interact with them. [McGonigal 2011)
Virtual Reality (VR) – A game that entirely replaces the world so that everything is simulated by a computer. It is a 3D visual experience that the user manipulates and inspects (for example, Star Trek’s hologram deck)