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Glossary

Advergame - A game that increases brand or product awareness while simultaneously providing compelling gameplay. Typically advergames are casual games, owing to the high costs associated with producing more elaborate games. The pervasiveness of branding within an advergame ranges from the name of the game, to tokens shaped similarly to a product, to the entire game being a trivia game about the product.

Avatar - A graphical representation of a player in an online game or virtual environment. In a casual game, ths may simply be a picture uploaded to a user's profile. In MMOG's, an avatar might be three dimensional and animate as it moves around, with completely customized physical attributes and clothing.

Bet - The amount of tokens wagered between players on the outcome of a single game.

Browser Game - A game that is played in a web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. Generally, browser games are also online games. A browser game may be single, multiplayer, or networked multi-player.

Casual Game - Games that typically feature simple rules and controls, increasing levels of difficulty (if they are not PVP), and whose state is not preserved between game sessions. There are a few minor exceptions to each of these definitions. Casual games are aimed at casual game players as well as mainstream gamers and are often played when a player has a limited time to play, such as on a lunch break. They serve as a form of relaxation or a quick mental workout.

Channel - An entire gaming platform on a site, including a selection of one or more games, a virtual lobby, game rooms, game tables, and possibly tokens, game stores, and other add on services.

Chat - A window which appears alongside or underneath a channel, room, or game that allows player to player textual communication. Chat is usually limited to only to the participants of the same room or table.

Game Store - An area of a website in which a player can purchase real or virtual rewards by cashing in tokens. Some game stores also accept real money. Some virtual rewards are artificially limited in availability in order to increase their perceived value.

Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) - A networked game designed for large numbers of people to play simultaenously. Unlike traditional games, simultaneous players may inhabit the same virtual game space but will not interact with every other player all the time. The state of an MMOG continues and progresses even when a particular participant is not playing, and therefore the game's prinicipal mechanics have to make sense for players joining and leaving the game at any point. Typical MMOGs have exploration themes, resource acquisition, and simulated combat against perpetually regenerating opponents.

Multi-player Game - A game played by two or more people. The simplest multiplayer game is created by two players alternately playing single player games, with play changing after one player fails or succeeds in a particular challenge. The players do not interact within the game in any form. More integrated multi-player play comes with turn based competition games, where each player takes their turn after the other, such as an online game of chess. The highest level of integration is a game where multiple players may play simultaneously. In these games, players may be cooperating against common challenges provided by the game, competing to collect limited resources, or directly confronting each other (PVP).

Networked Game - A multi-player online game where players play each other from different locations on the internet. A LAN game is a networked game that can only be played on a local area network.

Online Game - A game that requires an internet connection to play. The game is loaded from a server, or from a local cache, each time you play. Information may be streamed to your computer during play, and information about your play, such as final score or other results, may be transmitted to the server. The game may be played using a game console, a PC, or a mobile device. The game may be played from within a web browser or using another application. The game may be single, multiplayer, or networked.

Portal - A web site devoted to a specific topic. A game portal is a website devoted to providing online games.

PVP - Direct confrontation game play between two or more players (player vs player), where each tries to eliminate the other from competition.

Reward - rewards are available to purchase with any tokens that you may have won in online games or tournaments. Rewards may be instantly available and virtual - such as avatars or avatar add-ons. Virtual rewards are often kept artificially rare to increase their perceived value. Rewards may also be physical objects, such as Ipods or games. Sometimes you can trade tokens in for reward tickets, which represent a chance of winning a particular award at some sort of lottery drawing.

Room - A virtual area of a website representing all players playing the same multiplayer game. Rooms contain tables, each of which represents a single instance of the game being played (or waiting to start).

Single Player Game - A game played by one person against the challenges presented by the game. The game's opposition may be in the form of a virtual AI player, such as one which shoots back at you, or through mental puzzles or physical challenges the player is required to overcome.

Standalone Game - A game that doesn't require an internet connection to play. A standalone cannot be a networked game, but can be multi-player if two players can simultaneously, or in turns, use the same device to play.

Table - A virtual area of a website representing a single instance of a multiplayer game. Players "sit" their avatars at a table before a game begins. When the table is full, the game begins. The table is then replaced with a screen of the game itself. Observers can also "sit" at a game table in order to observe an ongoing game.

Token - Virtual cash collected as a result of playing games and available for use in game stores to purchase rewards.

Widget - A game available as a small piece of code that can be added to any website. Large game widgets may include an entire game channel, while smaller ones may include only a single game room or table, as well as other services that can fit into the alloted screen space.