Computer Games Dictionary - H

Hacker
1. A term that first started being used in the 1960s and was used to describe a programmer or someone who hacked out computer code, later the term evolved to an individual who had an advanced understanding of computers, networking, programming, and/or hardware but did not have any malicious intents.
Today, a hacker is often associated with an individual who illegally breaks into other computer systems to damage and/or steal information. Some users today who consider themselves leet may refer to themselves as haxors or h4x0rs. However, often these types of users are nothing more than script kiddies.
Although the media and most people think of hackers as malicious or evil, the majority of hackers are people who are curious about how computer, networks, and/or programs work and are often simply exploring and learning.
2. In computer online gaming a hacker is a term often associated with a gamer who is cheating.

Alias
Also known as a nick or handle, an alias is an alternative name for a computer, object, person, group, or user. Usually used to replace long names or to keep your own name private.

Hardcore
When referring to games, hardcore is a player with above average skills and abilities and/or a player who plays a lot and is able to achieve more than a person who does not play as much. Hardcore may also refer to the game type played, for example, in a MMORPG game a PvP server is often considered more hardcore than a non-PvP server.

Hehe
Slang often used in chat communications to indicate something was funny. Hehe Is supposed to represent someone laughing / giggling.

Ping
In computer gaming, a ping, also known as a high ping or low ping, is a measurement of how fast the connection to the game server the player has. For example, a player with a low 50 ping is going to have a better game experience than a player with a high 250 ping. To help with server response times some game servers may only accept users who have a low ping.

HP
1. Short for Hewlett Packard.
2. Short for Hit Points, HP is the total amount of hits it would take to defeat an opponent in an RPG.

HUD
Short for Heads Up Display, HUD is any type of display that displays over the top of another display. For example, when referring to a computer game a HUD displays important information such as the players life, available or selected weapons or other abilities, maps, etc.

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Computer Game Buying Tips

Computer games are generally for an entertainment value, and can also be educational. Below we have listed several considerations to look at when buying a computer game.

Considerations

Demo
Today, a large majority of computer games that are released are also released as a demo and are available through computer game magazines or off of the Internet. If you are purchasing the game for yourself and have not seen or played the game, you may consider playing the demo (if available) before purchasing the game. The demo is generally found from the developer's web site.

Mass multiplayer
Mass Multiplayer games are generally an excellent choice for any advanced or new game player. These games generally are games where the player joins thousands, sometimes millions, of other players from all over the planet and build up their character, fight creatures, develop skills, fight other players, talk, and much more. While these games are generally fun and can be played sometimes for years, they do generally require a small monthly fee. This fee can be anywhere from $10.00 to $20.00 a month and help to maintain the servers, help with updates and maintain your account.
These games are also only available when connecting to the Internet and do not offer a single player option.

Multiplayer
Multiplayer is similar to Mass Multiplayer; however, these games allow the players to play with a few players (2 - 20 players generally). These are still fun and excellent games, and are generally games where you must either shoot and frag other players, or develop an online character by fighting creatures.
Unlike the Mass Multiplayer games, these games are quick and do not require hundreds of hours of game play and can generally be played as Multiplayer or Single Player.

Piracy
Piracy, unfortunately, is very commonplace in the computer gaming industry and Computer Hope highly recommends that it not be considered. While it has been easy in the past, gaming piracy has become more difficult. Users who pirate games may be forfeiting the ability to play with their friends online, not be able to receive updates for the games, and more importantly are not supporting the company of the game.
Users who let their friends pirate their games may also be forfeiting the same above rights. If you share your serial or ID number with a friend you may be giving up your right to play on-line as your number will likely become invalid.

Rating
The ESRB rating of a game determines how violent the game is; below is a listing of several of the ratings found on the majority of all games today. See our ESRB dictionary definition for additional information on ESRB and a listing of each of the ratings.

Type
There are several types of games. These games can vary from first person shooter to sports. Visit our game page for a listing of computer games and game types as well as a description on each of the game types.

Upgrade
When purchasing a software game, ensure that it is not an upgrade to an early version of the game. Many of the available updates will require that the previous version of the software be already installed on the computer.

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Game Definitions - G

G2G
Shorthand for Got to Go or Good to Go, G2G also abbreviated as GTG and is a term often used in chat communications and computer gaming.

Game
Warcraft gameA type of computer software that has been designed to entertain and/or educate an individual. Today, computer gaming is a big business and there are millions of different types of computer games that are enjoyed by people of all ages.

Game control adapter - game port
More commonly known as a game port, the game control adapter is a port found on IBM and IBM compatible computers. The game port allows users to connect such devices as joysticks, game pads, steering wheels and various other devices that allows additional functionality to the computer.

Paddle
1. More commonly known as a game paddle or gamepad, a paddle is an input device commonly used with games that may contain various buttons used to steer and utilize different options in a game. The majority of console game systems utilize a paddle for control.
2. The term paddle may also be used to describe various handheld devices that are capable of controlling a function on a computer or electronic device.

Gamespy
Large gaming network that contains information, reviews, and files for games as well as a network that connects various games together online.

Gank
Another commonly used term to describe a player who is PKing other players. Often ganking is associated with a higher level player killing lower level player, for example, a level 60 player killing a 36 level player, which often requires little or no effort and simply grief's the player being killed.

GG
Shorthand used in game play that is short for Good Game. This tells other individuals who are playing the game or just finished a game that the game played was a good game.

Ghosting
1. Term used to describe a shadowing effect on any moving images on a screen. This type of issue can occur if you are using an older monitor, have a software setting enabled that causes this effect, or system resources are low.
2. A description of a person who has gone offline yet is still appearing as though they are still logged in.
3. A term used to describe a type of cheating in online games where players that have died tell other players that are still alive where other players in the game are.
4. Another method of describing a LCD or flat-panel display with a slow response time.
5. Using Norton's Ghost program, the act of ghosting is the method of copying the complete hard disk drive contents to another media such as a CD or network drive. Once ghosted, this image can quickly be distributed over several computers.
This is commonly done in a corporate environment where the same operating system and corporate software needs to be installed on several computers quickly.

Gib
1. Also known as gibbage, a gib is a game term coined by Adrian Carmack of Id software and is used to describe one or more fragments of another player's body when they are killed by a large weapon such as a rocket launcher.
2. A Gib is short for Gibibit.
3. A GiB is short for Gibibyte.

GM
1. Short for Game Masters, GM's are real people who help run, maintain, and assist other players in online games.
2. Shorthand for Good Morning, GM is often used in chat rooms to greet users in the morning.
3. GM can also be short for Good Manner(s) and is sometimes used in computer games and chat rooms.

Gold
1. A precious metal that is used in computing because it is a good electrical and thermal conductor.
2. A color commonly yellow that represents the color of the precious metal gold.
3. More commonly known as Gone Gold or Going Gold, this term is used to describe a software program that has finished its development stage and is now in the process of being manufactured to be released to the general public.
4. Gold is also a form of money used in a lot of computer games to purchase game goods. Often games that have gold will also have copper, silver, and/or other precious metals for different denominations of money.

Grats
Shorthand for congratulations, grats or gratz is used in chat conversations and online games as a way of congratulating someone about something they've accomplished.

Rocket jumping
In computer games such as Quake, rocket jumping is a technique where the player fires a rocket using their rocket launcher at the ground, wall, jump pad, or other surface and at the same time jumps causing the player to travel a greater distance. This is a great tactic to get to a higher position, to escape another player, and/or get to another spot faster. Because you take damage and this is part of the game this is not considered cheating.
In addition to rocket jumping there is a similar tactic called grenade jumping, where the player places a grenade at their feet or below a vehicle to propel themselves or an object into the air.

Griefer
Any person who intentionally causes other people on the Internet or in games grief or other problems.

Grind
A term used by game players to describe the process required to increase a game characters level or overall experience. It's often referred to as the grind because of the tedious task of doing something over and over again and/or because the process starts to become no fun and more like work instead of a game.

Group
In general refers to a collection of two or more people that are put together and labeled. For example, in the case of computers a collection of individuals who work for the customer service department may be assigned the workgroup group name: cs, and be given excusive rights or privileges to programs and/or files they need to have access to.

Guild
A group of people in an online game that work together in defeating creatures or other mobs that cannot be done alone. Unlike a party a guild is a permanent group and can contain several hundred members. Many online games now support guild chat, which allows any guild member to easily talk to all guild members currently logged in and is usually a much easier method to find help or find something to do.

Gunbound
A popular multiplayer game developed in Korea and played around the world that is similar to Scorched Earth or Worms.

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Games Appendix - F

FFA
Short for Free For All, FFA is a term used to describe a type of game play where everyone is against everyone.

FFS
1. When talking about computer hard disk drives FFS is short for freefall sensor and is a technology found in Fujitsu hard disk drives to help protect the hard disk drive when it is dropped. The technology works by moving the read/write head within the hard disk drive up a ramp to prevent it crashing against the magnetic medium.
2. Short for For F*(% Sakes, FFS is slang commonly used in gaming and chat communications.

Flight simulator
First demonstrated as a 3-D demo in 1975, today when referring to computers, a flight simulator is a type of computer game that simulates the environment of a pilot in control of a flying machine.


FMCDH
Shorthand for from my cold dead hands, FMCDH is sometimes used in chat and online gaming as a way of letting someone know the only way they'll be able to get something is if they kill them first.

FPS
1. Short for Frames Per Second, FPS is a measurement of the speed or performance of a game and/or computer system. Generally, a user who has a higher FPS will be capable of performing better. Often many games today have a command or keyboard shortcut key that will display the frames per second you're getting. However, there are also other third-party programs such as Fraps and other benchmarking programs that will also display the frames per second you're getting.
2. Also known as a point-and-shoot game, FPS is short for First Person Shooter and is a description of a game where the player sees only the weapon of the character and shoots other characters or players. First Person Shooter games became widely popular with the release of Doom in 1993.

Frame

1. Edge or border that resembles a border of frame you may find on a picture. Frames are often used in word processing and graphic arts to help focus the viewer's attention.
2. In data or network communications, a frame is a block of data that begins with a header to indicate the beginning of the block of data and a trailer to indicate the ending of the data.
3. With the Internet, a frame is a movable or non-movable portion of a web page to help make the navigation easier. Many users do not like frames because of various issues such as printing a page, book marking a page with the relevant information and not a separate frame, etc...
4. A frame is a single still image frame displayed by the computer, video hardware or software application. Also see FPS and frame rate.

Fraps
Computer software program that enables users to record movies of other programs such as a computer game, display how many frames per second you're getting, and capture screen shots.

FTL and FTW
1. Shorthand for For The Win, FTW is often using in gaming and gaming related definitions to indicate a user's win. The complete opposite to FTW would be FTL, which is short for For The Loss.
2. Shorthand for f*** the world.

FU

Short for Fu** you, FU is a abbreviation of swearword used in chat, online games, and other online communications.

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Games Definitions - E

E3
Short for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3 is an expo that was first held in 1995 and today is one of the most recognized events for gaming and other entertainment.

Epic
1. An epic item in a game is an item that is extremely rare. For example, one in a million.
2. Term used to describe something that's extraordinary or out of the norm. For example, in gaming and other online communication someone may describe a post made by another person as an "epic fail," which is another way of saying it's an amazing failure or extremely bad.

EQ
1. Short for equals, eq is an operator used in programming languages and in command line commands as an abbreviation for equals.
2. Short for equalizer, eq is a software program or hardware device that increases or decreases the volume of specific audio frequencies.
3. Short for EverQuest, EQ, also known as EverCrack for its addictiveness, is a highly popular MMORPG game.

ESA
Short for Entertainment Software Association, ESA is an association dedicated to serving the business and public affair's needs of companies that publish computer and console games.

ESRB
Short for Entertainment Software Rating Board, ESRB is a rating system that helps enable parents and others choose games that are most appropriate for their children. Below is a listing of some of the ESRB rating symbols that you are most likely going to see on a software product and a description for each of these ratings.

EC Short for Early Childhood, EC games are best fit for children under the age of 3.
E Short for Everyone, E games are games that are good for all ages of people.
T Short for Teen, T games are games that are best for persons over the age of 13.
M Short for Mature, M games are games that are best for persons over the age of 17.
AO Short for Adults Only, AO games are games that are best for persons over the age of 18.
RP Short for Rating pending, RP are games that have a rating that is still under investigation.

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Games Definitions - D

DD
Shorthand for Don't Die, DD is a term often used in chat communications and computer gaming.

DDR
1. Short for Double Data Rate, DDR is a type of memory that utilizes both the rising and falling edge of the system clock that has the potential of doubling the speed of the memory. Today, the DDR technology can be found in high end Video Cards as well as computer memory such as DDR-SDRAM.
2. Short for Dial-on-Demand Routing, DDR was developed by Cisco and is a new routing technique that uses existing telephone lines to help form a WAN.
3. DDR is also short for Dance Dance Revolution. A popular arcade and console game where users must dance on a pad in conjunction with what is being displayed on the screen.

Deathmatch
Type of first person shooter game where the players win by obtaining the most frags. Often deathmatch is abbreviated as DM or TDM for Team DeathMatch.

Demo
1. A software file that enables a user the ability to try a service, software program, software game, or software utility before purchasing it or signing up. Although demos are often available as demo disks, many demos today are downloaded from the Internet for free.
2. In addition, when referring to a game, demo mode refers to a mode that demonstrates the computer game without requiring any interaction from a human player.

DIN
1. When referring to a connector, DIN is a type of connector that conforms to a standard defined by the DIN group. Computer keyboards, computer mice, network routers, video appliances, and Apple serial devices are a few examples of hardware devices that may use a DIN style of connector.
2. Short for Deutsche Institut fuer Normung, DIN is a German standardization group.
3. Shorthand for Do It Now, DIN is commonly used in chat rooms and online gaming.

Ding
Gaming term used to signify the user has just increased one or more levels. This term is often seen in MMORPG games such as EverQuest.

Microsoft DirectX
DirectX ABCs
Current available version = 9.0c
Windows Vista users = 10
First released in 1995, DirectX is a set of APIs (Application Program Interface) developed by Microsoft to allow all programs to write instructions for hardware without knowing exactly what hardware is within the computer. Games which include DirectX, will have the capability of utilizing multimedia and graphics accelerator features more efficiently.
The original releases of Windows 95 did not ship with DirectX; Windows 95 OSR2 however did included DirectX 2.0. To see which version of windows you are using, see our page Information about determining Windows Versions.
Windows NT shipped with DirectX 2.0. Upgrading to Service Pack 3 or higher will install DirectX 3.0. However, there are no higher versions of DirectX available for Windows NT. Installing Service Pack 4 or higher will install later versions of DirectPlay, however.
The latest version of DirectX can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/directx.

DKP
Short for Dragon Kill Points, DKP is a point system that originated in the online game EverQuest and today used in many other MMORPGs that helps players distribute the loot obtained from creatures that require a large party of players (often 10 or more). For each player that participates in killing a large creature or other large mob the player earns points, often based on the difficulty and amount of players participating. These points are often kept track of by the guild leader and can then be used for loot the creature drops, the player that has participated the most will have the most points and be entitled to the rare or otherwise valuable loot first.
Each game and guild has their own method of obtaining and keeping track of DKP. When joining a guild in an online game it is best that you talk with the guild leader and/or visit their personal page for additional information about how they manage the guild DKP.

Dmg
Short for damage, dmg is a term often used in gaming as an indication of how much damage was inflicted on a person or thing in the game or how much potential damage an item in the game is capable of inflicting.

DND
1. Shorthand for Do Not Disturb, DND is a common tag or extension added to users name or alias to let other users or players know that person does not wish to be disturbed either because he or she is away or because they are busy.
2. More commonly known as D&D, DnD is short for Dungeons and Dragons and is a role playing game where players play with a number of different characters in an imaginary world. Each player has the ability to choose their own character, each with a selection of different attribute points. The player navigates the world and interacts with the environment by rolling a number of different dice to determine their moves and actions. D&D is played by millions of people around the world and today many of the computers RPG and MMORPG games are based on many of the same ideas of this popular game.

DOT
1. Single pixel on a matrix display.
2. Single small dot on a dot matrix printer print out.
3. Period separating related pieces of information on the Internet such as www.computerhope.com.
4. In a RPG or MMORPG a DOT is short for Damage Over Time and is a type of spell or other damage that causes a player or creature in a game harm for a short period of a time. For example, a player hit by a poison spell could be poisoned for several seconds unless they are cured.

Dupe
In computer games dupe or duping often refers to act of a player tricking the game and generating a duplicate of another item. For example, a player may use a duping technique to make a duplicate of a high level weapon or other item in the game. Any type of duplicated item in games is considered cheating and often duping an item and/or owning a duped item can cause your account to be suspended or banned in many online games.
Computer Hope does not give assistance or tell players how to duplicate any items in any online games.

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Games Dictionary - C

Camper
Term often used in computer gaming to describe an individual who remains in one position for a good majority of the game, picking off other players as they come to them. Generally, this position gives that individual an advantage over other players and in many cases, helps defend an item or objective. For example, in the computer game Quake, a player may position himself or herself on a platform with the rail gun, allowing him or her to shoot other players without allowing them the ability to fight back easily. Generally, a player who camps too much is looked down upon by the other players.

Carebear
A derogatory term given to other online game players who only want to take the easy way and/or make the game as non-challenging as possible. For example, when referring to a MMORPG game players may refer to servers that are non-PvP as carebear servers.

Chain mail
1. Also known as a chain letter, a chain mail is a forwarded e-mail sent unbeknown to e-mail contacts containing false information and/or a myth because of sympathy or a scare.
2. When referring to a game or armor, the term chainmail is used to describe a type of armor that is made by connecting a series of small rings together. Chainmail is commonly more protective than ringmail armor.

Class
1. Term used in object-oriented programming to refer to a set of related objects that share common characteristics. Classes and the ability to create new classes are what make object-oriented programming a powerful and flexible programming model.
2. When referring to a game, a class is a type of character based off abilities. For example, warrior and mage are both examples of game classes, a warrior is often strong can withstand a lot of damage but doesn't often deal much damage. A mage class is the complete opposite, a class that can often deal a lot of damage but can't take much.

Con
1. A MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows reserved word.
2. When referring to games con is short for consider and is an ability or command used to find out additional information about the targeted creature or player. For example in the MMORPG game EverQuest a player can type: /con to find out additional information about the target.
3. Another term used to describe a type of deception or trick. For example, phishing is a type of con that often deceives the user to give away their log in information.
4. Any type of negative feedback or lack of features of a product.
5. Short for conference, con is used as an abbreviation when describing a conference or other get together. For example, DEF CON is an example of where this term is used.

Credits
In general, refers to a listing of all the people who helped develop and brought a product to the public. For example, after a computer game has been completed, it may list the credits of all the people who helped develop, design, test and bring the game to the public.

CS
1. When referring to disk drives such as a hard disk drive or CD-ROM drive CS is short for Cable select.
2. Short for Customer Service.
3. Abbreviation used for Computer Science.
4. Frequent abbreviation used to describe the Half-Life mod Counter-Strike.
5. Short for Code Segment.

CTF
Short for Capture The Flag, CTF is a type of game played in first person shooter (FPS) games where a user must get to an enemy's base, grab their flag and bring it back to their base's flag without dying. The team with the most flag captures wins the game.

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