Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
hypersexualized
Quality of a character whose sexual attributes have been exag-
gerated to an extreme extent.
immersion
The feeling of being submerged in a form of entertainment and
unaware that you are experiencing an artificial world. Players become immersed in
several ways: tactically, strategically, and narratively.
immutable rules
Rules that may not change during play.
implicit challenge
A challenge the player is not told about directly but must infer
from the rules, observation of the game, trial and error, or by knowing what the
explicit challenges
are.
indicator
Any visual user interface element that shows the status of some impor-
tant value in the game and changes continually as the value changes. Digits, power
bars, lights, gauges,
small multiples
, and many other design elements are used as
indicators.
influence map
A map maintained internally by the game software that records
how a building in the game world landscape influences the area around it. Used to
simplify logistics by having units in the neighborhood of the building receive sup-
port automatically.
in-game events
Events performed by the core mechanics of a game as part of an
interactive story
.
in-game experience
Experience the player has gained from confronting a particu-
lar type of challenge during the course of a game. A factor in computing the
perceived difficulty
of a challenge at a given point in the game.
interaction model
The means by which the player projects her will into the game
world, which is facilitated by the user interface. Common interaction models
include
avatar-based
,
party-based
,
multipresent
,
contestant-based
,and
desktop
.
interactive fiction
Text-only adventure games played by typing on a keyboard.
interactive story
A story that a player interacts with by contributing
player events
and possibly by changing its plot through
dramatic actions
.
internal economy
The subset of the
core mechanics
that deals with the numeric
relationships among entities in the game and the way those relationships change
over time and in response to events in the game.
intrinsic skill required
The amount of skill a player must have to meet a chal-
lenge independently of time pressure, as compared to the trivial case of the same
challenge. One component of
absolute difficulty
.
