Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
LAN parties
Multiplayer networked play in which all the players are in the same
location but each has her own machine networked to the others over a local-area
network (LAN).
level
Ordinarily refers to a portion of a video game, usually with its own victory
condition, that the player must complete before moving on to the next portion. Levels
are often, but not always, completed in a prescribed sequence. In storytelling terms,
levels may be thought of as chapters; in war games, they are missions; in fighting
games, they are individual bouts; in simulations, they are scenarios. Used with a
qualifier, however, the word may take on a different meaning. See
character level
.
level exit
In a game that involves exploration, the standard transition point from
the current
level
to the next.
level warp
In a game that involves exploration, a transition point other than the
standard level exit that enables the player to jump to the next level (or even several
levels ahead) without completing the current level.
leveling up
or
leveling
In a game that implements
character levels
, the attainment
of some accomplishment (usually arriving at a threshold number of
experience
points
) that causes the character to gain a level and with it an increase in
character-
ization attributes
.
license
A contract between the owner of an intellectual property such as a charac-
ter, movie, book, or sports league, and a game developer or publisher to use that
property in a game. The term
license
is often used to refer to the property itself, as
in “Electronic Arts has the Harry Potter license.”
linear stories
Stories whose plots do not change in response to player actions.
localization
The process of modifying game content to make the game suitable
for sale in a country other than the one for which it was originally developed.
loss condition
An unambiguous true-or-false condition that determines when a
player has lost a game. Not all games have a loss condition. Many games may not
be lost; they simply remain unfinished.
magic circle
Term originally coined by Johan Huizinga to refer to physical loca-
tions in which special social rules of behavior apply. Subsequently adopted by the
game industry and other fictional media as follows: The magic circle is a theoretical
concept related to the act of
pretending
that occurs when we choose to play a game.
When we begin to
play
and agree to abide by the
rules
, we enter the magic circle.
Within the magic circle, actions that would be meaningless in the real world take
on meaning in the context of the game.
