Gaming Glossary
Game Time
Games for Grownups
Avatar: The third-person character in a videogame, such as Grand Theft Auto, that the player controls.
Circlestrafing: Circling an opponent in a first-person shooter game (see below) to disorient him and evade attack.
First-person shooter (F.P.S.): A genre of videogame in which the player shoots from a first-person perspective. Popular first-person shooters include Halo, Quake, and Counter-Strike.
Fragging: Killing another character in a first-person shooter game. Derived from U.S. military slang. Gamers gain points for fragging opponents but may lose points for fragging teammates or themselves (by, say, falling down a hole).
Handle: An alias used by a gamer.
Kill stealing: A dishonorable practice in which a player steals the awards that another player has received for killing an enemy.
Multiplayer game: A videogame where more than one person can play at the same time using computer networking or a game system.
Quake: A first-person shooter, launched by Id Software in 1996, that developed into Quake II, Quake III Arena, and Quake 4. The series has sold more than 4 million copies altogether.
Respawning: The re-creation of a player’s character or some other entity at the end of a round or after the entity has been killed.
Strafing: In first-person shooter games, sidestepping or tilting one’s body to the side to make a better shot.






