Internet Gaming slang
Following is a small glossary of internet gaming slang, mainly of use to 'newbs'. I would like to thank NTL for making the compilation of this glossary possible, and my nephews, Liam and Paul, for keeping my interest in computer games alive. Without their endless demonstrations of new games machines and games I would not have been able to write even this partial glossary.
Adventure Game
A game emphasising story and adventure at the expense of action.
AFK
Acronym: "Away from Keyboard." Used to let other players know that you have had to temporarily leave your computer unattended.
AGGRO
Aggro, short for aggression, is used to indicate the level of hostility between two players or a bot (see bot) and a player/players.
Air Snipe
Shooting somebody with a long-range weapon. Air-sniping usually refers to an act of sniping requiring a high degree of skill, e.g. because of the clumsy nature of the weapon used.
Avatar
The on-screen representation of the player. In first person shooters (see FPS),from the point of view of the player they see only what the avatar sees, not the avatar itself.
Base Rape
Opposing teams often have designated 'bases' or safe areas within which respawning of personnel and equipment takes place. Base rape refers to the act of the opposing team entering this area and destroying items/players found therein.
BBL
Acronym: 'Be Back Later'. Used when a player is leaving a game, intending to return.
Blessed
Used to refer to objects which cannot be removed from a character under any circumstances (see also No Drop).
Boss
A bot appearing at the end of a level in a level based game. The boss will typically be a much tougher challenge than any of the bots you have faced in the game so far.
Bot
1.) Computer controlled character. 2.) Excellent player (rare).
BRB
Acronym: 'Be Right Back'. Used when a player is leaving one area in a game intending to return later.
Brick
A powerful player. Such players may engage in twinking (see twinking) with less experienced players.
BRT
Acronym: 'Be Right There'. Used when a player is moving towards a player/area, typically at the request/suggestion of a player. (see also OMW).
BTW
Acronym: 'By The Way'. Use as in general English.
Buff
The act of preparing for combat, e.g. 'I buffed up before entering that zone'.
Camp
To camp is to hide in an easily defended place with a powerful weapon picking off other players with impunity. One may also camp at a respawn point, for example to wait for re-appearance of a powerful weapon. Camping is a widely disapproved of behaviour in the on-line gaming community.
Cheesy
Adjective with negative meaning. If something is cheesy it is undesirable e.g. 'no cheesy lurking'
CMAP
Acronym: 'Cover My Ass Partner'. A request for assistance from a fellow player.
CMP
Acronym: 'Cover Me Partner'. See CMAP.
Con
A shortened form of 'consider'. A suggestion to a fellow player to pause and think before taking action.
CU
Farewell. (See also CYA).
Cya
See CU.
Death Match
Gladiatorial combat between two players. The aim is for one player to kill the other. The combat is typically honourable - there is rarely a grudge being settled in a death match, and hence it is quite distinct from a duel. (also known as a Delete Match).
Debuff
The post-combat removal of pre-combat preparations (See also buff).
Delete Match
See Death Match.
DOT
Acronym: 'Damage Over Time'. If an attack causes continuing damage rather than one-off damage, it causes DOT. DOT may result in death, or it may be able to be stopped through the discovery of a cure/antidote.
Dupe
The act of cheating by exploiting a bug which permits for duplicates of an object to be created.
Emote
The expression of emotion.
EPs
See Exp.
Exp
A concept originating from role-playing-games, Exp is short for experience and gives a measure of a characters experience. In some games, the accumulation of experience allows players access to abilities denied to players with limited experience.
Farming
Where a player camps on an area for the purpose of gathering respawned objects, they are said to be farming this respawn area. The usual purpose of this activity is to trade the items with other players.
FFA
Acronym: 'Free For All'. Similar to a death match, but with multiple players.
Flame
The act of sending abusive messages to somebody on-line, e.g. 'He flamed me for fragging him'.
FPS
Acronym: 'First-Person Shooter'. A game in which the player sees the world from the point of view of a particular avatar. Games such as Quake are good examples of this genre.
Frag
Orig: US military slang. In the US military this act was (and is) the act of trying to blow up members of your own army with a grenade. The word was coined in the Vietnam war where the target of fragging was typically the officer class. In on-line gaming, the verb frag roughly corresponds to kill. It has no friendly fire connotations in on-line gaming. Related to the word fragment in general English, though frag now has a quite distinct meaning.
FWIW
Acronym: 'For What It's Worth'.
FYI
Acronym: 'For Your Information'.
G2G
Acronym: 'Good to Go'. Origin: American English. Indicates that a player is ready to begin playing.
Gank
To be killed unfairly, either as one was unprepared, or because the combat was hopelessly uneven. Ganking is an act which is disapproved of by the online community of gamers. See also Jump.
GF
Acronym: 'Good Fight'. Note, however, that on bulletin boards and the like this is more likely to mean girlfriend.
GG
Acronym: Either 'Good Game' or 'Great Game'.
GGA
Acronym: 'Good Game All'
GHA
Acronym: 'Good Hand All'. Used in on-line card-games.
Gib
1.) To blow a body to pieces. Typically the body in question is a dead one. 2.) A piece of matter produced by the act of gibbing.
GJP
Acronym: 'Good Job Partner'.
GL
Acronym: 'Good Luck'.
GM
A person appointed by a company that has manufactured a game to act in response to comments from players about playability issues with the game.
Godhood
Players achieve godhood when they become so masterful at a game that they are virtually unassailable.
Grief Player
See Griefer.
Griefer
A player who tries to spoil the fun of other players by harassing them. This behaviour is disapproved of by on-line gamers, and consequently griefer is a term of abuse.
GTG
See G2G.
Heh
Used to question a statement or express a lack of understanding. Equivalent to 'Eh?' in spoken English.
Hehe
An expression of amusement.
High pinger
See ping
Hit Points
Players usually have hit points or some other level of health associated with their avatar. When hit points get to zero, the player's avatar dies. Numeric hit points are not uncommon in games, though health bars, which express the health of the character via a health meter, often using colour coding to indicate a general state of health (green for good health, red for dangerously poor health) are more common.
HPW
Acronymn: 'High Ping Whiner'. A player with a slow internet connection. See ping.
IMHO
Acronym: 'In My Humble Opinion'.
IMO
Acronym: 'In My Opinion'.
IRL
Acronym: 'In Real Life'. Used by gamers to indicate that they are conveying information about their real selves as opposed to their game persona.
Iz
A spelling variant of 'is', though may also appear where 'are' would be used in standard English.
J/K
See JK.
JK
Acronym: 'Just Kidding'. Used to indicate that a remark should be taken in jest.
Jump
To kill dishonourably. Equivalent to gank.
K
Shortened for of Okay.
Kewl
Spelling variant of cool 1.)expressing the view that something is impressive; 2.) acting as an affirmative.
Kill Stealing
Where one is about to kill something, but another player kills it first, then the other player has engaged in the act of kill stealing.
Kiting
The act of hovering at the extreme range of a weapon one is using, and then dipping in and out of range to use the weapon to inflict damage on another player or a bot.
KOS
Acronym: 'Kill On Sight'. An instruction to other members of one's team to attack a particular player or bot on sight.
L33T
Used of players who think themselves better than others or elite. This word has negative connotations.
Lag
Where a pause/slow moving action is caused by network problems.
Lag Death
When the game server causes slow, or even frozen, action sequences and this results in a player being able to gain a kill, the player has scored a lag death. These kills are not viewed as skilful or desirable.
Lag Kill
See lag death.
LMAO
Acronym: 'Laughing My Arse Off'. The expression if intense amusement.
LOL
Acronym: 'Laughing Out Loud'. The expression of amusement.
Loot
After gaining a kill, players may pick up or otherwise gain some objects. The objects are referred to as loot, while the act of gaining them is referred to as looting. Those players on the receiving end of looting are said to have been looted.
Low Pinger
See ping
LPB
Acronym: 'Low Ping Bully'. A player who exploits their high speed internet connection (see low pinger) in order to attack players with low speed internet connections. This is an act frowned upon in the on-line gaming community.
Massively Multiplayer
Games which can host a large number of players on-line are termed massively multiplayer.
MOB
Used to refer to a large group of attacking enemies, typically monsters.
NCP
Acronym: 'Nice Cover Partner'
Newb
An person new to on-line gaming. Can be used to insult those who betray their newness by displaying an ignorance of on-line gaming rules and etiquette.
Newbie
See Newb
NHA
Acronym: 'Nice Hand All'. Used in on-line card games.
No Drop
See blessed.
NP
Acronym: 'No Problem'. Used to indicate that a player would find no difficulty in pursuing a requested course of action.
NSP
Acronym: 'Nice Set Partner'. Used in on-line card games.
NSU2
Acronym: 'Nice Set You Two'. Used in on-line card games.
OMG
Acronym: 'Oh My God'. An expression of surprise.
OMW
Acronym: 'On My Way'. Used by players to announce their imminent arrival in a particular area/zone.
OOC
Acronym: 'Out Of Character'. Used in same sense as IRL.
Packet
Computers send and receive information across networks in packets. As a rough rule of thumb, the higher the level of detail that a game has, the more packets it will have to ship across the network in order to allow a player to participate in an on-line game. The more packet hungry a game is, the more issues of bandwidth become crucial for high pingers.
Ping
This refers to the connection speed of a machine. Pings are messages sent between computers on a network to establish that they can communicate with one another. When your computer pings another computer, the time lag between it sending its ping and receiving a ping in return will determine whether you are a high pinger or a low pinger. High pingers will have to wait a long time - low pingers will have to wait for a very short time. The speed of the network indicated by the ping is crucial for game play. Packet hungry games (see packet) need a low pinging connection to be truly effective.
PKer
A 'Player Killer'. A killjoy who focuses exclusively on killing other players, often using underhand methods.
Power-Up
Often an object available in a game which, when used, will significantly enhance the avatar's abilities temporarily. Power-ups may, for example, be a way of buffing up (see buff) before an important battle.
PvP
Acronym: 'Player Versus Player'. General term used to refer to a combat between two players in a game.
Reload
The time in which a player is vulnerable as they must reload a weapon they are using because it has run out of ammunition.
Respawn
1.) as a noun, the place where players re-enter a game after death, or where certain items, when taken, are eventually replicated; 2.) as a verb respawn refers to the process of reappearance at a respawn, though the verbal form is usually used of players returning rather than objects.
RL
Acronym: 'Real Life'. Used in the same sense as IRL.
Rocket Jumping
Gaining the ability to jump higher than usual in a game by detonating a rocket beneath your avatar and then using the shock wave from the rocket to enhance a simultaneous jump by the avatar. This is dangerous, as you may well kill your character if this action is mistimed. In some games the action may not be allowed at all.
ROFL
Acronym: 'Rolling On the Floor Laughing'. An expression of amusement.
ROFLMAO
Acronym: 'Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Arse Off'. An intensified form of ROFL.
Room Preparation
Orig: US military euphemism. In advance of entering a room which may contain hostile enemies, one may prepare the room by throwing explosives into the room the hope that this will frag any hostile occupants. This process is referred to as room preparation.
Roxxors
The equivalent of saying 'It Rock's'. An expression noting approval and admiration.
RTFM
Acronym: 'Read The Fucking Manual'. Newbies often irritate seasoned players by asking questions which, had the Newbie read the game manual, they would not need to ask. The response to such questions is often RTFM.
RTS
Acronym: 'Real Time Strategy'. A type of game where resources and armies are managed in real time rather than on a turn by turn basis.
Rush
A tactic wherby one builds up forces rapidly at the beginning of a game and then launch them in an all out assault on another player, the hope being that you will knock the other player out before they have a chance to establish themselves as a threat.
SIAP
Acronym: 'Sorry In Advance Partner'.
Skiing
Using a slope to increase the velocity of an avatar's movement.
Snapshooting
Snapshooting is where one knows that another player or bot is about to enter one's field of view, so one aims a shot to hit the target as it comes.
Sniping
Picking off players and bots at long range with a powerful weapon.
Spam
The process of repeating a message ad nauseam until somebody takes notice of you. The meaning of this term is derived from the process of sending electronic junk mail, also termed spam.
Spawn
A place where an object or bot is known to appear in a game.
Spawn Point
See spawn.
Suxxors
Equivalent to saying 'It Suck's'. An expression of diaproval.
Tank
A powerful player who can sustain and dispense a great deal of damage.
Tanking
Tanking is where a team use a tank player to draw enemy fire while engaging the enemy.
Text Adventure
A game with little or no graphical features, rather the game is text based. These games tend to focus solely on adventure/problem solving rather than action.
Text Parser
The text interface to a text adventure.
Train
A powerful bot which, when engaged, will pursue a character until either the player or bot are killed.
Training
Training entails leading a train to another character or bot in the hope that the train will attack them rather than you.
Twinking
The process whereby an experienced player helps a new player to develop the know-how and wherewithal to play a game effectively.
Uber
Orig: German. An intensifier, e.g. uber boss, uber low pinger.
UR
Acronym: 'you are'. May also stand for your.
Warez
Illegally copied software.
Warp
When network connection problems (e.g. high pinging) effect a player, packets may be received by the game server in clumps. While no packets are being received, the player's avatar may freeze. When a batch of packets arrive, the avatar may be suddenly whisked along to where the packets state that the avatar should finally be. This process is called warping.
WB
Acronym: 'Welcome Back'. Used to greet returning players.
WTF
Acronym: 'What The Fuck'. An expression of anger or disbelief.
WTG
Acronym: 'Way To Go'. A way of congratulating another player on doing well.
WTGP
See WTG.
XPs
See Exp.
Zone
A zone is a particular area in a game domain on a game server.