New to gaming? Here’s 10 terms to help you fit in

Gaming is growing at a rapid rate in South Africa. Leagues such as Telkom VS Gaming are growing exponentially, catering to over 100,000 registered gamers in the country. For the non-gamer, this may all seem like a foreign concept but, for those who have embraced this world, gaming has become a way of life.  

However, non-gamers can easily pick up the lingo to help them understand the gaming scene, whether they are a parent, uncle or aunt with kids or teenagers who love gaming, or anyone wanting to get closer to it all.

Here is a list of the most common terms, along with their definitions for you to familiarize yourself.

Noob

If you are new to the gaming scene, get ready to be called ‘Noob’. This means ‘newbie’ – someone who is an inexperienced player and new to the gaming world.

Bots

In gaming, a bot refers to a computer-controlled character. These are all non-player characters (NPCs) in a game, including the ones you take on as a player and those that are on your side. Most multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and other competitive online games have forbidden bots because they can be used to gain points and experience when a player is not physically on the computer.

Grinding

Grinding is when someone spends time doing repetitive tasks within a game, to unlock a particular game item, gain benefits such as weapons or to build the experience needed to get better at the game. Grinding often involves killing the same set of opponents over and over, to gain points.

Adds

Every gamer hates these, these are the additional enemies that appear during your encounters with a boss (a boss is a significant computer-controlled opponent who is generally stronger than other opponents). They force you to multitask as you have to simultaneously take them out while still doing damage to the actual boss.

Camping

This is when a player finds a position within a map/level to wait for other players, NPC’s (Bots) or in-game items to appear. This strategy is known as “camping”. In most cases, players or “campers” find positions that give them a strategic upper hand over their opponents.

Easter Eggs

Most movie and series fans are familiar with this term, similarly it refers to hidden messages, images and features within a game. This can come in the form of funny messages, a nod to a previous edition of a series, references to movies/celebs/memes and many more. Easter eggs are hidden by developers for gamers to find.

Hacking / Hacker

Hacking or Hacker means cheating or a cheater – if a player is being called a hacker, it means that other players/opponents are accusing them of cheating in some way. On those days where you are utterly dominating your opponents be prepared for someone to call you out as a “hacker”, don’t let it kill your winning spree, keep it up, it only means you are getting better.

FPS

The acronym has mainly two meanings…

1)    FPS is an abbreviation for “First-Player Shooter”, referring to a shooting game. In this type of game, you see the world through the character’s eyes that you are controlling instead of behind them.

2)    FPS can also be used to describe ones “Frames Per Second” and speaks about the number of frames per second your computer is able to push out. The higher the frames the faster the computer.

Ragequit

This is when a player gets so enraged during a game that they abruptly abandon it, stop playing and leave. This often happens when gamers are frustrated due to poor performance or defeat.

Stomp

Stomp or getting stomped means things are going badly. In this instance, the losing player/team is simply at a point of no return and unable to regain control of the game.

 Now you should be ready to pick up a controller with these terms making it easier for you to understand gaming lingo. With enough practice you will begin to understand the gaming scene and get ready to play or enter gaming leagues like the VS Gaming Masters and Championships. 

* Visit www.vsgaming.co.za to register to play and get ready for a world of gaming.