9 Genshin Impact, Fortnite, and Minecraft Terms Gamer Parents Need to Know

The gaming industry has created its own language with many technical terms, specific descriptions and slang expressions – it’s easy to lose track. Gamer parents should at least know these 9 terms.

9 gaming terms parents need to know

Gamers have their own colloquial and technical language with many terms that have become established in the community in recent years and decades. These include Abbreviations as well as industry names and slang expressions. Here are 9 terms that all gamer parents should definitely have heard of.

Free to Play (F2P for short) refers to games that can be played for free. In recent years, more and more games have gone this way, many of which focus on a multiplayer mode. Well-known representatives include: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone and Diablo Immortal.

One thing to note about free-to-play games is that they push users to spend money in other ways. This is mostly done through outfits, weapons or other items that can only be unlocked through an in-game purchase. In many cases players have to invest real money in in-game currency, with which they can then buy the coveted objects. These games are often not free to play – quite the opposite.

Loot refers to objects that players can loot in games – depending on the game, these can be weapons, outfits, potions or other useful items that are given out as a reward for in-game successes. Collecting loot belongs in many franchises such as Borderlands, Destiny or Diablo to the gameplay concept.

Loot boxes are chests (or other containers) that contain loot. The boxes sometimes have to be purchased in games for real money, without players knowing in advance exactly what they are going to get. For this reason count (paid) Loot boxes among the most criticized aspects of the industrybecause from the point of view of many it is just a game of chance.

Skins refer to alternative looks for characters in video games. In many cases, this is simply a new outfit, but other physical appearance characteristics can also be changed. Skins are mostly purely cosmetic items have no impact on gameplaybut in some games they also give gamers certain special abilities.

Depending on the game, different skins can be unlocked through achievements or must be purchased for real money via the in-game shop become.

Gacha is a Japanese term for a small toy that can be won in a slot machine. The slot machine principle is seamlessly transferred to the video game industry by so-called gacha games. There are different variants of this principle, but the main point is always Real money for a chance at particularly rare items and characters investing in the game without knowing in advance whether the attempt will be successful.

The game mechanics, like loot boxes, are highly addictive and are widely criticized in the community, even if some gacha games could theoretically be played without investing real money. Examples of gacha games are Genshin Impact, Raid: Shadow Legends and Fire Emblem Heroes.

MMO stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Game, while MMORPG denotes a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. So, in short, these are games that require an online connection and in which numerous players from all over the world are traveling and either compete against each other or work together to reach certain matches, as appropriate.

Many MMORPGs are set in a fantasy world, as is often the case for role-playing games, but science fiction settings are also popular – well-known examples are World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 14, EVE Online and The Elder Scrolls Online.

In addition to role-playing games, the umbrella term MMO also includes representatives from other genres, in particular shooters such as Fortnite and Apex Legends are extremely popular. But also Games of other genres such as Roblox or Minecraft can be counted among them.

Battle Royale is a popular multiplayer genre where a fixed number of players compete against each other online, until there is only one of them left. The term is borrowed from the 2000 Japanese film of the same name (which in turn is based on a novel), in which a group of high school students must fight against each other on an island.

Many video games have now implemented the Last Man Standing concept with great success. Among the best-known representatives are Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, PUBG and Apex Legends.

DLC stands for Downloadable Content and refers to additional and expanding content for a game created by the developers either free of charge or for a purchase price that is usually lower in comparison to provide.

DLC can be released in many different forms and scales, from cosmetic items like clothes to new challenges in the main game, new maps and levels, and standalone story adventures. Well-known examples of DLCs are the horse armor in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, The Witcher 3 story expansion Blood & Wine, and the prequel The Last of Us: Left Behind.

A Battle Pass is a model in which players have the opportunity, mostly for a limited time, to unlock items such as skins and characters through in-game successes. In general, in this context, at the same time a Premium Battle Pass offered for real moneywhich allows players to earn more items that would otherwise not be available.

With a Season Pass, on the other hand, current or future DLCs can be purchased or pre-ordered become. Season Pass coverage may vary by game – examples include Overwatch 2, Halo Infinite, and Marvel’s Avengers, among others.

The term grinding refers to the completion of monotonous and often repetitive tasks in video games. Grinding is often necessary to Level up characters or items or to get better loot. Depending on the intensity and game, grinding is perceived as more or less negative by most players.

A certain kind of grinding can now be found in many games from different genres. For example, in the past Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Final Fantasy 14 and RuneScape criticized for their grind mechanics.