Don't know what n00b, nerf, or camping mean? Look no further than this illustrated gaming dictionary from Inverse.
Gaming terms to add to your vocabulary
Video game terms have crept into mainstream media, politics, sports, cooking, and pop music. COINED is an ongoing guide from your friends at Inverse that explains the origins.
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Explore the Origins
COINED is the Inverse guide to the language of video game culture.
"Open-World" Some of the best video games give you free rein over vast and enchanting virtual worlds — and players can’t get enough. Grand Theft Auto V …
"Teabagging" In the spring of 2018, things got ugly at a high-stakes esports match between the Philadelphia Fusion and the Shanghai Dragons, two teams …
"ProTips" Asking for advice online about pretty much any video game will result in two types of responses. There are the good-guy gamers who will let …
"Ludonarrative dissonance" On Friday, June 19, New York Times readers came across an article that seemed unusual for the nearly 170-year-old …
(Q_Q) Trash talk will forever be a part of any competition. Chess grandmasters do it, professional athletes have basically turned it into a science, …
Cheating has been, and always will be, an intrinsic part of video games. Since the dawn of competitive gaming, there have always been players who will …
If you’ve ever heard gamers talking about Smurfs, chances are they weren’t talking about those blue cartoon creatures. They were probably talking …
In October 2016, something weird happened, something that only fans of a recent, but already popular, video game could understand. A billboard went up …
Sometimes the most memorable part of a video game, movie, or show isn’t the main story, it’s the weird tangent a character takes in the middle of …
On Monday, May 11, CNN readers stumbled across something weird: an obtuse video game meme jammed into the latest opinion column from political pundit …
The line between compliment and insult is a lot thinner than it may seem. Words that start out as insults become compliments, and friendly comments …
In late 2018, just weeks before the U.S. midterm election, a term any gamer would recognize began to bubble up into political conversation. NPC (short …
Since their inception in the early 20th century, tanks have been iron-clade mobile fortresses busts through frontlines to carve a path for …
Like a farmer who spends months tending to their crops, gamers also work for a hard-earned bounty. With Animal Crossing: New Horizons serving as a …
Luck and video games have been one and the same since the dawn of gaming. Even titles that developers spend countless hours balancing, like Fortnite …
Smack talk is an inescapable part of any kind of competitive activity. Whether you’re playing pick-up basketball or squadding up in Call of Duty: …
Gamers can be split into countless subcultures and categories based on the genre they favor or their style of play. First-person shooter fanatics are …
The most legendary moments in gaming history are defined by their high steaks, top-tier gameplay, and, most importantly, the packs of screeching fans …
The act of abruptly abandoning a game in a fit of frustration has been around since the dawn of competitive board games. Video games transformed rage …
Playing an online game for the first time can feel like joining a geeky fraternity or sorority. You’re going to get hazed. Only instead of being …
Competitive games can turn lifelong friends into furious rivals. One second you’re hanging in your buddy’s living room, the next you’re …
The rules of a popular online video game fundamentally change more times in a single year than most traditional sports change in an entire lifetime. …