Words for what happens while you play
Anyone who joins a game for the first time soon hears words that nobody explains. This list covers ten terms about play itself: what your character does, what the game gives you and how the world responds. Hardware vocabulary and abbreviations are handled elsewhere, so this stays with everyday in-game language.
The terms are not rules. Games and communities use them a little differently, so treat each description as the usual meaning rather than the only one.
1. Respawn
To respawn is to come back into the game after your character is defeated. Where you return depends on the game. Some place you at a fixed point, some let you choose, and some make you wait a short timer first. In a single-player story, being sent back to the last safe spot is a respawn. The word is also used for enemies and items that reappear after a while, so a “respawning” monster is one that returns after you defeat it.
2. Checkpoint
A checkpoint is a place where the game quietly records your progress. If you fail, you restart from there rather than from the beginning. Checkpoints differ from manual saves because the game decides where they are. How often they appear has a large effect on how forgiving a game feels, and the design choices are discussed under save checkpoints.
3. Loot
Loot is anything you pick up as a reward: weapons, armour, money, crafting materials or cosmetic items. It may drop from defeated enemies, sit in chests or be handed out for finishing a task. “Loot” can also be used as a verb, as in “loot the chest”. Whether a rare item appears is usually decided by chance, which is the idea behind drop rates.
4. Grinding
Grinding means repeating the same activity, such as fighting similar enemies, to gain experience or items. Some players enjoy it as a relaxed routine. Others find it dull, particularly when a game seems to require it. Calling a game “grindy” usually means progress feels slow or repetitive. Designers often try to soften this with variety, and the systems behind it are covered in progression systems.
5. Experience points and levelling up
Experience points, usually called XP, are earned by completing actions in a game. When you collect enough, you level up, which commonly makes your character stronger or unlocks new abilities. The level is a shorthand for how far along a character is. In some games the level is central; in others it barely matters.
6. Cooldown
A cooldown is the waiting time before you can use an ability again. After a powerful move, the game may lock it for a number of seconds. Cooldowns stop players from repeating the strongest action constantly and make timing a decision. When a button looks greyed out after use, it is usually on cooldown.
7. Aggro
Aggro, short for aggravation or aggression, describes an enemy’s attention. If a monster has aggro on you, it is targeting you. “Pulling aggro” means attracting enemies, deliberately or by accident. In team games, one player often tries to hold enemy attention so others can act safely. Players also say “aggro range” for the distance at which an enemy notices you.
8. Boss
A boss is a particularly strong or important enemy, often met at the end of a level or story section. Boss fights usually test what you have learned and may have several phases, meaning the enemy changes behaviour as the fight goes on. A “mini-boss” is a smaller version met earlier.
9. Farming
Farming is similar to grinding, but the goal is a specific resource or item rather than general progress. Someone “farming” a certain enemy wants what it drops. The word comes from the idea of repeatedly harvesting a source. It does not mean the game involves agriculture, though in some games it does.
10. Sandbox and open play
A sandbox game gives you tools and space and lets you decide what to do, rather than following a fixed path. Many open-world titles have sandbox elements, though the two are not the same thing. If you hear that a game is “open”, people usually mean you can approach tasks in your own order, a design topic explored under open worlds.
Putting the terms together
Here is how several of these might sound in a single sentence: “I was grinding a forest area for loot when I pulled aggro on a boss, died, and respawned at the last checkpoint.” Read piece by piece, the sentence is just a player repeating a fight for rewards, attracting a strong enemy by mistake, being defeated and starting again from a saved point.
When you meet a new word, look at what the player is doing at that moment. Almost every term is a label for something you can see on screen or feel in how the game paces itself. If one still does not make sense, ask other players. Most are glad to explain.