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Glossary Glossary
art movement: Particular dominant style or
technique. (9)
articles of incorporation: Charter that is a
legal document outlining how a business will
be organized and managed. (1)
articulation: Bending and positioning of
movable parts. (11)
artifi cial intelligence (AI): Computer science
and engineering to make machines think and
behave on their own. (5)
asset: Any element in a game, such as
characters, objects, backgrounds, sounds, and
visual elements. (1)
asset manager: Team member who keeps
track of all art assets being produced
and makes sure each asset is designed to
specifi cations, catalogued, and properly
stored. (10)
asymmetrical balance: Use of similar objects
to create balance, or the use of color and light
balance instead of object balance; also called
informal balance. (9)
asymmetry: A work, such as an artistic
composition, in which the elements are not at
all balanced. (9)
atomic challenge: Smallest component of the
action.
attribute: Characteristic associated with an
object. (12)
audience: Group of typical players the game
is targeted to attract. (4)
audience appeal: Measure of how attracted
an audience is to something. (4)
aura: Energy fi eld around an object or
character that serves to highlight it. (11)
automated simulation: Requires no input
once the simulation has started. (13)
avatar: Image used to represent the player in
the game. (2)
B B
background music: Artifi cial ambient
sound. (5)
backlight: Used to add a sense of depth to
the scene by illuminating the back of the
primary object. (10)
back-offi ce tasks: Administrative activities
and tasks such as keeping score and tracking
the health level of the player character. (5)
Bayeux tapestry: Famous embroidered cloth
nearly 230 feet long that records the battle of
Hastings in which the Normans successfully
invaded England in 1066. (9)
beta testers: Loyal customers and players
who play trial versions before the game is
available to the general public. (1)
beta version: More polished iteration of the
alpha version. (1)
big boss: Most powerful enemy in the game. (2)
bit rate: Number of bits of data transferred
per second; refers to the number of bits of
information recorded for every unit of time,
such as bits per second (bit/s). (8)
boom mount: Places the microphone at
the end of a long overhead pole so the
microphone can be placed above the source
being recorded. (8)
boon: Benefi t or favor granted in response to
a request. (6)
boss: Second-most powerful antagonist in the
game. (2)
bot: In video games, a program that controls
the movement and actions of a game
character; short for robot. (5)
brainstorming: Recording as many ideas
as possible without sorting, editing, or
eliminating any of the ideas. (3)
branching story: Story that has several paths
that branch from decision points. (3)
bug level: See bug type. (1)