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Video Game Design Foundations
triangle lighting: Traditional way to
illuminate a scene; consists of three lights:
key light, fill light or flood light, and
backlight. (10)
trickster: Character who tries to distract the
hero from the objective. (2)
trigger pull: Button press. (4)
triple-A game: Game that generates a large
portion of a game studio’s sales. (1)
trivial task: Task that has no point or purpose
and does not move a game story forward. (3)
Trompe l’oeil: Translates to “fool the eye”;
perspective, depth, and shadow are used to
create ultra-realistic scenes. (9)
tuning: When a game is polished to
perfection. (1)
tweeners: Assistant artists who draw each
frame or cel between keyframes. (11)
tweening: Process of drawing each frame or
cel between keyframes. (11)
tweens: Frames between keyframes. (11)
typical player profile: Document that
outlines the common characteristics of the
group that is most likely to play the game. (4)
U
unique selling point (USP): What makes
your game different or unique from
other games; also called unique selling
proposition. (1)
unique selling proposition (USP): See
unique selling point. (1)
unit: Any maneuverable game asset. (6)
unity: Appears as a single piece and not an
assembly of different parts. (9)
upgrade: Choice a player makes to obtain
better equipment, weapons, magic, abilities,
and so on. (2)
use case: Details the path an entity takes in a
simulation. (13)
UV sphere: Constructed of rectangular and
triangular polygons. (10)
V
value: Use of light and dark to add highlight,
shading, or shadows. (9)
vanishing point: Point at which parallel lines
meet. (9)
variable: Small information-storage
containers. (12)
variety: Purposeful absence of harmony to
create visual or contextual interest; also called
alternation. (9)
vector image: Stores image data as a
mathematical definition, not pixel-by-pixel
data. (10)
vector: Direction of force. (11, 12)
velocity: Speed of an object. (11)
vertex shading: Moving the points on an
object to resize it such that the object appears
smaller in the distance. (9)
vestibular: Acting like a vestibule. (13)
vicarious immersion: Designer imagining
himself or herself in place of the player to
experience the gameplay. (4)
vicariously: When a player lives through the
in-game character, he or she imagines the
experiences of the character as if they were
happening directly to the player. (2)
victory condition: What it takes to win a
game. (1)
video director: Team member who creates
the cinematic cut scenes between levels
or records video for use in promotional
materials. (10)