The Most Common Gaming Terms Every Beginner Should Know About

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Moiz Banoori

At Tech4Gamers, he is recognized for his insightful features and opinion pieces, where he blends his passion for gaming with a keen understanding of technological trends. His work, marked by depth and accessibility, makes him a respected voice in the tech and gaming community.

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Back in the day, when I started as a PC gamer, I always wondered about gaming and PC tech terms and would get confused about their meaning and purpose. 

For those of you who have recently started your PC gaming journey and are looking forward to making things much simpler. Let me do that for you by sharing some of the most common gaming terms every gamer should know about.

1. FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR)

FidelityFX Super Resolution or FSR, is an upscaling technology made by AMD that basically lowers the internal resolution of the game and then upscales it back to maintain high FPS and clear image quality.

2. Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS)

Deep Learning Super Sampling is a Nvidia-exclusive upscaling technique like the FSR. However, this is hardware-based and runs on only compatible graphics cards, unlike FSR. 

3. Frame Per Second (FPS)

Frame per second, or FPS, means the frame that a game or video is generating in one second. The higher the FPS, the smoother the experience will be.

4. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)

VRR is a kind of technology that monitors and TVs possess; those monitors and TVs adjust and match their refresh rate according to the FPS of the content. It eliminates screen tearing and distracting stutters. 

5. Overclocking

With overclocking, we can increase the performance of your components by increasing their clock speeds and power.

6. Field of View (FOV)

In layman’s terms, FOV means the amount of area you can see on your screen. You can adjust the FOV through in-game settings to your liking. Do note that increasing FOV can affect your in-game performance as well.

7. Heads-Up Display (HUD)

The information you see on screen during a game is called HUD. The information includes an in-game map, your current objective, the player’s health, position, gear, etc.

10. Downloadable Content (DLC)

The additional game content that the developers release after the base game. It contains additional story missions and cosmetic items and is mostly paid, with a few exceptions. 

11. Patch

Patch notes are the regular updates for a game that bring fixes for bugs and other optimization-related stuff, along with additional game content.

12. Microtransactions

Microtransactions are the separate purchases players invest in to procure paid cosmetic items, in-game currency, or special moves. 

13. Season Pass

A season pass usually comes at a discounted price and offers a lot of content for a game that otherwise would cost more if purchased separately.

14. Mods

These are the fan-made modifications that are developed for a particular game.

15. Matchmaking

Matchmaking is a system for multiplayer games in which it finds and pairs players looking to play in the same match category.

16. Role-Playing Game (RPG)

RPG is a genre of game where the player has to make decisions that can influence the world and story of the game’s protagonist. 

17. First-Person Shooter (FPS)

FPS is a game genre in which you play from the protagonist’s perspective and feel yourself more immersed in the game. Games like Call of Duty and Battlefield are examples of the FPS genre.

18. Third-Person Shooter (TPS)

TPS is another game genre in which you play from behind the protagonist and can see him doing actions of your choice. 

19. AAA Game

Big developers typically create AAA games because they can invest a significant amount of money into the game’s development. These games have high-quality graphics and a lot of content.

20. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)

MOBA is a distinct type of strategy game in which you control an individual game character within a match.

21. Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)

MMO is a game genre in which a large number of players share an online in-game world. 

22. Cloud Gaming 

In cloud gaming, you can remotely play games on any compatible device over the internet. The image quality depends on the quality of your internet connection.

23. Battle Royale

In Battle Royale game mode, hundreds of players compete with each other and survive until there’s only one left. The last player standing wins the match.

24. Indie Game

Indie games are made by a solo developer or a small studio with a limited budget and distinctive gameplay.

25. Cross-Platform Gaming

Cross-platform gaming means we can play with players on different platforms, like a PC player playing with console players.

26. Loot Box

It’s a container within a game that you have to purchase to get the random items offered by the game but hidden behind a paywall.

27. Hotkey

Hotkeys are custom keyboard shortcuts that you can set for a special function. 

Enough to Get Started 

Starting as a beginner with knowledge of these terms is enough to make you understand most of the things happening in the PC gaming community, as it did for me.

Moiz Banoori

Moiz Banoori, with a decade of experience in gaming and tech journalism and a degree in journalism, is a notable figure in the industry. He has contributed to various esteemed platforms, showcasing his expertise in both reporting and opinion writing.