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GLOSSARY
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Deformable
Terrain: In 3D computer games, the ability to change the
environment by modelling the effects of vehicles and explosives on
terrain. |
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Design for Effect:
Remembered now as John Hill's explanation for some of the game
mechanics of
Squad
Leader,
Alan Emrich defined it as a game abstracting complex procedures for
the sake of simplicity, or in his words, "so that the players can
get straight to the 'boom'." He added: "That
is, when the designer does all the work so the players can have all
the fun." 1Emrich contrasted this with
Design
for Cause
which he
described as a design that has players following "all of the logical
steps and procedures to obtain an outcome." |
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Design Your Own
(DYO): Term used in board wargames to describe either a
scenario created for one-time use without historical references. The
term can also refer to a system used to facilitate such creation. PC
games often have a DYO capability, but the term does not seem to get
applied. See Mission Builder. |
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Die:
A randomizer. The most commonly used in wargames is a six-sided die.
Clever wargamers have come to know the odds associated of achieving
various rolls with two six-sided dice, knowing that there are only
36 possible outcomes. The first game ever released with a 10-sided
die was Tanktics, a set of miniatures rules covering armoured
warfare in the Second World War. |
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Dice:
Plural of die. |
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Dice Cup:
A small cup used to jumble dice in before throwing to ensure
sufficient randomization. |
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Dice Tower:
An object used to facilitate the throwing of dice; uses gravity to
jumble dice and provides a small flat surface for the dice to come
to rest on and be easily read. Preferable by many to using a box lid
or dice cup so as to save space on the table top and prevent wild
dice from hitting the game board and displacing counters. |
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Dog:
An unpopular game or scenario, possibly due to a perception it is
unbalanced or unwinnable by one side, or because it is simply not
fun whether due to poor design or workmanship. |
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Double-Blind:
Playing a board game using two identical copies of the game,
with each player able to see only his own copy and those enemy units
that a neutral referee determines he is able to see. |
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DOS-based:
A PC game designed to run within DOS (Disc Operating System);
that is to say, outside of the Windows environment. The disadvantage
of DOS-based games is that other applications cannot be accessed
while the game is running.
Notes
1.
http://www.alanemrich.com/Class/Class_PGD_glossary.htm |
