ADV |
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- "adventure game" (mostly describing choose your own adventure structure of play) |
adventure |
Typical usage: Normally, this term is used for games with BG/Sprite/Text gameplay where the text is inside a textbox. These may or may not contain sex and may or may not contain choices. Abbreviated ADV/AVG.
Examples: Kanon |
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(Western usage associates this word with point-and-click adventures) |
ANM |
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- "anime game" (mostly describing a linear gameplay with obstacles structure of play, used mostly with Desire, EVE and Chain) |
AVG |
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- "adventure game" (mostly describing choose your own adventure structure of play)
- "adult video game" (mostly describing games that contain sex or adult scenes) |
bishoujo game, b-game |
Origin: Meaning "pretty girl".
Typical usage: Games that include girl-aged (cute) characters, usually aimed at boys around their teen ages. Applicable to bishounen games in the same way.
Examples: Kanon |
Origin: JAST and PP started to use this term to describe all the games they sold, and all featured sexy anime girls. The term is not limited to girls, but also to women. Applicable to bishounen games in the same way.
Typical usage: A game where manga-style pretty girls/women take on a leading and meaningful storywise or visual role within the focus and aim of the title.
Examples: Pick Me Honey |
boy's love game, BLG, BL game, boys' love game |
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Origin: A term describing male-male relation- ships.
Typical usage: This term is used by Western fans to describe games dealing with male homosexual relationships targetted at female audience. These may or may not include sex.
Examples: Graduation, Kuro No Tsuki |
dark game |
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Origin: Fans started to use this term to describe games driven by sex and depicting rape.
Typical usage: Games featuring non-consensual sex and having low moral standards.
Examples: Virgin Roster, Tsuki |
dating sim, dating simulation, simulated love game |
Origin: Konami's Tokimeki Memorial was the first game to use the term "dating simulation" to describe itself.
Typical usage: This term may be used for games where the main objective is to create a relationship with one of its girls.
Examples: Tokimeki Memorial |
Origin: Adopted
Typical usage: Western fans often call all games one can end with a girl dating sims, including ones with BG/Sprite/Text-based gameplay. The more logical way is to describe them as games that focus on dating/picking up girls in a stats/schedule-based gameplay.
Examples: Casual Romance Club |
digital novel |
Typical usage: Sometimes used to refer to doujin works (without branches?).
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Origin: A term used in late 1990's to sometimes describe the Fairy Gods series.
Typical usage: The term was used for productions with no choices.
Examples: Fairy Nights |
eroge, ero gemu |
Origin: Meaning "erotic games".
Typical usage: Games that include sex. In this usage the term is not limited to erotica, but also includes pornography (explicit sex)
Examples: Gibo |
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gay game |
Typical usage: This is an original Japanese term describing games with BxB homosexual relationships targetted at homosexual males.
Examples: ... |
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girl game, gyaru gemu, gyaruge, galgame, galge |
Origin: Meaning games that innvolve girls. It doesn't mean that the games are for girls.
Typical usage: A game that focuses on anime girls. Many gameplay styles possible.
Examples: Kanon |
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girls game |
--- see shoujo game --- |
--- see shoujo game --- |
hentai game, h-game |
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Origin: Adopted meaning, the Western fans started to use this term for the games that distribution companies like JAST, PP or GC sold, their common element being usually the inclusion of explicit sex scenes.
Typical usage: Used to describe anime-style games with explicit sexual content. Gameplay or visual design is not relevant.
Examples: Gibo, Season Of The Sakura |
jun'ai game |
Origin: Meaning "pure love".
Typical usage: Games heavily emphasizing profound feelings of love.
Examples: ... |
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kichiku |
Origin: Meaning "???".
Typical usage: The term is used to describe brutal or extremely explicit sex games.
Examples: Dystopia |
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kinetic novel |
Origin: A series of productions by the company Key/Visual Arts, also a website called kineticnovel.jp selling products described as kinetic novels. The flagship project Planetarian had no choices, but no choices isn't a strict rule.
Typical usage: The term may be limited to whatever similarities a given work has with works sold at the kineticnovel site and how they are being sold/marketed.
Examples: Planetarian |
Origin: Adopted term.
Typical usage: In 2005, the newly introduced term that the no-choice Planetarian translation brought meant the term "kinetic novel" was adopted to describe productions that have no choices.
Examples: Planetarian, Fairy Nights |
nakige, naki gemu |
Origin: Meaning "crying games".
Typical usage: Used to describe games that make one cry.
Examples: Kana |
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NVL |
- "novel" (probably applied to any text-based game, but also to visual novels) |
- "digital novel" (used in conjunction with Fairy Nights) |
play novel |
Origin: Chunsoft's marketing name for their BG/Sprite/Text type of games. |
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raising sim, upbringing simulation, stats-raising sim, simulated life game |
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Origin: This term was developed to describe games like Graduation or Princess Maker.
Typical usage: Describes games where the goal is to manage and take care of characters.
Examples: Graduation, Princess Maker 2 |
ren'ai game |
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Origin: Western fans started to call these games "ren'ai" when they had significant romantic content in them, ren'ai meaning romantic love. Also, the term is also being used to distinguish such games from story-free sex-oriented productions.
Typical usage: Currently, it is used to describe a game where the romantic element plays the dominant part.
Examples: Hourglass Of Summer |
shoujo game, shoujoge, girls game |
Typical usage: This term is used for games targetted at females. Relationships may be homosexual or heterosexual, the protagonist may be male or female. This is a very global category.
Examples: Amgine Park, Kuro No Tsuki |
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shounen-ai game |
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Origin: A term describing male-male relationships in general in English. The game terminology usage is somewhat different.
Typical usage: This is used by Western fans to describe BxB (Boy's Love) games targetted at female audience that do not include sex. Still, this can also be used to describe any game with BxB relationships.
Examples: Graduation |
sim date, sim date RPG |
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Origin: Forkheads' Flash game "Love Hina Sim Date RPG" introduced this term. Before that though, the game "SimGirls" probably established the base for the usage.
Typical usage: Used for typically Flash-based games that use collecting and attributes to win girls or images of them, without having a significant story.
Examples: Love Hina Sim Date RPG |
SLG |
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- "simulation game"
- "simulated love game"
- "simulated life game" |
sound novel |
Origin: A series of games by Chunsoft was given this name.
Typical usage: Typically, this term is used for games that feature a more photographic and realistic visual side in a BG/Sprite/text based gameplay. But photographs aren't requirement, and the game may be completely drawn - but also use real people as characters.
Examples: ... |
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utsuge |
Origin: Meaning "depressive game".
Typical usage: Used to describe games that have a depressive effect on their players. Dealing with death and similar.
Examples: Kana |
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visual novel |
Origin: Leaf's game Shizuku was the first game to be called "visual novel" by their makers.
Typical usage: Normally, this term is used for games with long text and quality story, where the text is overlayed directly (and is not inside a textbox). These may or may not contain sex and may or may not contain choices.
Examples: Shizuku |
Origin: Adopted term.
Typical usage: A visual novel is any game that involves a background +sprite +text gameplay. If not used to describe the game mechanic, the term can also emphasize the aspect of story ("good" story, less hentai etc...)
Examples: Gibo, |
yaoi game |
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Origin: Western fans started using this term for all games with BxB relationships that contained sex.
Typical usage: Any game dealing with BxB homosexual relationships, regardless of whether it includes sex.
Examples: Kuro No Tsuki |
yaruge, yarugee, yarige, yarigee, yaru gemu, yari gemu |
Origin: Meaning "doing-it games", equivalent to "mindless sex".
Typical usage: Used to describe games which highly emphasize the sex element while neglecting story.
Examples: Gibo |
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yuri game |
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