How many times have you walked past your kids’ room to hear them shout “He was camping!” or “Stop feeding them!” -- only to have absolutely zero idea as to what your kids are talking about? Modern online games require good communication skills, and in most cases this means conveying a lot of information as quickly as possible.
This is where slangs are put to good use, allowing your kids to communicate quickly and effectively with their teammates. But if you’re not well-versed with online slang, it might sound a bit like an alien language, so let’s look at some of the most popular gaming slags and terms that parents need to know.
Adopt Me! -- This is a game that’s built on the Roblox game development platform, and it allows you to raise and dress pets, decorate your virtual house, and play with others in a family-friendly world. It’s arguably the most popular massively multiplayer online game developed on the platform, though you should evaluate how safe the platform is for your family.
AFK -- Stands for “away from keyboard,” indicating that the specific person is not playing at the moment.
Avatar -- This is a player’s in-game character. In many games, there is heavy customization available for avatars, allowing for the creation of a personalized character that expresses a person’s creative freedom.
Bug -- This is a term used to describe an error or problem in the game, or something that’s not working, for example an in-game mechanic. These are usually fixed by developers shortly after players discover them.
Crafting -- This is a game mechanic that refers to combining several in-game items to make new ones that are usually more in demand. It’s a core mechanic in Minecraft, though it can sometimes be used in other games, such as World of Warcraft.
Discord -- An app gamers use for instant messaging and voice chat while gaming.
Feeding -- This is a term gamers use when someone is intentionally allowing the enemy to kill them, with the purpose of losing the game, i.e. feeder.
Game mechanic -- A mechanism that enables specific in-game actions; basically anything you can do in a game.
Griefing -- Similar to feeding. Griefing refers to intentionally playing bad in order to lose, or just trying to not win.
Grinding -- This is doing something repetitively in order to level up your character or obtain a certain item, or to gain in-game experience quickly.
Hacking -- This is using third-party cheating software to get an unfair advantage in the game.
Loot -- When you collect items from enemies you’ve defeated in the game, or when you find items scattered throughout the game’s world.
Mod -- A short way of saying “modification” -- when you’ve changed some aspect of the game, such as gameplay mechanics or levels. This is usually used in PC games rather than consoles.
Skins -- In their simplest form, these are clothes for your character. They are used to change your character’s appearance and are usually either purchased through the in-game store or acquired through playing.
Smurf -- A player who is very skilled and has a high rank, but is playing on a new, low-level account to play against easier opponents.
Toxic -- A common term referring to players that have an overall bad attitude, toward both the game and especially other players.
Troll -- A player who tries to antagonize others, rather than take the game seriously and aim to win.
Some of these terms are used throughout various online games, whereas others only apply to certain games. For example, “Adopt Me!” isn’t used outside of the Roblox world -- though if you hear your kids using that term, you might want to recommend them to check out some other ways of learning coding for kids.
According to the Entertainment Software Association, 76% of kids in the United States play video games. The numbers are probably not too different throughout the rest of the world, so if you want to join your kids when they’re gaming, the slangs explained above should get you up to speed quickly.
Author Bio: Mauricio Prinzlau is the CEO and Co-founder of Cloudwards. He is at the helm of the company and steers a team of editors, writers and designers from all around the world.
