Reference
Retro Glossary
The words of the arcade and the 8-bit living room, explained in plain language. Learn a few and the whole archive reads a little easier.
Sprite
A small 2D image — a character, enemy, or object — moved around the screen. The building block of retro game graphics.
Pixel art
Artwork drawn pixel by pixel, where every dot is placed on purpose. The signature look of the retro era.
Scanline
One of the horizontal lines an old CRT screen drew the picture from. Their faint gaps gave retro games their unmistakable texture.
Chiptune
Music made with the simple sound chips inside early machines — the bright, catchy bleeps of 8- and 16-bit games.
Attract mode
The self-playing demo a cabinet ran while idle, showing off the game to draw players in.
High score
The top result on a machine, saved for all to see. Chasing it was half the fun of the arcade.
1UP
An extra life. Earning a 1UP meant one more chance to keep your run alive.
Power-up
An item that boosts your character — more speed, more firepower, or a new ability.
Boss
A large, tougher enemy at the end of a stage, testing everything you've learned so far.
Side-scroller
A game where the view moves sideways as you travel, revealing the stage as you go.
Attract loop
The repeating cycle of title screen, demo, and high scores a cabinet showed when nobody was playing.
Continue
The option to pick up where you fell, often with a ticking countdown daring you to jump back in.