Gaming Culture & Industry Quiz

Question 1

The video game industry generates more revenue annually than which two other major entertainment industries combined?

Accepted Answer

Music and film

Answer

Music and radio

Answer

Television and film

Answer

Books and music

Question 2

What is 'esports' and approximately how many people watch esports globally?

Accepted Answer

Competitive video gaming watched by an audience — approximately 500 million viewers globally

Answer

Sports video game simulations played casually

Answer

Fitness and exercise games played in gyms

Answer

Olympic-recognised virtual sports events only

Question 3

What was the 'Atari Shock' (North American video game crash of 1983) and what caused it?

Accepted Answer

A market crash caused by oversaturation of low-quality games flooding the market, including notoriously bad Atari 2600 ports of E.T. and Pac-Man

Answer

Atari's computers exploding from a manufacturing defect

Answer

Atari going bankrupt after losing a lawsuit to Nintendo

Answer

A hacking incident that destroyed Atari's game development system

Question 4

Minecraft became the best-selling video game of all time. Approximately how many copies has it sold?

Accepted Answer

Over 238 million

Answer

50 million

Answer

100 million

Answer

200 million

Question 5

What is 'procedural generation' in video games?

Accepted Answer

Algorithmically generating game content (levels, terrain, items) automatically rather than hand-designing everything

Answer

Using predetermined level designs stored in game code

Answer

A technique for generating photo-realistic graphics in real-time

Answer

AI-controlled character behaviour systems

Question 6

The 'speedrunning' community attempts to complete video games as fast as possible. What is a 'glitch'/'exploit' in this context?

Accepted Answer

A bug or unintended game behaviour that speedrunners use to skip content, clip through walls, or skip to the end faster

Answer

A game that runs slowly on older hardware

Answer

A type of in-game movement technique requiring specific button timing

Answer

A category of speedrun where the player makes deliberate mistakes

Question 7

Shigeru Miyamoto created which two iconic Nintendo franchises?

Accepted Answer

Mario and The Legend of Zelda

Answer

Mario and Pokémon

Answer

Zelda and Metroid

Answer

Mario and Donkey Kong only

Question 8

What is 'loot box' controversy in gaming?

Accepted Answer

Randomised virtual item packs purchased with real money — widely criticised as gambling mechanics targeting young players

Answer

Players complaining about boxes of real merchandise not being delivered

Answer

Physical collector's editions of games being too expensive

Answer

A type of free-to-play mobile game mechanic where energy refills are purchased

Question 9

What is the difference between 'AAA' (triple-A) games and 'indie' games?

Accepted Answer

AAA games are produced with large budgets by major publishers; indie games are developed by small independent studios with limited budgets

Answer

AAA games have better graphics; indie games have better stories

Answer

AAA is a rating for adult content; indie means the game is free

Answer

AAA games release on all platforms; indie games are platform-exclusive

Question 10

What is 'game streaming' and which services compete in this space?

Accepted Answer

Both 'Twitch streaming' and 'cloud gaming' — both are called game streaming

Answer

Streaming your gameplay to Twitch/YouTube while playing

Answer

Cloud gaming — playing games remotely on servers, streamed to your device without downloading or owning powerful hardware

Answer

Downloading games to stream within a local network

Question 11

Fortnite's battle royale mode launched in September 2017. What made it culturally significant beyond gaming?

Accepted Answer

It became a social platform for events, concerts (Travis Scott, Ariana Grande), movie screenings, and brand collaborations

Answer

It was the first battle royale game ever made

Answer

It was the first game to have cross-platform play between all consoles

Answer

It pioneered voice chat in video games

Question 12

What is 'Dark Souls' famous for in the gaming community?

Accepted Answer

Extremely punishing, unforgiving difficulty — 'git gud' culture — and rewarding mastery with deep satisfaction

Answer

Being the first open-world RPG

Answer

The longest development cycle of any video game (15 years)

Answer

Being the first game to use photorealistic graphics

Question 13

Twitch.tv began as which general streaming platform before pivoting to gaming?

Accepted Answer

Justin.tv — a general live streaming site founded by Justin Kan and Emmett Shear in 2007

Answer

YouTube Gaming

Answer

Ustream

Answer

LiveStream

Question 14

What is 'DLC' in video games and what controversy surrounds it?

Accepted Answer

Downloadable Content — additional paid content released after a game launches; controversially, some content is criticised as having been cut from the base game to sell separately

Answer

Digital Loading Content — pre-loading game files before release

Answer

Dynamic Level Creation — an AI-driven system for generating levels

Answer

Disc-Linked Content — content locked to specific game discs

Question 15

The 'gaming chair' industry exploded alongside esports. What distinguishes gaming chairs from office chairs?

Accepted Answer

Gaming chairs prioritise aggressive, 'racing seat' aesthetics with bold colours and branding — ergonomics research does not consistently favour them over good office chairs

Answer

Gaming chairs have superior ergonomics backed by medical research

Answer

Gaming chairs include vibration and haptic feedback technology

Answer

Gaming chairs are built to withstand 12-hour gaming sessions while office chairs are rated for 8 hours

Question 16

What is the 'uncanny valley' effect in video game character design?

Accepted Answer

The unsettling feeling when a character looks almost human but not quite — triggering revulsion rather than empathy

Answer

A glitch causing characters to fall through game level geometry

Answer

A technique for making far-away characters appear smaller to simulate depth

Answer

The difficulty in animating facial expressions in 3D games

Question 17

Nintendo's Switch console was groundbreaking for what reason?

Accepted Answer

It was the first console that functions both as a home console connected to a TV and a portable handheld device

Answer

It was the first 4K gaming console

Answer

It was the first console to use cloud gaming exclusively

Answer

It was Nintendo's first console with online multiplayer

Question 18

The 'video game rating system' in the US is managed by which organisation?

Accepted Answer

ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board)

Answer

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

Answer

MPAA (Motion Picture Association)

Answer

FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

Question 19

What is 'retrogaming' and why has it surged in popularity?

Accepted Answer

Playing or collecting games from older console generations — driven by nostalgia, appreciation of game design history, and the preservation of gaming culture

Answer

Playing old games at reduced speed for accessibility purposes

Answer

Remaking classic games with modern graphics

Answer

Tournaments played using vintage hardware exclusively

Question 20

What is 'open world' vs 'linear' game design?

Accepted Answer

Open world games let players explore a large environment freely in any order; linear games guide players through a predetermined sequence of events

Answer

Open world games have random level generation; linear games have fixed levels

Answer

Open world means the game has no story; linear means story is the focus

Answer

Open world games are multiplayer; linear games are single-player only