Quick definition:An unexpected fault or error in a game, such as a graphical flaw or broken behaviour, that is not intended by the designers.
Meaning
A glitch is an unintended malfunction in a game. It may be a visual fault such as a missing texture or a stretched character, a sound problem, or a gameplay problem such as an enemy that stops moving, a door that will not open or a character that falls through the floor.
Glitch is closely related to bug, which means a flaw in the code. In casual use the two words overlap, although a glitch usually suggests a temporary or surprising effect while a bug suggests a lasting fault. Developers fix most through patches released after launch.
Not all glitches are unwelcome. Some are harmless and amusing, and players share clips of them widely. Others give an unplanned advantage and are used in speedruns, but in competitive online games, using a glitch to gain an edge can break the rules and lead to penalties.
Origin:The word glitch has been used for a sudden fault in electrical or electronic equipment, and is often traced to the early to mid twentieth century, possibly from a Yiddish word. Its precise history is debated. Video game players adopted it for any unplanned error in a game.
Example:While walking along a river, Tom's character suddenly sinks through the ground and falls into an empty void. The camera spins, and the screen goes blank. He restarts the game, and then reports what happened with a short video. Weeks later, an update notes that the fall-through glitch has been fixed.
Did you know?Some glitches become accepted parts of play. Players may discover and use them for speed, while developers sometimes fix them, leave them in or even design new features based on them. Speedrunners often separate glitched and glitchless categories.
