Gib (video gaming)

Gibs, short for giblets,^[1] is a humorous term referring to the variably-sized body parts ("guts"), fragments, and offal produced when non-player characters or game players are damaged or killed in computer games. Adrian Carmack has been credited for coining the term "gibs". To "gib" one's opponents (pronounced /ˈdʒɪb/ "jib") is to hit them with such force (often with explosives) that they rupture.

Use in games

Gibs feature prominently in many shooter games where gameplay generally focuses on killing large numbers of enemies. One of the first games in which gibs appeared was Smash TV (1990), although they were also a feature of the pioneering first-person shooter Doom (1993) and have been a mainstay of gaming titles ever since.

The use of "gib" is reserved for instances when a game character has been killed with such force that their body is reduced to a slurry of flesh and blood. In some games, the resulting gibs disappear after a short period to improve game performance by decreasing the number of objects that the game engine must render.

As well as describing the fragments as gibs, the word may be used as a verb, and killing a game character in this manner is to "gib" them. "Gib", and the related term "frag", are most commonly used in multiplayer deathmatches, where human player characters primarily kill one another rather than non-player characters. Introduced first in Quake, some games feature an Instagib gameplay mod or mutator in which a hit on an opponent results in instantaneous "gibbing". When a "gibbing" happens in the past tense it is known as being "gibbed" (e.g., "He got gibbed!").

There has been a decline of the use of simple gibs in games due to the development of ragdoll physics, which is better able to represent the effects of high-powered attacks. Many modern games that retain gibbing use dynamic ragdolls that can separate bodies into gibs that the physics system can then control. Some games even include jointed limbs as gibs to add to the dynamic effect of gibbing.

Notable gibs

• Smash TV (1990) was an early game to include gibs. When enemies that are equipped with explosives are killed by the player they would be gibbed. Similarly, when the "Rapid Fire" power-up is used, all enemies are immediately gibbed when hit.
• Bio Menace (1993) every monster killed exploded into gibs. Apogee also used gibs in other side scrolling games such as Monster Bash.
• Doom (1993) was one of the first games to use gibs within a 3D environment. Enemies in Doom had sprite animations that would ordinarily crumple to the ground when killed, bleeding heavily but otherwise more-or-less intact. However, attacks that cause significantly more damage than what would've been required for a simple kill - most often explosions - would reduce enemies to a blood-soaked pile of barely identifiable flesh, accompanied by an appropriately gruesome sound effect.
• Hexen (1995), a game based on the Doom engine, featured gib animations for overkill against most monsters. Gibbing would occur if damage brought the monster or player to less than -50% health.
• Some fatalities in the notoriously violent Mortal Kombat series would produce gibs. Notably, fatalities in Mortal Kombat 3 often produced multiple rib cages, skulls, and femurs exploding from the same victim.
• Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins, Rise of the Triad: Dark War (1994, 1995) was the first 3D game to feature flying gibs, flashing a prompt at the upper left corner of the screen that proclaims "Ludicrous gibs!" whenever an enemy is badly gibbed.
• Quake (1996) was the first FPS game where polygonal gibs were literally flying in all directions when an enemy is mightily shot. Enemies can also be gibbed by using non-explosive weapons.
• Cruis'n World (1996) - Colliding with animals present in certain levels such as Australia and China will result in chunks of animal parts flying in front of the player's vehicle. This was later removed in the Nintendo 64 version.
• Blood (1997) allowed the player to kick the heads of zombies like soccer balls. The corpses of enemies and also innocent bystanders could also be gibbed to reveal health power-ups called "Life Essence", which in of itself was shaped like a dismembered human heart.
• Quake II (1997) allowed the corpses of friends and foes to be gibbed. This introduced tactical advantages in certain levels since one enemy, the Strogg Medic, could fully resurrect the corpses of its fellow Stroggs. Gibbing the corpses before the Medic could reach them was the best way to prevent enemy resurrections. A mod for Quake II also introduced Instagib gameplay.
• Blood II: The Chosen (1998) expanded upon the violence in Blood by heightening the gibing effects and allowing the heads of all opponents to be able to be kicked. It also featured an undeveloped feature that would allow the player to dismember the limbs and extremities of opponents, which was further developed and enhanced by third-party modifications. An expansion to the game also added a Zombie Head Soccer game mode to multi-player.
• Baldur's Gate (1998) Uniquely featured gibbing in the isometric RPG format. When characters or enemies are killed by critical hits they explode into a shower of gibs.
• Unreal (series) The instagib mutator provides all players with a modified shock rifle that upon impact reduces whatever it hit to gibs.
• Soldier of Fortune (2000) was the first game where enemies could be dismembered or beheaded by a shooting a limb or head at close range with a shotgun or repeatedly hitting it with other weapons, including combat knives.
• State of Emergency (2002) allowed the player to pick up the limbs of a gibbed enemy and to use them as weapons.
• House of the Dead III (2002) Even after their death, enemies can be gibbed when fired upon with a shotgun.
• "Resident Evil Remake (2003) All enemies could be gibbed by any weapon except the grenade launcher and knife. Blowing off a zombie's head or legs prevents it from being resurrected as a more powerful Crimson Head. Additionally, certain enemies may melt into a pool of acid, which is shown in detail. If the player character is decapitated, they will still be shown with a head on the game over screen.
• "Resident Evil 4 (2004) It is extremely frequent for Leon or Ada to be decapitated in gory detail, as even common unarmed enemies may sprout a Plagas (which tears off the enemy's head) and kill you; it is also possible to blast off an enemy's head; additionally, all common enemies melt into a pool f acid when killed. Interestingly, Ashley Graham cannot be decapitated. The Japanese version was heavily censored.
• Doom 3 (2004) Close range shotgun blasts or explosives would literally blow enemies apart, limbs and other miscellaneous pieces of flesh being sent flying.
• F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. 2 (2005) uses gibs commonly depending of the impact of the weapon used.
• The Punisher (2005) Extremely bloody and easily gibbed human opponents fill the game as well as gruesome interrogation scenes
• Metroid Prime Hunters (2006) Upon death characters will explode in an exaggerated flurry of blood as their "soul" rises skyward
• Resistance: Fall of Man (2006) Larger enemies, and the small swarm-like enemies gib apart upon death
• Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3 (2006, 2008, 2011) Gibs are very commonly displayed in all three titles. Often the result of a close up shotgun blast, grenade, mortar, and many more. It is actually very uncommon to see a player die and not have a "gib" take place. Also notable is the physics engine, as stated above, that allows the chunks of persons be moved with the momentum of the occurring strikes.
• TimeShift (2007) The Player could pick up a crossbow loaded with explosive arrows, which blow anyone unfortunate enough to be struck by one into very detailed gibs.
• Team Fortress 2 (2007) A player will gib when killed by an explosive weapon. The player's body parts are often specifically labeled on his deathcam, e.g. "Your spleen!".
• True Crime: New York City (2005) If an NPC is killed with explosives or being hit with a car, the player can pick up decapitated arms and legs of the dead NPCs and use them as weapons. If the character dies from an explosion, their arms and legs may become gibs.
• Scarface: The World Is Yours (2007) NPC's can have their limbs and head severed by using the chainsaw. The game is also notable for having extreme amounts of blood
• Call of Duty: World at War (2008) The "Gib Factory" challenge awards multiplayer experience points for dismembering opponents with heavy guns during multiplayer matches. The gore in this game has been described as disturbing to some. Players are able to decapitate enemies, shoot their arms and legs off and even completely blow away their torso, exposing their ribcages and pelvic bones.
• Resistance 2 (2008) Continues the same gibbing seen in that of R:FOM, but more detailed and more gore points.
• Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas (2008, 2010) Shots to specific body parts - such as the head, torso or limbs - can result in the dismemberment of said body part, as can attacks with bladed weapons. In some cases, the shot may cause the body part to explode into chunks. The "Bloody Mess" perk greatly increases the chances of this happening, and can sometimes result in an enemy's entire body exploding into gibs.
• House of the Dead: Overkill (2008) using powerful weapons, the shotgun in particular, mutants can be reduced to pools of blood or have their arms and legs sent flying across the screen.
• Dead Space (2008) Dismemberment in this game becomes a vital tactic, even encouraged by in-game messages. There are several reasons for this:
  • Dismemberment instantly reduces enemy mobility, allowing the player to disable other targets before turning attention back to the now-crawling half-dead enemies. This is essential when swarmed by large groups (i.e. The Pack).
  • Any corpse left intact may get up again and resume assaulting the player.
  • Some enemy types cannot be killed by center-of-mass shots or headshots, and must be dismembered to stop them. The "Ubermorph" in particular cannot be killed at all, but can only be temporarily immobilized by dismemberment.
  • Using the Telekinesis ability, the player can pick up the sharp limbs of enemy corpses and use them to impale other enemies, saving ammunition and instantly immobilizing or even killing them.
• "Resident Evil 5 (2009) Compared to its predecessor it's heavily censored; when the player's head is cut off the screen shifts to the side and doesn't show it (observing it from multiplayer shows that you aren't really decapitated). However, enemies can still have their heads shot off. Certain enemies will have their entire upper bodies ripped apart when sprouting certain Plagas, which can in turn bite the players in half. Some enemies will randomly explode.
• Wolfenstein (2009) Featured classic Unreal 3 engine gibbing, including decap's, limbs and even a particle cannon that reduced enemies to goo.
• Left 4 Dead 2 (2009) Gibbing occurs extremely frequently as weapons blow holes through and dismember the Infected (enemy 'zombies'), leaving quite detailed remnants. This caused a censored version to be released in countries such as Australia and Germany which removed all gibbing effects. A special gameplay mode dubbed "Mutations" features a Mutation called "Gib Fest", where the four player character are all carrying M60s with infinite ammunition. The gun itself is specifically designed to gib the Infected into pieces of over-the-top gore with a single shot.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) Gibbing can occur when enemies are shot with shotguns, some sniper rifles, explosives and light machineguns. Legs and arms can be completely shot off, leaving a ragged and bloodied wound with bone sticking out. Enemies will sometimes scream in agony and clutch the severed limb for several seconds before dying.
• Duke Nukem Forever (2011) Enemies can be gibbed in different ways depending on which weapons are used. The shotgun can decapitate the enemy when up close, while explosives such as landmines or rocket launchers can blow the enemies bodies completely apart.
• "Resistance 3" (2011) Continues on from R:FOM and R2, but more detailed and now contains a stat to count your number of gibs.

Manhunt and Manhunt 2 Some excutions featrued heads exploding

Criticism

Gibbing in computer and video games, mostly in first-person shooter titles, has raised legal issues for child protection and led to titles being age rated in accordance with video game content rating systems. In all games containing gibs, the ESRB rating is an "M" for Mature, and is recommended only for audiences aged 17 and above. In Great Britain, some games featuring gibs are rated 15, but more realistic ones are rated 18.

References

See also

• Instagib
• Headshot