Console (video game CLI)

A console is a command line interface where the personal computer game's settings and variables can be edited while the game is running. Consoles also usually display a log of warnings, errors, and other messages produced during the program's execution. Typically it can be toggled on or off and appears over the normal game view.

The console is normally accessed by pressing the backtick key ` (frequently also called the ~ key; normally located below the ESC key) on QWERTY keyboards or the ² on AZERTY keyboards, and is usually hidden by default. In most cases it cannot be accessed unless enabled by either specifying a command line argument when launching the game or by changing one of the game's configuration files.

History

A classic console is a box that scrolls down from the top of the screen, and is found in most computer games. This style was made popular with Quake (1996). There are other forms of console:

Example commands

References

  1. https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Console_Command_List
  2. https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Impulse