Video Game Dictionary - Camping

Camping

IPA /ˈkæmpɪŋ/

Definition

Camping is a term almost ubiquitous throughout competitive gaming. Camping refers to a much-begrudged tactic where players stay in a single position to gain an advantage over other players who pass by. These positions are often in discreet places or somewhere hard for other players to gain an advantage over.

The term has a folk etymology that says it likely originated from the multi-players of 1993’s Doom and 1996’s Quake. The earliest somewhat official source is an Urban Dictionary post from 2002.

Camping is a tactic almost universally disliked across every genre in gaming and continues to be used widely. It also has multiple subforms.

Spawn Camping is a common sub-term of camping where players specifically position themselves to stop players spawning back into the game, usually killing or incapacitating them instantly.

Base Camping is generally used in genres like survival games where players construct their own bases. In this use players will inhibit players from leaving their base, returning to their base, or exiting buildings within the base. In some ways it’s a sub-form of spawn camping but does have somewhat wider possible implications.

Example usage

“There’s no point spawning, they’re just camping. Let’s just quit.”

“Man, I cannot get past this guy. He’s just camping the junction.”