Agame replay, also known as ademo, is a form ofuser-generated content. In most instances, a game replay is a recording of a battle or race between opponents in avideo game which can then be viewed by other players. However, game replays are also used for single-player gameplay, especially forspeedruns. Some games, such asTrackMania,Doom, andN, use size-efficient replay files that record inputs to get a 1:1 replay in lossless fidelity.
It is most common inreal-time strategy games likeStarCraft,Command & Conquer,World in Conflict,Company of Heroes, andAge of Empires, as well as somefirst-person shooter games such asCounter-Strike (via console command). Recently, game replays are being used on non-computer platforms and games, such asHalo Wars.
A number of websites allow users to upload replays of certain games so that other players can download and watch them, either for entertainment or improving their own skills.
Game replays are commonly used in the prevention and detection of cheating, especially when used inelectronic sports. Game replays are often watched to develop skill at a game, by watching better players and their techniques and build orders. Replays are also used to raise stature in a particular game's community, and entire websites are dedicated to the replays.
Game replays are the driving force behindreplay reviews. A replay review can be loosely defined as a review of a game replay by an experienced player to determine what can be done to improve and expand upon the initial gamer's skill. Entire websites are dedicated to these reviews, such as Gamereplays.org.
Replays are normally saved inproprietary formats made by the developers—this can either be in form of video capture or input capture, with the latter being much more efficient in terms of file size. Replays recorded usingthird-party tools, such asFRAPS, are a form ofuser-generated content. They capture the on-screen action and compile it into a video format. These replays have the advantage of supporting online playback viavideo sharing sites, likeYouTube orVeoh, but take much morehard disk space than conventional replays.
Other utilities, such asWegame, interact directly with the game and do not record directly from the screen.[1]