There are a few game terms floating around that just irritate the crud out of me.

I’m not talking jargon, per se, but phrases and terms that are either outdated or simply inappropriate descriptors. In some cases they are perpetuated by untrained writers perpetuating phrases and, in other instances, they are simple misunderstandings. If you look back at my 2007 Gadgetell post of a irk-in tech terms, you’ll find two terms that have remained on my “Irk Me” list and show no sign of being scratched off.

It might seem like pet peeves but most of these need to be eliminated or changed for game writing to gain a bit of credibility in the world of trained writers. Or simply stop bothering the bajeezus out of me.

Madden NFL 10. That’s the official name of this year’s edition of the now ubiquitous football game. For grammar snobs, professional media and a lot of uninitiated game-purchasing parents, it’s also a point of grand annoyance.

First, consider the grammatical aspects of the name. To properly abbreviate a year you place an apostrophe where letters or, in this case, numbers are missing. That’d be the “20″ portion of 2010 making it ’10 (instead of 10′ as many people seem to prefer). Otherwise, sans apostrophe, it’s the number after 9 and before 11, not after 2009 and before 2011. That’s a huge difference (by at least 2000 years). This is also the point that frustrates the bajeesus out of non-gaming professional copy editors across the states.