ZBR

Another term borrowed from Microsoft's project management philosophy, ZBR is where the end really begins.

It means Zero Bug Release, though it doesn't mean shipping a bug-free game...

Processing: the language

Another discovery today, Processing is an open source programming language designed to teach the basics of programming.

I haven't looked too deep into this, but it looks very interesting for beginners, as it's less abstract than algorithms. The tutorials all look pretty well organised and detailed. I'd recommend reading those to anyone who wants to learn programming for the first time.

http://processing.org/

UE Viewer

I've just been told about this very interesting tool which allows you to view the assets of nearly any game made with Unreal Technology.

It's useful to study mesh topology, and the way the companies make and organize their assets.

It seems it's also able to export meshes and textures, though I wouldn't encourage that since you're not allowed to re-use these assets anyway.

http://www.gildor.org/en/projects/umodel

Beta

Also coming from traditional software development, Beta usually has a less controversial definition than Alpha.

The short version is that a beta contains everything, including the bugs.

However, in games development, Beta has been taking another meaning since the last few years.

Alpha

Borrowed from traditional (i.e. non-games) software development, Alpha designates a key stage in a game's development. The definition of Alpha for traditional software is, according to Wikipedia:

Alpha software can be unstable and could cause crashes or data loss. [...] The alpha phase usually ends with a feature freeze, indicating that no more features will be added to the software. At this time, the software is said to be feature complete.

In game development, the definition is a bit more blurry.

Gamasutra - Features - The Cake Is Not a Lie: How to Design Effective Achievements

Gamasutra - Features - The Cake Is Not a Lie: How to Design Effective Achievements

Pillars

Pillars, as the name suggests, are the foundations of a game. People might find that this is basically the same thing as Unique Selling Points (sometimes Key Selling Points), but it doesn't encompass exactly the same things.