jank

See also: jänk

English edit

Etymology edit

Ostensibly a back-formation from janky (“shoddy, poor quality”).

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /d͡ʒæŋk/
Rhymes: -æŋk

Noun edit

jank (uncountable)

(computing, slang, rare) Perceptible pause in the smooth rendering of a software application's user interface due to slow operations or poor interface design.
- 2013, Nick Sutrich, Android Headlines:
  This also marks the first time I haven’t felt that Samsung jank on the phone, which deserves its own paragraph in its own right. That weird stuttering and pausing you’ve seen on so many Samsung phones seems to be almost completely gone on the Note 3 […]
- 2013, Addy Osmani, Smashing Magazine:
  In cases where you’re concerned about scrolling, the browser can manage the frame rate for you. But if you introduce a large amount of jank, then it won’t be able to do as good a job.
- 2015, Bogdan Petrovan, Android Authority:
  in order to hit this impressive frame rate, the “jank-free” Sky prioritizes the UI over other processes, meaning the app should stay smooth when it works heavily in the background.
- 2018, Eli White, Facebook React Native Blog:
  Even though JavaScript will try to update the animation every frame, it will likely not be able to do that fast enough and will cause dropped frames (jank) to occur.
(video games, slang) Game mechanics of unconventional or flawed design or implementation, and the experience of such mechanics, as to ruin or disrupt play, or break immersion; e.g. bugs and glitches.
- 2019, Patricia Hernandez, After the backlash, Bethesda is on a long quest to redeem Fallout 76, Polygon:
  Bethesda’s jank made a PvP-centric experience hellish. Players kept finding exploits left and right.
- 2021, Luke Winkle, Oddworld: Soulstorm review, PC Gamer:
  Maybe Soulstorm is an ideal tribute to the PlayStation era, considering how much period-specific jank is in the code.
- 2018, Ryan Cooper, The Joy of Jank, Unwinnable:
  Jank is the understated secret sauce of game development. It can make a bad game good and a good game great.
- 2023, Jordan Oloman, STALKER 2 is a merciless trip down memory lane, Polygon:
  The build I played was rough around the edges; I experienced a couple of hard crashes, as well as some placeholder assets and bugs that went beyond the charming old-school jank I was expecting.
1. (by extension) A game, or games, with such mechanics.