Hitbox
DEFINITION
The invisible rectangle a game actually uses for collision, which is usually smaller than the sprite.
Our games shrink hitboxes on purpose: the runner in Dodge Saw uses a box 44 pixels wide inside a 40-pixel sprite, and Gravity Flip’s spike hitboxes stop 12 pixels short of their drawn tips. That padding is why near misses look like near misses instead of unfair deaths. If a game ever feels like it cheated you, the hitbox is the first thing to check.