Telegraphing
Also said as Tell, Wind-up, Attack cue
Showing what is about to happen before it does, in time for the player to respond: a raised arm, a glow, a sound. It turns an attack into a question the player can answer.
A blow you could have read is your fault, and you will try again. A blow that came from nowhere is the game's fault, and you may not. Reactions take about a quarter of a second, so a tell has to be longer than that.
Say it
“Give the slam 600 ms of wind-up with a rising sound, and make it look different from the sweep. A player should know which one is coming just from the first frames.”
Where you’ve seen it
In Punch-Out!! on the Wii, Glass Joe steps back before a jab and crouches before an uppercut. Each opponent is a set of tells to learn, and reading them is the whole game.
Not to be confused with anticipation
Anticipation is the animation principle behind it: the pull-back before a move. Telegraphing is its job in play: warning you, with enough time, which answer you need.