Health (game mechanic)
Encyclopedia
Health is a game mechanic
used in role-playing
, computer and video games to give value to characters
, enemies, NPCs
, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar.
s), is a finite value used to determine how much damage (usually in terms of physical injury) a character can withstand. When a character is attacked, or is hurt from a hazard or fall, the total damage dealt (which is also represented by a point value) is subtracted from their current HP. Once their HP reaches 0, the character will be unable to fight. In role-playing game
s, health is often abbreviated by two letter initialisms such as HP.
In some role-playing game
s such as Dungeons & Dragons
, a player character
's hit points are determined by character level
. The hit points of monsters are decided by rolling "Hit Dice". Characters with high constitution
will have an advantage when hit points are assigned. A character whose hit points are reduced to zero is considered dead or incapacitated. Other games sometimes lack levels, hit points, or both.
In certain editions of the game, player characters with 0 HP are not dead, but rather knocked unconscious. Within the range of -1 and -9, they are considered to be mortally wounded and dying, and their HP will steadily drop until it is stabilized. At -10, the character dies. Depending on the rules, a character who suffers 50+ points of damage from a single blow may die as a result of "Death from Massive Damage". The player must then make a "saving throw" of the dice in hope of countering the damage. Failure to do so results in the characters dying, regardless of their remaining HP.
In many console role-playing games, the objective is to deplete the hit points of enemies while maintaining the health of player characters. Hit points can typically be refilled by using a restorative item, staying the night at an "inn", or utilizing healing magic
. Generally, characters are killed or rendered unconscious as soon as their hit points reach 0.
co-creator David Arneson described the origin of hit points in a 2002 interview. When Arneson was adapting the medieval
wargame
Chainmail
to a fantasy setting, a process that with Gary Gygax would lead to the game Dungeons & Dragons
, he saw that the emphasis of the gameplay
was moving from large armies to small groups of heroes and eventually to the identification of one player and one character that is so essential to role-playing as it was originally conceived. Players became attached to their heroes and did not want them to die every time they lost a die roll. Players were given multiple hit points which were then incrementally decreased. Arneson took the concept, along with armor class
, from a set of a naval American Civil War game's rules.
(death, being knocked out, etc.). The first video game to use a life meter was Dragon Buster
, a 1984 arcade game
that referred to the meter as "Vitality" in the game. There have since been many variations on the life bar:
In Street Fighter and other fighting game
s, the bar does not instantly immediately decrease when damage is taken. Instead, an area representing the damage is marked in red, and the health lost quickly drains away. This is useful in assessing the amount of damage caused by an attack.
Some games use an incremental bar, composed of many smaller bars. Each attack will remove a certain number of these bars. This system is used in the Mega Man
and Metroid series.
Some video games also feature a recharging health bar (sometimes depicted as an energy shield). In these games, the player character cannot usually take as much damage as a player with a traditional life bar, but health regenerates over time (usually initiating regeneration when the player avoids being damaged for a period of time). Notable examples of this are the Hydlide
series, Ys series, Halo series, Call of Duty series
, Destroy All Humans!
, Gears of War
, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent, and Red Steel
. Some games increase the maximum amount of health a player can carry as they progress through the game.
s are another method for measuring health. Some games such as Prince of Persia, DuckTales
, and Mr. Nutz
, which use a number of icons to represent health units; every hit against the player character will always decrease health by one icon or unit at a time. In other games a hit may reduce health by one icon or unit, a fraction of one icon, or many icons at once, depending on how powerful the hit is, and the strength of the character's defence of armour. In the The Legend of Zelda series of video games, the player's health is represented as small heart
s, which are located near the top of the screen. Weak attacks against the player will take only a fraction of a heart, usually one-quarter or one-half, and stronger attacks may take many whole hearts at once. Several games make use of similar heads-up display
s. Super Mario Bros. 2
uses small red icons (in 16-bit versions of the game, they're changed to hearts) in the top left corner to designate how many hitpoints the player has remaining, and Bram Stoker's Dracula uses small flasks of liquid.
Other games, such as Deus Ex
, show a HUD of a human body, which is green to begin with. As the player takes damage, the respective region of the body turns yellow, orange, red, and eventually disappears altogether. For the head and torso, this is fatal. For arms, this causes a significant decrease in weapon accuracy or damage (or a complete inability to use them), while such a damage for legs usually leads to a badly impaired movement. A similar system, but showing the player's current vehicle rather than a human body, is used in some simulation games such as Rogue Squadron.
), where health points are regained over a short period of time (usually minutes). This mechanic has its origins in action role-playing game
s of the 1980s, specifically the Hydlide
and Ys series. In the 2000s, the mechanic was popularized among first-person shooter
s by the Halo
series, while action RPGs such as Fable
have continued to utilize the mechanic.
Other games require the use of healing spells, skills, or items (such as potion
s, medicine
, first aid kit
s, bandage
s, syringe
s, medical bag
s, herb
s, and even food
) to regain health. Many game systems incorporate both slow regeneration and instant-effect healing skills and items. Games often have items that recharge all or some of a character's health, but they may differ in that, some games allow the player character to collect and carry many items in an inventory and use them to recharge health at a later time when needed; while in other games the player character cannot carry items in such a way and items will recharge health immediately upon touching them or sometimes upon picking them up.
An increasingly common standard, seen in the Call of Duty
series, most of the Halo
series, Crysis
, and many other shooter game
s, is a complete lack of any health-replenishing items—the wounded player is simply expected not to take damage by taking cover
and wait (generally from 5-20 seconds) as his or her character recovers. Some of these games, notably the Call of Duty series, do not feature a health meter; the player judges his or her health from blood on the screen, heavy breathing, and other details.
, all his rings scatter in many directions. If the player is fast enough, Sonic can reclaim some of the rings before they flicker and disappear. Sonic can be knocked out easily by his enemies when his ring total is at 0, at which point any further damage will kill him
. Sonic's rings differ from most health mechanisms in that having multiple rings offers no extra protection; however many rings a player possesses, all will be lost with one hit. However, some newer Sonic games such as Sonic Blast
, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Secret Rings
, Shadow the Hedgehog
and Sonic Unleashed
have attempted to increase the fairness of this system by having the player lose only a set number of rings per hit (usually ten or twenty), meaning that having more rings provides better protection.
(1998) has no HUD and represents its player character's (Anne) health as a heart-shaped tattoo
on her breast which fills up with red as the damage increases. When she dies, the heart has a chain around it. In the Resident Evil (1996–present) video games, health is shown both with the player character limping and pressing his/her wounds in pain, and with an EKG display in the inventory screen. Games like Call of Duty 2
(2005) or Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
(2005) have no life bar; instead, the game uses the screen as health, and when the player gets hit, the screen flashes red, and in some games the vision will also becomes blurred in this condition (more damage indicated by a deeper red coloration). In some games, characters slouch over and breathe heavily as a result of low health when left idle; blood stains or wounds may also appear on characters to show they are injured. in Infamous, Blood splatters across the screen when Cole is damaged, more damage means More blood on the screen. Some third-person games such as Dead Space
(2008) and Ghostbusters: The Video Game
(2009) have health bars shown on the player model rather than in a HUD. They resemble ordinary health meters apart from being physically attached to the character's equipment.
Game mechanic
Game mechanics are constructs of rules intended to produce an enjoyable game or gameplay. All games use mechanics; however, theories and styles differ as to their ultimate importance to the game...
used in role-playing
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, computer and video games to give value to characters
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
, enemies, NPCs
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar.
Hit points
Hit points, also known as health points (or HP), damage points, heart points, or just health (among other synonymSynonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
s), is a finite value used to determine how much damage (usually in terms of physical injury) a character can withstand. When a character is attacked, or is hurt from a hazard or fall, the total damage dealt (which is also represented by a point value) is subtracted from their current HP. Once their HP reaches 0, the character will be unable to fight. In role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s, health is often abbreviated by two letter initialisms such as HP.
In some role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s such as Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, a player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
's hit points are determined by character level
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
. The hit points of monsters are decided by rolling "Hit Dice". Characters with high constitution
Endurance
Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...
will have an advantage when hit points are assigned. A character whose hit points are reduced to zero is considered dead or incapacitated. Other games sometimes lack levels, hit points, or both.
In certain editions of the game, player characters with 0 HP are not dead, but rather knocked unconscious. Within the range of -1 and -9, they are considered to be mortally wounded and dying, and their HP will steadily drop until it is stabilized. At -10, the character dies. Depending on the rules, a character who suffers 50+ points of damage from a single blow may die as a result of "Death from Massive Damage". The player must then make a "saving throw" of the dice in hope of countering the damage. Failure to do so results in the characters dying, regardless of their remaining HP.
In many console role-playing games, the objective is to deplete the hit points of enemies while maintaining the health of player characters. Hit points can typically be refilled by using a restorative item, staying the night at an "inn", or utilizing healing magic
Magic (gaming)
Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
. Generally, characters are killed or rendered unconscious as soon as their hit points reach 0.
History
Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
co-creator David Arneson described the origin of hit points in a 2002 interview. When Arneson was adapting the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
wargame
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
Chainmail
Chainmail (game)
Chainmail is a medieval miniatures wargame created by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren. Gygax developed the game with fellow Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association member Perren, a hobby-shop owner with whom he had become friendly, and the game was first published in 1971...
to a fantasy setting, a process that with Gary Gygax would lead to the game Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, he saw that the emphasis of the gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
was moving from large armies to small groups of heroes and eventually to the identification of one player and one character that is so essential to role-playing as it was originally conceived. Players became attached to their heroes and did not want them to die every time they lost a die roll. Players were given multiple hit points which were then incrementally decreased. Arneson took the concept, along with armor class
Armor class
In some role-playing games, armor class is a derived statistic that indicates how difficult it is to land a successful blow on a character with an attack...
, from a set of a naval American Civil War game's rules.
Life bar
A health or life bar is used to display a character's health in many video games. A typical life bar is a horizontal rectangle which begins full of color. If damage is taken or mistakes are made, the colored area gradually reduces (some also change colour, typically from green to yellow to red, as health is reduced). When the bar is completely emptied, the result is game overGame over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
(death, being knocked out, etc.). The first video game to use a life meter was Dragon Buster
Dragon Buster
is a dungeon crawl action role-playing platform arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. It runs on Namco Pac-Land hardware, modified to support vertical scrolling. In Japan, the game was ported to the MSX and Famicom; the latter version was later released for the Virtual Console in the same...
, a 1984 arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
that referred to the meter as "Vitality" in the game. There have since been many variations on the life bar:
In Street Fighter and other fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s, the bar does not instantly immediately decrease when damage is taken. Instead, an area representing the damage is marked in red, and the health lost quickly drains away. This is useful in assessing the amount of damage caused by an attack.
Some games use an incremental bar, composed of many smaller bars. Each attack will remove a certain number of these bars. This system is used in the Mega Man
Mega Man (series)
Mega Man is a video game franchise from Capcom, starring the eponymous character Mega Man, or one of his many counterparts. The series is well-known and comprises well over fifty releases, easily making it Capcom's most prolific franchise. As of December 31, 2010, the series has sold approximately...
and Metroid series.
Some video games also feature a recharging health bar (sometimes depicted as an energy shield). In these games, the player character cannot usually take as much damage as a player with a traditional life bar, but health regenerates over time (usually initiating regeneration when the player avoids being damaged for a period of time). Notable examples of this are the Hydlide
Hydlide
is a action role-playing video game developed and published by T&E Soft. It was originally released for the NEC PC-6001 and NEC PC-8801 computer in 1984, in Japan only; an MSX release came the following year...
series, Ys series, Halo series, Call of Duty series
Call of Duty (series)
Call of Duty is a first-person and third-person shooter video game series franchise, created by Ben Chichoski. The series began on the PC, and later expanded to consoles and handhelds. Several spin-off games have also been released...
, Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! is a video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ. It was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 on June 21, 2005. The game is set in the late 1950s in the U.S. and parodies the lifestyles, pop culture, and politics of this time period...
, Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent, and Red Steel
Red Steel
Red Steel is a first person shooter video game published by Ubisoft for Nintendo's Wii console. It was developed by the Ubisoft Paris studio and was unveiled in the May 2006 issue of Game Informer. It was released on November 19, 2006 in North America, the date of the first Wii launch...
. Some games increase the maximum amount of health a player can carry as they progress through the game.
Icon-based health
IconIcon (computing)
A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
s are another method for measuring health. Some games such as Prince of Persia, DuckTales
DuckTales (video game)
DuckTales is a video game based on the Disney animated TV series of the same name. It was first released in the United States for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Capcom in 1989. In this game, Scrooge McDuck travels around the world collecting treasures to become the world's richest duck. The...
, and Mr. Nutz
Mr. Nutz
Mr. Nutz is a side scrolling, 2D platformer video game published by Ocean Software. It was first released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993, then later released for the Mega Drive in 1994, followed by Game Boy, Game Boy Color, then Game Boy Advance ports.The player controls the...
, which use a number of icons to represent health units; every hit against the player character will always decrease health by one icon or unit at a time. In other games a hit may reduce health by one icon or unit, a fraction of one icon, or many icons at once, depending on how powerful the hit is, and the strength of the character's defence of armour. In the The Legend of Zelda series of video games, the player's health is represented as small heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
s, which are located near the top of the screen. Weak attacks against the player will take only a fraction of a heart, usually one-quarter or one-half, and stronger attacks may take many whole hearts at once. Several games make use of similar heads-up display
HUD (computer gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
s. Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
uses small red icons (in 16-bit versions of the game, they're changed to hearts) in the top left corner to designate how many hitpoints the player has remaining, and Bram Stoker's Dracula uses small flasks of liquid.
Other games, such as Deus Ex
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...
, show a HUD of a human body, which is green to begin with. As the player takes damage, the respective region of the body turns yellow, orange, red, and eventually disappears altogether. For the head and torso, this is fatal. For arms, this causes a significant decrease in weapon accuracy or damage (or a complete inability to use them), while such a damage for legs usually leads to a badly impaired movement. A similar system, but showing the player's current vehicle rather than a human body, is used in some simulation games such as Rogue Squadron.
Recharging health
Some games use a system of recharging health (or regenerationRegeneration (biology)
In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...
), where health points are regained over a short period of time (usually minutes). This mechanic has its origins in action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
s of the 1980s, specifically the Hydlide
Hydlide
is a action role-playing video game developed and published by T&E Soft. It was originally released for the NEC PC-6001 and NEC PC-8801 computer in 1984, in Japan only; an MSX release came the following year...
and Ys series. In the 2000s, the mechanic was popularized among first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
s by the Halo
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
series, while action RPGs such as Fable
Fable (video game series)
Fable is a series of action role-playing video games for Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, and Mac OS X platforms. The series is developed by Lionhead Studios and is published by Microsoft Studios.-Setting:...
have continued to utilize the mechanic.
Other games require the use of healing spells, skills, or items (such as potion
Potion
A potion is a consumable medicine or poison.In mythology and literature, a potion is usually made by a magician, sorcerer, dragon, fairy or witch and has magical properties. It might be used to heal, bewitch or poison people...
s, medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, first aid kit
First aid kit
A first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid, and can put together for the purpose , or purchased complete...
s, bandage
Bandage
A bandage is a piece of material used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to the body; they can also be used to restrict a part of the body. During heavy bleeding or following a poisonous bite it is important to slow the flow of blood,...
s, syringe
Syringe
A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
s, medical bag
Medical bag
A medical bag is a portable bag used by a doctor or other medical professional to transport medical supplies and medicine....
s, herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, and even food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
) to regain health. Many game systems incorporate both slow regeneration and instant-effect healing skills and items. Games often have items that recharge all or some of a character's health, but they may differ in that, some games allow the player character to collect and carry many items in an inventory and use them to recharge health at a later time when needed; while in other games the player character cannot carry items in such a way and items will recharge health immediately upon touching them or sometimes upon picking them up.
An increasingly common standard, seen in the Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
series, most of the Halo
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
series, Crysis
Crysis
Crysis is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek , published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar...
, and many other shooter game
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
s, is a complete lack of any health-replenishing items—the wounded player is simply expected not to take damage by taking cover
Cover system
A cover system is how a video game lets a virtual avatar avoid dangers usually in a three-dimensional world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover to dodge enemy gunfire or explosives. Similar gameplay elements can be traced back to as early as 1986,...
and wait (generally from 5-20 seconds) as his or her character recovers. Some of these games, notably the Call of Duty series, do not feature a health meter; the player judges his or her health from blood on the screen, heavy breathing, and other details.
Incremental health
In the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Sonic collects rings, which are used as Sonic's health indicator. They are shown as numbers at the upper left side of the screen. Whenever an enemy touches the player character, SonicSonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
, all his rings scatter in many directions. If the player is fast enough, Sonic can reclaim some of the rings before they flicker and disappear. Sonic can be knocked out easily by his enemies when his ring total is at 0, at which point any further damage will kill him
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
. Sonic's rings differ from most health mechanisms in that having multiple rings offers no extra protection; however many rings a player possesses, all will be lost with one hit. However, some newer Sonic games such as Sonic Blast
Sonic Blast
Sonic Blast is a video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Aspect and published by Sega for the Sega Game Gear. It is known as G Sonic in Japan. It was released in December 1996 for both North American and European markets...
, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic and the Secret Rings
is a video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released exclusively for the Wii on February 20, 2007 in North America; March 2 in Europe; and March 15 in Japan. It is the first Sonic game for the console, released in place of an...
, Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)
Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 video game developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Sega's Sonic Team. Featuring the titular fictional character Shadow the Hedgehog from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game inauguration of...
and Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Unleashed , is a video game and the 11th installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for multiple platforms...
have attempted to increase the fairness of this system by having the player lose only a set number of rings per hit (usually ten or twenty), meaning that having more rings provides better protection.
Percentage meter
In the Super Smash Bros. series, instead of health bars featured in most fighting games, percentage meters are used. When attacking an opponent or being attacked by an opponent, the percentage meter rises based on the damage inflicted; as the percentage meter increases, the character gradually becomes easier to knock away with strong attacks, possibly getting knocked out of the arena and, thus, losing either a life or a point, depending on the mode of play.Health represented without Heads-Up Display
In order to immerse the player in the gaming experience, some developers do away with the health bar (and other on-screen displays) completely and try to present a character's health in other ways, such as showing a character limping or displaying visible wounds when they are injured. Jurassic Park: TrespasserJurassic Park: Trespasser
Jurassic Park: Trespasser is a video game released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows after much hype and anticipation. The player assumes the role of Anne, the sole survivor of a plane crash on InGen's "Site B" one year after the events of The Lost World: Jurassic Park...
(1998) has no HUD and represents its player character's (Anne) health as a heart-shaped tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
on her breast which fills up with red as the damage increases. When she dies, the heart has a chain around it. In the Resident Evil (1996–present) video games, health is shown both with the player character limping and pressing his/her wounds in pain, and with an EKG display in the inventory screen. Games like Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter video game and the second installment in the critically acclaimed Call of Duty series. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It was released on October 25, 2005 for Microsoft Windows and on November 22, 2005 as a launch game for the...
(2005) or Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is a first person shooter action adventure game based on the 2005 film King Kong...
(2005) have no life bar; instead, the game uses the screen as health, and when the player gets hit, the screen flashes red, and in some games the vision will also becomes blurred in this condition (more damage indicated by a deeper red coloration). In some games, characters slouch over and breathe heavily as a result of low health when left idle; blood stains or wounds may also appear on characters to show they are injured. in Infamous, Blood splatters across the screen when Cole is damaged, more damage means More blood on the screen. Some third-person games such as Dead Space
Dead Space (video game)
Dead Space is a survival horror third-person shooter video game, developed by EA Redwood Shores for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was made available on Steam on October 20, 2008...
(2008) and Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a 2009 cross-platform action game based on the Ghostbusters film franchise. Terminal Reality developed the Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions, while Red Fly Studio developed the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii versions, and Zen Studios...
(2009) have health bars shown on the player model rather than in a HUD. They resemble ordinary health meters apart from being physically attached to the character's equipment.