Information AboutPower-up |
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, Mario earns 1000 points, doubles in size, and becomes able to withstand an attack without dying.]] In Computer And Video Games , power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character. This is contrast to an Item , which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player. Although often collected directly through touch, power-ups can sometimes only be gained by collecting several related items, such as the letters of the word 'EXTEND' in '' Bubble Bobble ''. Well known examples of power-ups that have entered Popular Culture include the power-pills from '' Pac-Man '' and the ''Super Mushroom'' from '' Super Mario Bros. '' Items that confer power-ups are usually pre-placed in the game world, spawned randomly, dropped by beaten enemies or picked up from opened or smashed containers. They can be differentiated from items in other games, such as , Run And Gun s, Shoot 'em Up s, First-person Shooter s, Platform Game s, Puzzle Game s, and Vehicular Combat Game s. TYPES OF POWERUPS Power-ups can be classified according to the type of benefit they give the player. Offensive ability Gives a new weapon, or transforms the player character into a more aggressive form that increases its attack power or makes some enemies vulnerable. This also includes "smart bombs", which are weapons that destroy every enemy on the screen at once; these are prevalent in many different genres including Vehicular Combat , Run And Gun s, and Platform Games . The effect can be time-limited, last until the player is hit, last until the player is killed, or last until Game Over . Examples:
Defensive abilities Typically consists of items like ''shields'' (usually a " Force Field ") surrounding the character that reflects projectiles or absorbs a certain amount of damage, or invincibility/invulnerability. In the case of invincibility is nearly always granted as a temporary bonus, because otherwise it negates the challenge of the game. Invincibility (or "invulnerability") comes in two main forms: either the player character merely becomes intangible to harmful things, or can also damage enemies by contact. In either case the character is often still vulnerable to some threats, such as bottomless pits. In many games, invulnerability is also temporarily granted after the player gets hit or loses a life, so that the character will not be hurt/killed twice in quick succession. The effect is commonly indicated by making the player character flash or blink or by musical cues. Examples:
Evasive abilities Items which help the player avoid or escape enemies or enemy weapons. This category includes ''speed boosts'' and other power-ups which affect time, which can be temporary, permanent, or cumulative, and ''invisibility'' power-ups which help the player avoid enemies.
Access abilities Items which help the player enter new or previously unaccessible areas, or "warp" to another level. Access abilities, depending on the game, can be required to progress normally or be entirely optional. Examples:
Health and life reserves Typically consists of Health (most typically in med. kits, food, or as energy) or 1-up s (which give an extra chance to continue playing after losing, commonly called a 'life'). Examples:
Token abilities Items whose main feature is that they are found in large numbers, to encourage the player to reach certain spots in the game world. They have various cumulative effects. Examples:
Trick power-ups '' which causes damage to the player]] These power-ups try to trick the player into grabbing them, only to result usually into damage, removed abilities, or player death. Examples:
ATTAINING POWER-UPS There are many different methods of attaining power-ups:
POWER-UPS IN SHOOT 'EM UPS '']] Shoot 'em up games have several unique aspects regarding power-ups that contrast it from other genres. Firstly, power-ups come from different sources than in other games. In some games, particular kinds of enemies or ground structures need to be annihilated to reveal powerups. Another common method of revealing power-ups is through the successful destruction of entire formation of enemies; usually the enemies are similarly colored or shaped. A power-up mechanic specific to shoot 'em ups is one that allows the player cycle through various types of abilities, either automatically or when shot. This allows the player to pick it up when it is of the type they want; this mechanic is used in many games, including '' 1943 '', '' Alpha Mission '', and '' Side Arms ''. Common Power-ups in shooter games include: Companion fighter: A small object that follows the character and fires whenever the character fires- Commonly called a Wingman. Usually, the companion fighter has the same weapon as the character. In ''Gradius,'' the character's companion fighters are called options. Capcom's ''Forgotten Worlds'' game allowed the character to purchase companion fighters called satellites, though in this game each satellite had its own unique weapon (like homing missiles or napalm bombs). In Tyrian , Companion ships are available as a sidekick weapon, with a different weapon that the player's. Directional shot:Fires additional shots behind and/or to the sides of the character. Flamethrower: Generally a powerful weapon with a short range, flamethrowers sometimes allow the player to fire continuously by holding down the button. In some games, the flamethrower can destroy incoming shots. Force field: Temporarily protects the character from harm. Guided missile: A shot that homes in on the closest target. Laser: Usually a powerful single beam that only travels in a straight line away from the character. In some games, like Konami's ''Gradius,'' lasers will travel through several enemies. Multi-directional shot: A weapon that fires several shots (usually three to seven). These shots usually fan out in front of the character and cover a wide area. A good example is the Spread gun in Konami's ''Contra'' series. In games that feature ships, like ''Stinger'' and ''Star Soldier'' for the NES, multi-directional weapons can extend to cover the character's rear. Power shot: Makes the character's shots more powerful. The arcade classic ''Gauntlet'' contains a power up that makes the character's attack stronger. In Tyrian purple orbs and metal bars increase the power of the front and rear guns, usually resulting in greater rate of fire, changes in appearance of the beam or blast, increase of the number of bullets shot all with an increase of power. Some Tyrian weapons can even pass through enemies and scenery. In the Super Arcade Modes of Tyrian 2000, if you grab a weapon pod of the same colour two or more times in a row, immediately powers that weapon up and also gives you an extra life until the weapon is at maximum power. Rapid Fire: Allows a faster rate of fire. Reflecting shot: This power up makes the character's attacks bounce off solid surfaces. This is another power up found in the ''Gauntlet'' games. Wide shot: The power up increases the number of shots the character fires. Rather than causing the attacks to spread out, the number of forward facing shots increases. In Capcom's ''1942,'' a common power up doubles the number of shots the character fires, going from two to four. POWER-UP CRATES Power-up crates are small boxes that appeared in Real-Time Strategy games, most noticeable the Command & Conquer Series , whereas when touched by one of the player's units, gave the player a random power-up. The power-up might give the player a free unit or it might upgrade the unit that picks it up. The power-ups included at first a Nuke, better Speed, Invincibility, Healing, Reveal Map, etc. Later games upgraded the unit further by promoting it, enhancing power, more armor, etc. In the game Red Alert 2 , power-ups also appeared in the water because it was the first game in the series where the player could build ships. In the earlier games, there were fake crates. When the player's unit touched the crate, a bomb would explode and destroy all units within range, much to the players' dismay. Selection bar Instead of having the player collect a power-up that is "instantly" activated, an alternative means of powering up a player is to allow them to select which power-ups they want to utilize. This is method is commonly implemented through a '''selection bar'' which contains a number of power-up effects. To access the bar, the player must collect power-up items; the more they collect, the further along the bar they can access. The more powerful power-ups are traditionally placed further along the bar, so that more effort is required to obtain them. The selection bar was first used in Konami 's 1985 hit, '' Gradius ''. ORIGINS OF THE TERM "Power-up" and "1-up" are examples of a common form of '' Wasei-eigo '' (Japanese pseudo-Anglicisms), in which the word "up" is prefixed by some desirable quality. The general meaning of ''X-up'' in Japanese is "this will increase your X" and this construction is regularly used in areas such as advertising. This is similar to another phrase, ''X get!'', as seen in Super Mario Sunshine 's Japanese version's "Shine Get!" phrase. |
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