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Anaction game is avideo game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, includinghand–eye coordination andreaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such asfighting games,beat 'em ups,shooter games,rhythm games andplatform games.Multiplayer online battle arena and somereal-time strategy games are also considered action games.
In an action game, the player typically controls acharacter often in the form of aprotagonist oravatar. Thisplayer character must navigate alevel, collecting objects, avoiding obstacles, and battling enemies with their natural skills as well as weapons and other tools at their disposal. At the end of a level or group of levels, the player must often defeat a boss enemy that is more challenging and often a majorantagonist in the game's story. Enemy attacks and obstacles deplete the player character'shealth andlives, and the player receives agame over when they run out of lives.
Alternatively, the player gets to the end of the game by finishing a sequence of levels to complete a final goal, and see thecredits. Some action games, such as earlyarcade games, are unbeatable and have an indefinite number of levels. The player's only goal is to get as far as they can, to maximize their score.
The action genre includes any game where the player overcomes challenges by physical means such as precise aim and quick response times.[1] Action games can sometimes incorporate other challenges such as races, puzzles, or collecting objects, but they are not central to the genre. Players may encounter tactical and exploration challenges, but these games first-and-foremost require high reaction speed and good hand–eye coordination. The player is often under time pressure, and there is not enough time for complex strategic planning. In general, faster action games are more challenging. Action games may sometimes involve puzzle solving, but they are usually quite simple because the player is under immense time pressure.[2]
Players advance through an action game by completing a series oflevels. Levels are often grouped by theme, with similar graphics and enemies called a world. Each level involves a variety of challenges, whether dancing in a dance game or shooting things in a shooter, which the player must overcome to win the game. Older games force players to restart a level after dying, although action games evolved to offer saved games and checkpoints to allow the player to restart partway through a level. The obstacles and enemies in a level do not usually vary between play sessions, allowing players to learn by trial and error. However, levels sometimes add an element of randomness, such as an enemy that randomly appears or that takes an unpredictable path.[2]
Levels in an action game may be linear ornonlinear, and sometimes include shortcuts. For levels that require exploration, the player may need to search for a level exit that is hidden or guarded by enemies. Such levels can also contain secrets—hidden or hard-to-reach objects or places that contain something valuable. The prize can be a bonus (see below) or a non-standard exit that allows a player to access a hidden level, or jump ahead several levels. Action games sometimes offer a teleporter that will cause the player's avatar to re-appear elsewhere in the same level. Levels often make use of locked doors that can only be opened with a specific key found elsewhere in the level.[2]
Action games sometimes make use of time restrictions to increase the challenge. However, game levels typically do not react to time passing, and day/night cycles are rare.[2] When the timer expires, the player typically loses a life, although some games generate a difficult enemy or challenge. If the level is completed with time remaining, this usually adds to the player's score.[2]
In most action games, the player controls a singleavatar as theprotagonist.[2] The avatar has the ability to navigate and maneuver, and often collects or manipulates objects. They have a range of defenses and attacks, such as shooting or punching. Many action games make use of a powerful attack that destroys all enemies within a limited range, but this attack is rare.[2]
Players may find apower-up within the game world that grants temporary or permanent improvements to their abilities. For example, the avatar may gain an increase in speed, more powerful attacks, or a temporary shield from attacks. Some action games even allow players to spend upgrade points on the power ups of their choice.[2]
In action games that involve navigating a space, players will encounter obstacles, traps, and enemies. Enemies typically follow fixed patterns and attack the player, although newer action games may make use of more complexartificial intelligence to pursue the player. Enemies sometimes appear in groups or waves, with enemies increasing in strength and number until the end of the level. Enemies may also appear out of thin air. This can involve an invisible spawn point, or a visible generator which can be destroyed by the player. These points may generate enemies indefinitely, or only up to a certain number.[2]
At the end of a level or group of themed levels, players often encounter aboss. This boss enemy will often resemble a larger or more difficult version of a regular enemy. A boss may require a special weapon or attack method, such as striking when the boss opens their mouth, or attacking particular part of the boss.[2]
In many action games, the avatar has a certain number of hit-markers or health, which are depleted by enemy attacks and other hazards. Sometimes health can be replenished by collecting an in-game object. When the player runs out of health, the player dies. The player's avatar is often given a small number of chances to retry after death, typically referred to aslives. Upon beginning a new life, the player resumes the game either from the same location they died, a checkpoint, or the start of the level. Upon starting a new life, the avatar is typically invincible for a few seconds to allow the player to re-orient themselves. Players may earn extra lives by reaching a certain score or by finding an in-game object. Arcade games still limit the number of player lives, while home video games have shifted increasingly to unlimited lives.[2]
Action games take place in either 2D or 3D from a variety of perspectives. 2D action games typically use a side view or top-down view. The screen frequently scrolls as the player explores the level, although many games scroll through the level automatically to push the player forward. In 3D action games, the perspective is usually tied to the avatar from a first-person perspective or third-person perspective. However, some 3D games offer a context-sensitive perspective that is controlled by anartificial intelligence camera. Most of what the player needs to know is contained within a single screen, although action games frequently make use of aheads-up display that display important information such as health or ammunition. Action games sometimes make use of maps which can be accessed during lulls in action, or a mini-map that is always visible.[2]
Action games tend to set simple goals, and reaching them is obvious.[2] A common goal is to defeat the end-of-game boss. This is often presented in the form of a structured story, with a happy ending upon winning the game. In some games, the goal changes as the player reveals more of the story.[2]
Many action games keep track of the player's score. Points are awarded for completing certain challenges, or defeating certain enemies. Skillful play is often rewarded with point multipliers, such as inPac-Man where each ghost that the avatar eats will generate twice as many points as the last. Sometimes action games will offer bonus objects that increase the player's score. There is no penalty for failing to collect them, although these bonus objects may unlock hidden levels or special events.[2]
In many action games, achieving a high score is the only goal, and levels increase in difficulty until the player loses. Arcade games are more likely to be unbeatable, as they make their money by forcing the player to lose the game. Games sold at home are more likely to have discrete victory conditions, since a publisher wants the player to purchase another game when they are done.[2]
Action games contain several major subgenres. However, there are a number of action games that do not fit any particular subgenres, as well as other types of genres like adventure orstrategy games that have action elements.[2]
Shooter games allow the player to take action at a distance using a ranged weapon, challenging them to aim with accuracy and speed. This subgenre includesfirst-person shooters (doom clones),third-person shooters,light gun shooters,rail shooters, run and gun games and a plethora ofshoot 'em up games taking place from atop-down orside-scrolling perspective.[2] Space shooters were initially categorized as a separate genre from action games in the early 1980s, when the term was used to refer to character action games,[18][14][19] up until character-driven shooters, particularly scrolling run-and-gun shooters, became popular by the late 1980s.[14]
The setting of shooter games often involves military conflicts, whether historical, such asWorld War II, contemporary, such asMiddle East conflicts, or fictional, such asspace warfare. Shooter games do not always involve military conflicts. Other settings includehunting games, or follow the story of a criminal, as seen in the popularGrand Theft Auto franchise. Although shooting is almost always a form of violence, non-violent shooters exist as well, such asSplatoon which focuses on claiming more territory than the opposing team, by covering the playable environment with colored paint or ink.
Hybrid action games are games that combine elements of action games with elements from other genres.
Studies have shown that people can improve their eyesight by playing action video games. Tests by scientists at theUniversity of Rochester on college students showed that over a period of a month, performance in eye examinations improved by about 20% in those playingUnreal Tournament compared to those playingTetris.[24] Mostarcade games are action games, because they can be difficult for unskilled players, and thus make more money quickly.[2]
Researchers fromHelsinki School of Economics have shown that people playing afirst-person shooter might secretly enjoy that their character gets killed in the game, although their expressions might show the contrary. The game used in the study wasJames Bond 007: Nightfire.[25]
Shooter games have been around since the beginning of thevideo game industry. Notable examples of shootingarcade video games during the early-to-mid-1970s includeSyzygy Engineering'sComputer Space (1971),Galaxy Game (1971),Tank (1974) byKee Games,Gun Fight (1975) byTaito andMidway Manufacturing, and Midway'sSea Wolf (1976). In turn, early arcade shooter video games were inspired byearly mainframe games such asSpacewar! (1962) as well as arcadeelectro-mechanical games such asPeriscope (1965) andgun games.
A major turning point for action video games came with the 1978 release of Taito'sshoot 'em up gameSpace Invaders,[26] which marked the beginning of thegolden age of arcade video games.[27] The game was designed byTomohiro Nishikado, who drew inspiration fromAtari'sBreakout (1976) and thescience fiction genre. Nishikado added several interactive elements toSpace Invaders that he found lacking in earlier video games, such as the ability for enemies to react to the player's movement and fire back and agame over triggered by enemies killing the player, either by getting hit or enemies reaching the bottom of the screen, rather than a timer running out.[28]
In contrast to earlier arcade games which often had a timer,Space Invaders introduced the "concept of goinground after round."[29] It also gave the player multiplelives before the game ends,[30] and saved thehigh score.[31] It also had a basic story with animated characters along with a "crescendo of action and climax" which laid the groundwork for later video games, according toEugene Jarvis,[32] who said many games "still rely on the multiplelife, progressively difficultlevel paradigm" ofSpace Invaders.[33]
Following the mainstream success ofSpace Invaders, the industry came to be dominated by action games,[26] which have remained a dominantgenre invideo arcades and ongame consoles through to the present day.Space Invaders set the template for later games in the shooter subgenre,[26][34] and it is considered one of the most influential games of all time.[35]
During the arcade golden age, from the late 1970s to early 1980s, a wide variety of new subgenres were created.[14] The success ofSpace Invaders led to space shooters becoming the dominant genre in arcades for a few years, before a new genre of character-driven action games emerged in the early 1980s.[36]
The term "action games" began being used in the early 1980s, in reference to a new genre of character action games that emerged from Japanese arcade developers, drawing inspiration frommanga andanime culture. According toEugene Jarvis, these new character-driven Japanese action games emphasized "character development, hand-drawn animation and backgrounds, and a more deterministic, scripted, pattern-type" of play. Terms such as "action games" or "character games" began being used to distinguish these new character-driven action games from the space shooters that had previously dominated the video game industry.[18][14][19] The emphasis on character-driven gameplay in turn enabled a wider variety of subgenres.[14]
Namco's hit maze gamePac-Man (1980)[37][2] popularized the genre of "character-led" action games.[36] It was one of the first popular non-shooting action games, defining key elements of the genre such as "parallel visual processing" which requires simultaneously keeping track of multiple entities, including the player character, the character's location, the enemies, and the energizers.[13] Other classic examples of character action games that followed includeNintendo'sDonkey Kong (1981),[36] which established the template for theplatform game subgenre,[38] as well asKonami'sFrogger (1981)[18] andUniversal Entertainment'sLady Bug (1981).[36]Martial arts action games eventually emerged in the mid-1980s, withData East'sKarate Champ (1984) establishing the one-on-onefighting game subgenre.[39]
While Japanese developers were creating a character-driven action game genre in the early 1980s, American developers largely adopted a different approach to game design at the time.[18] According to Eugene Jarvis, American arcade developers focused mainly onspace shooters during the late 1970s to early 1980s, greatly influenced by Japanese space shooters but taking the genre in a different direction from the "more deterministic, scripted, pattern-type" gameplay of Japanese games, towards a more "programmer-centric design culture, emphasizing algorithmic generation of backgrounds and enemy dispatch" and "an emphasis on random-event generation, particle-effect explosions and physics" as seen in arcade games such as his ownDefender (1981)[18] andRobotron: 2084 (1982)[2] as well asAtari'sAsteroids (1979).[40]
In the mid-1980s,side-scrolling character action games emerged, combining elements from earlier side-view, single-screen character action games, such as single-screen platformers, with the side-scrolling of space shooters. These new side-scrolling character-driven action games featured large charactersprites in colorful, side-scrolling environments, with the core gameplay consisting of fighting large groups of weaker enemies using attacks/weapons such as punches, kicks, guns, swords,ninjutsu or magic.[14]
The most notable early example wasIrem'sKung-Fu Master (1984),[14] the firstbeat 'em up[41] and the most influential side-scrolling martial arts action game.[42] It was based upon twoHong Kong martial arts films,Bruce Lee'sGame of Death (1973) andJackie Chan'sWheels on Meals (1984),[41][43] This side-scrolling arcade action format became popular during the mid-to-late 1980s, with examples includingninja action games such as Taito'sThe Legend of Kage (1985) andSega'sShinobi (1987),run and gun video games such asNamco'sRolling Thunder (1986), and beat 'em ups such asTechnōs Japan'sRenegade (1986) andDouble Dragon (1987).[14]
Shigeru Miyamoto combined the platforming ofDonkey Kong andMario Bros. (1983) with side-scrolling elements fromracing gameExcitebike (1984) and beat 'em upKung-Fu Master to createSuper Mario Bros. (1985) for theNintendo Entertainment System (NES).[44][45] It went on to have a significant impact on thevideo game industry, establishing the conventions of the side-scrolling platformer sub-genre and helping to reinvigorate the North American home video game market (after it hadcrashed in 1983).[14]
Alongside side-scrollers,rail shooters andlight gun shooters also became popular during the mid-to-late 1980s. Popular examples include first-person light gunshooting gallery games such asNintendo'sDuck Hunt (1984), pseudo-3D third-person rail shooters such as Sega'sSpace Harrier (1985) andAfter Burner (1987), and Taito'sOperation Wolf (1987) which popularized military-themed first-person light gun rail shooters.[46][47]
A trend that was popularized for action games in the early 1990s was competitivemultiplayer, including what would later be known asesports tournaments. The arcade fighting gameStreet Fighter II (1991) byCapcom popularized the concept of direct, tournament-level competition between two players.[48] Previously, action games most often relied onhigh scores to determine the best player, but this changed withStreet Fighter II, where players would instead challenge each other directly, "face-to-face," to determine the best player,[48] paving the way for the competitive multiplayer anddeathmatch modes found in modern action games.[49] Inspired byStreet Fighter II, along with theSNK fighting gamesFatal Fury (1991) andArt of Fighting (1992),John Romero created the deathmatch mode inid Software'sDoom (1993), which popularized competitive multiplayeronline games.[50]
In the 1990s, there was a "3D Revolution" where action games made the transition from2D andpseudo-3D graphics toreal-time3D polygon graphics. 3Darcade system boards that were originally designed for 3Dracing games during the late 1980s to early 1990s, such as theNamco System 21,Sega Model 1 andSega Model 2, were used to produce 3D arcade action games in the early 1990s, including 3Drail shooters such asNamco'sGalaxian 3 (1990) andSolvalou (1991), 3Dfighting games such asSega AM2'sVirtua Fighter (1993) and Namco'sTekken (1994), and 3Dlight gun shooters such as Sega AM2'sVirtua Cop (1994) and Namco'sTime Crisis (1995).[14]
Onpersonal computers, thefirst-person shooter (FPS) genre was popularized byDoom; it is also considered, despite not using 3D polygons, a major leap forward for three-dimensional environments in action games.[51] 3D polygontexture mapping appeared in action games around the mid-1990s, introduced to fighting games by Sega AM2'sVirtua Fighter 2 (1994),[52] to light gun shooters by Sega AM2'sVirtua Cop in 1994,[53][54] and to FPS games byParallax Software'sDescent (1995).[55]
Action game - A game characterized by simple action and response gameplay. ... the defining characteristic is that enemies and obstacles are overcome by 'physical' means, ratherthan involved intellectual problem solving.
what do you get if you putSonic the Hedgehog (or any other character action game for that matter) in 3D
2005年5月22日で生誕25周年を迎えた『パックマン』。 ("Pac-Man celebrates his 25th anniversary on May 22, 2005", seen in image caption)
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