Action game

An action game is a video game genre defined by physical challenges. These challenges focus on hand-eye coordination and rapid reaction times. Players typically control a single character known as a protagonist or an avatar. This character must navigate complex levels to achieve specific goals. Players often collect objects and avoid various obstacles during their journey. Combat is a central element involving enemies and specialized tools.

Success requires quick responses rather than complex strategic planning.

Game design relies heavily on a structured series of levels. These levels are frequently organized into themed groups called worlds. A world uses similar graphics and enemy types to create a cohesive setting. Levels can be linear, following a single path, or nonlinear. Nonlinear levels might feature shortcuts or hidden secrets for players to discover. These secrets can include valuable objects or even entire hidden levels. Some levels utilize teleporters to move an avatar to a new location.

Locked doors may also require specific keys found elsewhere in the level.

Character abilities define how a player interacts with the game world. An avatar can maneuver through spaces and manipulate various objects. Most characters possess a range of defenses and attacks, such as punching or shooting. Some games feature a rare, powerful attack that destroys all nearby enemies. Players can often find a power-up to improve their character's abilities. A power-up might grant increased speed, stronger attacks, or a temporary shield. In some titles, players spend upgrade points to customize these improvements.

Enemies and obstacles provide the primary difficulty in action games. Enemies often follow fixed patterns, though modern games use complex artificial intelligence. Some enemies appear in waves that increase in strength and number. Enemies might even appear from invisible spawn points or visible generators. At the end of a themed group of levels, players often face a boss. A boss is a larger or more difficult version of a regular enemy. Defeating a boss often requires using a specific weapon or a precise attack method.

Health and lives serve as the primary mechanics for failure. An avatar has health or hit-markers that deplete when hit by hazards. When health reaches zero, the player's character dies. Players are typically granted a set number of lives to retry the game. Upon starting a new life, players often receive brief invincibility to re-orient themselves. Older games required players to restart an entire level after dying. Modern games use checkpoints or saved games to allow restarts from a specific point.

Action games are categorized into several distinct subgenres. Beat 'em ups, or brawlers, involve fighting through stages of multiple adversaries. Fighting games focus on combat between pairs of fighters using martial arts. These matches usually end when one fighter's health reaches zero. Hack and slash games are a subgenre of brawlers emphasizing melee weapons like swords. Platform games, or platformers, require jumping between platforms of different heights. Shooter games challenge players to use ranged weapons with accuracy and speed. These include first-person shooters, third-person shooters, and rail shooters.

History and platform evolution have changed how these games are played. Early arcade games were often designed to be unbeatable. These games had no end and focused solely on maximizing a high score. Home video games changed this by offering discrete victory conditions. Completing a sequence of levels allows players to finish a story and see the credits. Graphics have also evolved from 2D side-scrollers to complex 3D environments. 3D games may use a first-person perspective or a third-person perspective. Some even use an artificial intelligence camera to control the view.