Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that benefit or add extra abilities to the game character. 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.
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 guns, 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:
- Mega Man: The weapons earned from the Robot Masters upon defeating them. The weapons are kept until a game over is reached.
- Donkey Kong: File:Dk hammer.gif The hammer that Mario can use to destroy barrels and fireballs. This effect lasts for approximately twenty seconds.
- Pacman: Ghosts can be attacked after Pacman is transformed (temporally) via power pills. This makes Pacman temporarily invulnerable, so the effect can be also considered defensive.
- Super Mario Bros: The player is transformed into Fiery Mario and can shoot fireballs after picking up Fire Flowers. The effect lasts until Mario is hit.
- Contra series: File:Contra powerup.gif The various rifles that come from the power-up balloons. This effect lasts until the player is killed.
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 comes in two main forms - either the player character merely becomes intangible to harmful things, or can also damage enemies by contact. Invincibility is also sometimes called 'invulnerability'. In many games, invulnerability is also temporarily granted after the player loses a life. The effect is commonly indicated by making the player character flash or blink.
Examples:
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The blue force-field which surrounds the player character, protecting them from one hit (after which it disappears).
- Mario: File:Mariostar.gif The Starman, an item that grants temporary invulnerability for a period of twenty seconds.
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.
- Rainbow Islands: The shoe power-up, which makes the player character move more quickly.
- R-Type: The 'S' icon, which increases the player's speed every time one is collected.
- Unreal Tournament: The Invisibility power-up, which turns the player into an indistinct wireframe.
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:
- Super Mario Bros. 3: The warp whistle, which allows player to warp to different levels, and the hammer, which allows players to take shortcuts on the overworld game map.
- Mega Man series: The rush power-ups, which allow the player to attain power-ups not possible by any other means.
Health and life reserves
Typically consists of Health (most typically in med. kits, food, or as energy) or 1-ups (which give an extra chance to continue playing after losing, commonly called a 'life').
Examples:
- Super Mario Bros: The Super Mushrooms and 1-up mushrooms that give Mario the abilty to take an extra hit and extra lives (respectively).
- Wonder Boy: Fruits recharge the continously dwindling player energy.
- Doom: First aid kits restore part of the player's health.
- Legend of Zelda: The heart containers permanently extend to the player's total health.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Pizza pies, which fully restore the player's health.
- Yashichi: File:Yashichi.gif a health power-up in many Capcom games
Trick power-ups
These power-ups try to trick the player into grabbing them, only to result usually into damage, removed abilities, or player death.
Examples:
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels: Poison mushroom, which will damage or kill the player.
- Bonk's Revenge: Fake power-up containers that actually release an enemy.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Fake power-up containers that cause damage to Sonic (pictured).
Attaining power-ups
There are many different methods of attaining power-ups:
- In many games, particularly platform games, there is one prevalent object scattered throughout each level that serves as a container for power-ups. In the Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania games this object is a candle, while in the Mario games, the opt-used container the is the "question block". In beat 'em up games, level-themed objects such as crates, barrels, or mailboxes serve as containers.
- In many games, such as the Mega Man series, power-ups can be attained through the elimination of enemies.
- It is common for games to also just leave the power-ups within plain view, such as in R.C. Pro-Am. It is also typical for games to require the player to travel a certain way or perform a specific action in order to attain said power-up, such as bombing through specific blocks in Super Metroid.
- Power-ups can also be attained by interacting with certain objects at specific points in the level, e.g. the tractor-trailer truck in Spy Hunter.
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 annilhated ot reveal powerups. Another common method of revealing power-ups is through the succesful 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.
Selection bar
Instead of having the player collect a power-up that is "instantly" activiated, 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.