History Main / HitPoints

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' has a pretty unique way of going about this. You control two characters at once, but both of them are a OneHitPointWonder. Getting hit doesn't cost you a life, however. You just lose whomever you are controlling and take control of your partner, making your partner essentially your extra hit point. ''Returns'' and ''Tropical Freeze'' play this more straight, where you are given a simple life meter with two hit points.

This trope can be directly traced from the original ''DungeonsAndDragons'', right down [[TropeNamer to the name]]. Since then, it's been used in genres as diverse as FirstPersonShooter, RolePlayingGame, and RealTimeStrategy, and is nigh-universal for each, due to its usefulness for programmers (the alternative is the OneHitpointWonder). On some occasions, the number itself is hidden and only a LifeMeter is shown to represent damage. SurvivalHorror games favor foregoing even that, and simply displaying one of three to four colors in the status screen to indicate the player's well-being.

* In the ''UfoAfterblank'' series, the soldiers in your squad have hit point bars, but the mechanism behind getting shot/stabbed/exploded is more complex than just a substraction. Soldiers start with a completely green health bar. If they take damage, part of this damage is temporary damage, indicated by making part of the green bar red. This damage can be healed (red part of the bar turned to green) during the mission. But part of the damage is semi-permanent and can only be healed outside of the mission, indicated by a shortening of the health bar. When the complete bar is red, the character is knocked out.

* The ''BattleTech'' board game and most of the Mechwarrior computer games based on it, use section-specific hit points (split between armor and structure points) to track damage to [[{{Subsystemdamage}} individual hit locations]] of both [[HumongousMecha BattleMechs]] and combat vehicles in addition to allowing for damage to specific [[CriticalHit internal components]] once an attack reaches the internal structure proper or a lucky hit manages to slip past still-extant armor protection. There are also fairly specific rules for each particular ''case'' of component damage; for example, lost leg actuators reduce speed and make it more difficult to keep one's footing, gyro damage makes keeping the 'Mech's balance much harder or even impossible, limbs can be blown off entirely by a bad enough hit even if there is still internal structure left, and a hit to anything suitably explosive (like most but not all ammunition and some weapons) will obviously cause it to blow up, potentially taking the 'Mech with it.

** The 3D Mario platforming games like ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGameSuperMarioSunshine'' have a traditional LifeMeter that allow Mario to take a certain amount of hits before losing a life and health lost depends on the enemy or hazard. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' uses a more simple life meter where Mario can only take 3 hits before losing a life or 6 hits if he finds a health extending mushroom.

* In ''VideoGame/TronDeadlyDiscs'', the player is given a single life, but can take a few hits before he is derezzed. In the {{Atari 2600}} version, the player character changes colors whenever he gains or loses a hit point.

One of the most common tropes in the world of video games is the use of HitPoints.

[[CallAHitPointASmeerp They're not always called "Hit Points,"]] but if they have an on-screen abbreviation, it's almost always HP. If individual body parts have hitpoints, that's SubSystemDamage. Sometimes entities have MultipleLifeBars, layered in combinations like RegeneratingShieldStaticHealth or for different types of attacks.

One of the most common tropes in the world of video games is the use of HitPoints (often abbreviated as HP), Although they can also be called Health Points, or can be collectively referred to as Health Power.

One of the most common tropes in the world of video games is the use of HitPoints. Although they can also be called Health Points, or can be collectively referred to as Health Power.

One of the most common tropes in the world of video games is the use of HitPoints.

In {{First Person Shooter}}s, this number is often ''exactly'' 100, and is taken to be a percentage of the player's normal uninjured health, with "mega health"-type items that cause your health to go above 100 often resulting in your health slowly ticking back down to 100. Ever since ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'', players and enemies often take multiples of damage based on where they are hit, but in the end, [[BoomHeadshot a bullet in the head]] is exactly the same as twelve in the foot, or what have you. It's a good thing there are so many [[HealThyself water fountains]] and {{Healing Potion}}s spread about.

Rather than using actual wounds and damage, players have a number attributed to their health that clearly indicates how close to death they are. It's like a time-irrelevant take on ExactTimeToFailure in that [[CriticalExistenceFailure only losing the last one]] causes any real harm. It should be noted, however, that HP in many games (especially [[TabletopRPG Tabletop [=RPGs=]]]) is supposedly a statistically concealed conceit of both PlotArmor and actual health. As your HP drops, it's ostensibly your talent/luck at dodging, deflecting and absorbing blows dropping as you get more tired and desperate until you actually get hurt (This explanation raises [[FridgeLogic problems of its own]] all too often, especially when you take healing potions and spells, which restore Hit Points, into consideration.)

This trope can be directly traced from the original ''DungeonsAndDragons'', right down to the name. Since then, it's been used in genres as diverse as FirstPersonShooter, RolePlayingGame, and RealTimeStrategy, and is nigh-universal for each, due to its usefulness for programmers (the alternative is the OneHitpointWonder). On some occasions, the number itself is hidden and only a LifeMeter is shown to represent damage. SurvivalHorror games favor foregoing even that, and simply displaying one of three to four colors in the status screen to indicate well-being.

Rather than using actual wounds and damage, players have a number attributed to their health that clearly indicates how close to death they are. It's like a time-irrelevant take on ExactTimeToFailure in that [[CriticalExistenceFailure only losing the last one]] causes any real harm. It should be noted, however, that HP in many games (especially [[TabletopRPG Tabletop [=RPGs=]]]) is supposedly a statistically concealed conceit of both PlotArmor and actual health. As your HP drops, it's ostensibly your talent/luck at dodging, deflecting and absorbing blows dropping as you get more tired and desperate until you actually get hurt (This explanation raises [[FridgeLogic problems of its own]] all too often, especially when you take healing potions and spells, which restore your HP, into consideration.)

Rather than using actual wounds and damage, players have a number attributed to their health that clearly indicates how close to death they are. It's like a time-irrelevant take on ExactTimeToFailure in that [[CriticalExistenceFailure only losing the last one]] causes any real harm. It should be noted, however, that HP in many games (especially [[TabletopRPG Tabletop [=RPGs=]]]) is supposedly a statistically concealed conceit of both PlotArmor and actual health. As your HP drops, it's ostensibly your talent/luck at dodging, deflecting and absorbing blows dropping as you get more tired and desperate until you actually get hurt (This explanation raises [[FridgeLogic problems of its own]] all too often.)

* In the short-lived TSR RPG ''Alternity'', players kept track of four separate degrees of HP - fatigue, stun, wound and mortal. Stun represented bruises and pulled muscles, wound broken bones and deep cuts, and mortal grievous bodily harm. Fatigue was a measure of exactly what it says on the tin. Losing half of your stun or wound caused the player to take a penalty on all actions, and any point of mortal or fatigue loss gave the player a penalty. All these penalties stacked, meaning that characters could get to the point where, having taken enough damage and fought for a long enough time, they wouldn't even be able to stand.

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