Power-Ups
Game elements that provide instant benefits or advantages when collected.
Many games contain Power-Ups - game items in the game worlds which as soon as players move avatars in direct proximity to them disappear and provide some benefit.
This pattern is a still a stub.
See also the Wikipedia entry for Power-Ups[1]
Contents
Examples
Many Power-Ups give temporary benefits when picked up. The power pills in Pac-Man allows players to hunt ghosts for a limited amount of time, The fire flower in the Super Mario series allow Mario to shot fireballs until damaged, and the "Quad" damage Power-Ups in the Quake series quadruples the damage caused by the players' weapons for a limited amount of time. Ammunition found in the Quake games, and also in the Half-Life series, are another form of Power-Ups. The Super Mario Kart series allows players that have received the Fake Item Box Power-Ups to drop traps that will roll opponents not noticing the slight differences between these and the other Power-Ups in the game.
Other Power-Ups are effectively ways to replenish resources, or affecting the amount of resources one can have. Heart Power-Ups in The Legend of Zelda series heal one health each, 1-Up mushrooms in the Super Mario series give extra lives, and ammunition cartridges and boxes found in the Doom and Half-Life series provide extra rounds for weapons. In contrast, the super mushrooms in the Super Mario series and the heart containers in The Legend of Zelda series increase the total health by one. While scores
The experience points and money given as rewards in Ravenwood Fair and Zombie Lane are optional Power-Ups in that they function like these but if they are not picked up after a certain amount of time the game picks them up for the players.
Using the pattern
Time Limits Game Element Insertion Avatars Persistent Game Worlds
The possibilities regarding where the Producers of the Power-Ups are and when Power-Ups appear are similar to those of Pick-Ups. The main differences are that Power-Ups often give the player New Abilities or Privileged Abilities, and one has to determine how long the effect of the Power-Up lasts and if players can Trading them. However, Power-Ups can also provide Improved Abilities such as temporarily raising Skills.
Since the Power-Up typically gives the player an advantage without a matching disadvantage, the use of Power-Ups may cause problems with Player Balance more easily than using plain Pick-Ups.
Diegetic Aspects
Given that Power-Ups disappear as soon as touched, they are difficult to combine with Diegetically Tangible Game Items.
Consequences
Power-Ups are barely Game Items in that they are Pick-Ups that cease to exist when taken, and this makes them instantiate Game Element Removal. They give players Ephemeral Goals of Collecting when they appear; knowing their location and when they are produced allows players to locate Strategic Locations and have Strategic Knowledge. When several players have this getting to the Power-Ups first can create Races.
The Power-Ups that have Time Limits can increase Tension if the usefulness of the Power-Ups depend on the success of other goals; Using the quad damage Power-Ups efficiently in the Quake series, for example, depends on locating and hitting enemies first. Power-Ups that provide New Abilities can for quite natural reasons give rise to Gain Ability goals.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Collecting, Ephemeral Goals, Game Element Removal, Game Items, Pick-Ups, Races, Strategic Knowledge, Strategic Locations
with New Abilities
with Time Limits
Can Modulate
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Possible Closure Effects
Potentially Conflicting With
Diegetically Tangible Game Items
History
An updated version of the pattern Power-Ups that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design[2].
