action game part of a series onaction games subgenres actionadventure game action roleplaying game open world stealth game survival game survival horror battle royale beat em up fighting game platform game platformadventure game metroidvania shooter game firstperson shooter thirdperson shooter hero shooter light gun shooter roleplaying shooter shoot em up tactical shooter rhythm game topics capture the flag cover system firstperson shooter engine free look quick time event wasd keys lists list of beat em ups list of fighting game companies list of fighting games list of firstperson shooters list of freeware firstperson shooters list of thirdperson shooters list of shoot em up game companies list of survival games list of gun games list of maze video games list of platform games vte the action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges including handeye coordination and reactiontime the genre includes a large variety of subgenres such as fighting games beat em ups shooter games and platform games which are widely considered the most important action games though multiplayer online battle arena and some realtime strategy games are also considered to be action games in an action game the player typically controls a character often in the form of a protagonist or avatar this player character must navigate a level 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 major antagonist in the games story enemy attacks and obstacles deplete the player characters health and lives and the player receives a game over when they run out of lives alternatively the player gets to the end of the game by finishing a sequence of levels and seeing the credits but some action games such as early arcade games are unbeatable and have an indefinite number of levels with the players only goal being to get as far as they can to maximize their score defining elements the action genre includes any game where the player overcomes challenges by physical means such as precise aim and quick response times game design levels players advance through an action game by completing a series of levels 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 increasingly though some games allow for resurrection or cloning and the opportunity to regain lost items upon death for a certain sum of ingame currency typically increasing exponentially the more times the player dies 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 levels in an action game may be linear or nonlinear 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 secretshidden or hardtoreach objects or places that contain something valuable the prize can be a bonus see below or a nonstandard 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 players avatar to reappear 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 action games sometimes make use of time restrictions to increase the challenge however game levels typically do not react to time passing and daynight cycles are rare character abilities in most action games the player controls a single avatar as the protagonist players may find a powerup 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 obstacles and enemies 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 complex artificial intelligence to pursue the player enemies sometimes appears 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 health and lives in many action games the avatar has a certain number of hitmarkers or health which are depleted by enemy attacks and other hazards sometimes health can be replenished by collecting an ingame object when the player runs out of health the player dies the players avatar is often given a small number of chances to retry after death typically referred to as lives 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 reorient themselves players may earn extra lives by reaching a certain score or by finding an ingame object arcade games still limit the number of player lives while home video games have shifted increasingly to unlimited lives graphics and interface action games take place in either 2d or 3d from a variety of perspectives 2d action games typically use a side view or topdown 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 firstperson or thirdperson perspective however some 3d games offer a contextsensitive perspective that is controlled by an artificial intelligence camera most of what the player needs to know is contained within a single screen although action games frequently make use of a headsup 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 minimap that is always visible scoring and victory action games tend to set simple goals and reaching them is obvious many action games keep track of the players score points are awarded for completing certain challenges or defeating certain enemies skillful play is often rewarded with point multipliers such as in pacman 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 players score there is no penalty for failing to collect them although these bonus objects may unlock hidden levels or special events 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 on the other hand 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 subgenres action games have several major subgenres however there are many action games without any clear subgenre such as frogger as well as other types of genres like adventure or strategy that have action elements actionadventure games mix elements of both action and adventure genres examples include the legend of zelda assassins creed and grand theft auto series beat em ups are games that involve fighting through a sidescrolling stage of multiple adversaries using martial arts or other closerange fighting techniques fighting games feature combat between pairs of fighters usually using martial arts moves actions are limited to various attacks and defenses and matches end when a fighters health is reduced to zero they often make use of special moves and combos there are both 2d and 3d fighting games but most 3d fighting games largely take place in a 2d plane and occasionally include sidestepping they are distinct from sports games such as boxing and wrestling games which attempt to model movements and techniques more realistically maze games such as pacman involve navigating a maze to avoid or chase adversaries platform games involve jumping between platforms of different heights while battling enemies and avoiding obstacles physics are often unrealistic and game levels are often vertically exaggerated they exist in both 2d and 3d forms rhythm action games challenge the players sense of rhythm and award points for accurately pressing certain buttons in sync with a musical beat this is a relatively new subgenre of action game shooter games allow the player to take action at a distance using a ranged weapon challenging them to aim with accuracy although shooting is usually a form of violence nonviolent shooters exist as well such as splatoon this subgenre includes firstperson shooters and thirdperson shooters as well as a plethora of other shoot em up games taking place from a topdown or sideview perspective survival games start the player off with minimal resources in a hostile openworld environment and require them to collect resources craft tools weapons and shelter in order to survive as long as possible many are set in procedurallygenerated environments and are openended with no set goals they may overlap with the survival horror genre in which the player must survive within a supernatural setting such as a zombie apocalypse a specific subgenre of survival game is battle royale physical impact studies have shown that people can improve their eyesight by playing action video games tests by scientists at the university of rochester on college students showed that over a period of a month performance in eye examinations improved by about 20 in those playing unreal tournament compared to those playing tetris researchers from helsinki school of economics have shown that people playing a firstperson 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 was james bond 007 nightfire history a major turning point for action games came with the 1978 release of the shoot em up game space invaders in much the same way space invaders set the template for the shooter game subgenre vtevideo game genres listaction beat em up hack and slash fighting maze pacman clone platform shooter firstperson thirdperson light gun shoot em up tactical survival battle royale actionadventure grand theft auto clone immersive sim metroidvania stealth survival horror psychological horror adventure escape the room interactive fiction interactive movie visual novel mmo mmofps mmorpg mmorts mud roleplaying action roleplaying dungeon crawl roguelike tactical roleplaying simulation construction and management business city government life simulation dating sim digital pet god social simulation sports strategy 4x multiplayer online battle arena realtime strategy tower defense time management realtime tactics turnbased strategy turnbased tactics wargame vehicle simulation flight simulator amateur combat space racing kart racing sim racing submarine simulator train simulator vehicular combat other genres artillery breakout clone digital collectible card game eroge exergame incremental music rhythm nongame party programming puzzle sokoban tilematching related concepts aaa game advertising arcade game art game audio game casual game christian game crossover game educational game fmv gamification indie game multiplayer video game nonlinear gameplay open world nonviolent video game online game browser game multiplayer online game online gambling socialnetwork game pervasive game serious game toystolife twitch gameplay video game clone 