The action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some real-time strategy games are also considered to be action games.
In an action game, the player typically controls the avatar of a protagonist. The avatar must navigate a level, collecting objects, avoiding obstacles, and battling enemies with various attacks. At the end of a level or group of levels, the player must often defeat a large boss enemy that is larger and more challenging than other enemies. Enemy attacks and obstacles deplete the avatar's health and lives, and the game is over when the player runs out of lives. Alternatively, the player wins the game by finishing a sequence of levels. But many action games are unbeatable and have an indefinite number of levels, and the player's only goal is to maximize their score by collecting objects and defeating enemies.
Read more about Action Game: Defining Elements, Subgenres, Physical Impact, History
Famous quotes containing the words action and/or game:
“A dramatist is one who believes that the pure event, an action involving human beings, is more arresting than any comment that can be made upon it.”
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)
“My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly say “I do not play bridge” is allowed to go over in the corner and run the pianola by himself, while the poor neophyte, no matter how much he may protest that he isn’t “at all a good player, in fact I’m perfectly rotten,” is never believed, but dragged into a game where it is discovered, too late, that he spoke the truth.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)