Last man standing (LMS) or last team standing (LTS) is a
multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
deathmatch gameplay mode featured in some
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
computer and video games, and is also the essence of
battle royale game
A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who st ...
s. The aim of a player in a last man standing match is to neutralize their opponents and remain the sole survivor; the basic rules followed are generally the same of the deathmatch gametype, with an important difference:
respawn
In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character, item or NPC. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction, perhaps after losing one of its lives. Despawning is the deletion of an entity from the game ...
is limited or
not allowed at all. Each player is assigned a specific number of lives per match (or just one when there is no respawn); once these lives have been expended, the player will no longer be able to return to the current match and remain as an invisible spectator until there is a winner and the LMS round is over. Within several games players are called to buy or pick up items, while other titles will have the players spawned with full weapons and ammo and there are no powerups available on the map.
Several different variations of the last man standing mode exist, with the most common being team LMS. The rules are the same of the standard LMS and the winning team is the one able to eliminate all the members of the opposing teams and keep at least one of its components alive.
The first last-man-standing video game with a shrinking play zone was the 1983 action game ''
Bomberman
is a video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft and currently owned by Konami. The original game, also known as ''Bakudan Otoko'' (''爆弾男''), was released in Japan in July 1983 and has since spawned multiple sequels and sp ...
''.
Camping
In Last Man Standing mode,
camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...
, which is often considered an unsocial and dishonest tactic, is highly beneficial. A player can stay in hiding until other players have killed each other, so that a majority of the players are already eliminated. The hiding player now not only has the advantage of additional lives (the player hasn't been killed as many times as other players who have been constantly moving), but also now has to fight fewer players, each of whom has the disadvantage of fewer lives. This means that the player's chances of winning are higher than others' without any skill involved. Hence, it is often considered cheating.
Camping tends to stall a game. Due to camping being highly beneficial, if everybody hides so as to wait until some players are eliminated, the game will not be allowed to proceed.
Modern games, like ''
Unreal Tournament 2004
''Unreal Tournament 2004'' is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Part of the ''Unreal'' franchise, it is the third game in the '' Unreal Tournament'' series and the sequel to '' Unreal Tournam ...
'' can detect from a players movement if they are camping. If detected, the player is first given a warning and if the player continues camping, action is taken according to the server rules (generally, a camper is removed from the game).
In
vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games (also known as just vehicular combat or car combat) are a sub-genre of vehicle simulation video games where the primary objectives of gameplay include vehicles armed with weapons attempting to destroy vehicles controlle ...
s, camping can be prevented with a timeout clock that resets each time a player hits a rival vehicle.
Battle royale game
A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who st ...
s, such as ''
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
''PUBG: Battlegrounds'' (previously known as ''PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'') is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Studios and published by Krafton. The game, which was inspired by the Japanese film '' Battle Royale'' (2000), is based ...
'', ''
Fortnite
''Fortnite'' is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: ''Fortnite Battle Royale'', a free-to- ...
Battle Royale'', ''
Free Fire
''Free Fire'' is a 2016 British black comedy- action film directed by Ben Wheatley, from a screenplay by Wheatley and Amy Jump. It stars Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Jack Reynor, Babou Ceesay, Enzo Cilenti, Sam Ri ...
and
ScarFall - The Royale Combat
ScarFall - The Royale Combat, is an Indian online multiplayer battle royale game developed by Surat based gaming and IT service provider company XSQUADS Tech Private Ltd. The game was first released for Android on 25 October 2019 on Play Stor ...
'' discourage camping by gradually reducing the size of the area where LMS competitors can play on, typically with a deadly energy field. Any players who do not move to safer ground as the field closes in will suffer
continuous damage and eventually
die if they fail to escape it.
See also
*
Battle royale game
A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who st ...
References
{{video game gameplay
Esports terminology