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pen and paper game Paper-and-pencil games or paper-and-pen games (or some variation on those terms) are games that can be played solely with paper and pencil, pencils (or other writing implements), usually without erasing. They may be played to pass the time, as ...
s and computer and video games, an item is an object within the game world that can be collected by a
player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
or, occasionally, a
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
. These items are sometimes called pick-ups. Items are most often beneficial to the player character. Some games contain detrimental items, such as
curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
d pieces of armor that confers a negative bonus to the wearer and cannot be removed until the curse itself is lifted; the means to do this may be costly or require a special item. Some items may also be of absolutely no value to the player. Items are especially prevalent in
role-playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eith ...
, as they are usually necessary for the completion of quests or to advance through the story. Sometimes certain items may be unique, and only appear once at a specific location, often after completing a particular task. Other items may appear frequently, and not give a big bonus alone, but when many are collected. Games may differ on how the player uses an item. In some games, many in the Mario and Sonic series, an item is automatically used when the player character comes into contact with it. There are also games, such as those in the '' Streets of Rage'' series, and the first ''
Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is centered around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two ga ...
'' games where the player character may walk over an item without collecting it, if they do not need it yet, and the player must push a particular button for the character to collect it, but it still used immediately, when the button is pressed. Other times, some games, like many role playing games, an item can be collected either automatically or manually, but will not be used immediately, the item can be carried around and used manually either straight away if they wish or at a later time when the player needs it.


Types

Items often come in various types and in most games where items are collected, they are sorted by these types. In RPGs, an item
inventory Inventory (British English) or stock (American English) is a quantity of the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation. Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying ...
is a common UI feature where one can view all the items that have been collected thus far. Often, these are sorted by categories, such as "equipment" or "potions". In other game
genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
s, the items may take effect as soon as they are obtained.


In platform games

In many
platformers A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
, like ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'' and ''
Super Mario Bros is a 1985 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series. It was origi ...
'', items are scattered throughout the
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...
in item boxes or on their own. Many video game items are common to all games.
1-up In video games, a life is a play-turn that a player character has, defined as the period between start and end of play. Lives refer to a finite number of tries before the game ends with a game over. Sometimes the euphemisms chance, try, rest and ...
s or continues give the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
"extra lives" and allow them to continue after being killed. 1-ups usually come in the form of the main character's face (or the text "1UP", though this is less common in modern games). In some games, they can also be obtained in special stages and by collecting a large number of minor treasure items (i.e., collect 100 rings in ''Sonic'' games to gain one extra life), by finishing levels in a certain amount of time, or by getting a certain number of points. Treasure such as coins, rings, gems or jewelry are another common item. These are often used to determine the player's score. In some games, particularly those with an
overworld An overworld or a hub world is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres, such as some pla ...
map, players can take these items to a shop-like place and exchange them for new abilities or equipment. Usually, such treasure items are found in small quantities as one progresses through a level, but by exploring, players can often find secret areas containing a large number of them. In some platformers, particularly those with a hit counter such as the ''
Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...
'' games, medicine, food or energy containers are found, which give the player extra health or defensive ability. These are normally very rare, so as to make the player watch their hit counter carefully. In some games, such as the ''Sonic'' series, the treasure items (rings) double as a method of enabling extra hits. Quest items (also known as plot items or key items) are required to complete several games or stages. In platformers, these are not always required, but may be optional goals to get a better ending. The ''Sonic the Hedgehog series'' has a recurring side goal being the collection of the
Chaos Emeralds is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a m ...
.


In adventure games

Often in
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
s there are many puzzles that need to be completed in order for the player to advance through the dungeons or levels. Usually, this can be done through the use of specific items gathered while exploring the dungeon. This is a very common element in the ''Legend of Zelda'' series, where items like the
hookshot In basketball, a hook shot is a play where the offensive player, usually turned perpendicular to the basket, gently throws the ball using a sweeping motion of the arm farther from the basket in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends over ...
are necessary to pass specific obstacles, or games like the ''
Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic M ...
'' series, where items like the gravity suit or power bombs are required to pass to another area. Other important items for navigating puzzles are bombs, which can open new paths, and the boomerang, which can retrieve items from a great distance. In ''
Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...
'', items range from weapons to tools to miscellaneous things like music discs or spawn eggs. While no items are required for completion of puzzles or to access certain areas, they are mandatory for progression in the game and for defeating the bosses. Another generic item needed to progress through dungeons in adventure games is the key. Sometimes there can be several keys within a dungeon, or just one
skeleton key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from th ...
which is good enough to open all locked doors.


In shooting games

Items in
shooter game Shooter video games, or shooters, are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is on the defeat of the character's enemies using ranged weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, a ...
s are not as common as in other genres, but they still play a major role in the gameplay. The most common items are the health pack, similar to a potion in RPGs, and the
ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...
pack, a generic box of ammo that will work with whatever gun the player character has equipped at that time. Sometimes, in games with large amounts of different weapons, there will also be specialized ammo packs, like
napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...
canisters or
rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
s/
grenades A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...
for rocket and grenade launchers, respectively. In most games, new weapons can be obtained, normally from defeated enemy
soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...
but also from machines or robots depending on the game's setting. Generally, more powerful weapons (such as the aforementioned rocket launchers and
flamethrowers A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet (fluid), jet of fire. Greek fire, First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and ...
) tend to be found later in the game. In some games that cross genres, like ''
Twisted Metal ''Twisted Metal'' is a series of Vehicular combat game, vehicular combat video games originally developed by SingleTrac and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series has appeared on the PlayStation (console), PlayStation, PlaySta ...
'', the weapons come in the form of
power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...
s that have very limited duration.


In fighting games

In
fighting games The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
, items are far less common, however they still appear in many titles. In
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
games, things like folding chairs and other innocuous items are often used as makeshift weapons, sometimes with a limited number of "uses" before the item breaks. In the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, items play an important role in the combat, and the timely arrival of a certain item, like invincibility or the hammer, can completely alter the course of the fight.


In sports games

Popular sports games generally convey their items in a similar form to
trading cards A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...
, with the items composing of players, staff (managers/medical specialists/skill coaches), consumable items and
stadiums A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...
. One example is '' FIFA Ultimate Team'' which evaluates real world sports athlete's performances with scouts that watch the athletes perform at games and then applies their performance statistics unto the cards (in game) with different colours and versions of cards to display their hierarchy in skill level. As with trading cards the rarity of cards are based on how accomplished the athlete is along with their level of performance and current form.


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{video game gameplay Video game terminology