In video games, as in tabletop role-playing games, an object usually loses health as a result of being attacked. Protection points or armor help them to reduce the damage taken. Characters acting as
tanks usually have more health and armor. In many games, particularly role-playing video games, the player starts with a small number of health and defense points, but can increase them by gaining the required number of
experience points and raising the character's level. In
game design, it is considered important to clearly show that the player's character (or other object that they control) is losing health. In his book
Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design, game designer Scott Rogers wrote that "health should deplete in an obvious manner, because with every hit, a player is closer to losing their life". As examples of visualizing health loss, Rogers cited
Arthur of ''
Ghosts 'n Goblins, who loses a piece of armor with each sustained hit, as well as the cars in the Grand Theft Auto'' series, in which smoke begins to flow from the hood after the car takes a significant amount of damage. The use of health points simplifies the game development process (since developers do not need to create complex damage systems), allows computers to simplify calculations associated with the game, and makes it easier for the player to understand the game. However, more complex and realistic damage systems are used in a number of games. In
Dwarf Fortress, instead of health points, dwarves have separate body parts, each of which can be damaged. The
Fallout games use health points, but allow characters to inflict damage to different parts of the enemy's body, which affects gameplay. For example, if a leg is injured, the character can get a
fracture, which will reduce their movement speed, and if their arm is injured, the character can drop their weapon. Contrariwise, other games such as the
Street Fighter series have both the player's and the opponent's health meters clearly visible, which allows the player to understand how successful their combat strategy is and how many remaining blows need to be inflicted on the enemy.
Restoration Players can often restore a character's health by using various
items such as potions, food or first-aid kits. In role-playing video games, the player often can also restore a character's health by visiting a doctor or resting at an
inn. A number of games incorporate a mechanic known as "life steal" or "life leech", which allows a character to restore health by siphoning it from an enemy. Methods for replenishing health differ from each other and are dependent on the game's genre. In more dynamic
action games, it is important to quickly restore a character's health, while role-playing games feature slower-paced methods of health restoration to achieve realism. A number of games incorporate a regeneration system that automatically replenishes health if the character does not take damage. This makes the game easier to play by giving the player the opportunity to restore the character's health after a difficult battle. This system may allow the player to safely run through dangerous parts of the game without consequence.
Tag team games often regenerate part of the health of a resting character.
Armor class In some role-playing games,
armor class (abbreviated
AC; also known as
defense) is a
derived statistic that indicates how difficult it is to land a successful blow on a character with an attack; it can also indicate damage reduction to a character's health. AC is typically a representation of a character's physical defenses such as their ability to dodge attacks and their protective equipment. Armor class is a mechanic that can be used as part of health and combat
game balancing. AC "is roughly equivalent to
defensive dodging in war games". ==Presentation==