View source for Power-Ups

[[Category:Patterns]]
[[Category:Game Element Patterns]]
[[Category:Needs work]]
[[Category:Needs revision]]
[[Category:Needs references]]
''Game elements that provide instant benefits or advantages when collected.''

Many games contain [[Power-Ups]] - game items in the game worlds which as soon as players move avatars in direct proximity to them disappear and provide some benefit. The benefit is typically a new or improved ability for a certain amount of time, a couple of special attacks, or replenishing some resource.

See also the Wikipedia entry for [[Power-Ups]]<ref name="wiki"/>

=== Examples ===
Many [[Power-Ups]] give temporary benefits when picked up. The ''power pills'' in [[Pac-Man]] allows players to hunt ghosts for a limited amount of time, The ''fire flower'' in the [[Super Mario series]] allow Mario to shot fireballs until damaged, and the ''quad damage'' [[Power-Ups]] in the [[Quake series]] quadruples the damage caused by the players' weapons for a limited amount of time. Ammunition found in the [[Quake series|Quake]] games, and also in the [[Half-Life series]], are another form of [[Power-Ups]]. The [[Mario Kart series]] allows players that have received the ''Fake Item Box'' [[Power-Ups]] to drop traps that will roll opponents not noticing the slight differences between these and the other [[Power-Ups]] in the game. 

Other [[Power-Ups]] are effectively ways to replenish resources, or affecting the amount of resources one can have. ''Heart'' [[Power-Ups]] in [[The Legend of Zelda series]] heal one health each, ''1-Up mushrooms'' in the [[Super Mario series]] give extra lives, and ammunition cartridges and boxes found in the [[Doom series|Doom]] and [[Half-Life series]] provide extra rounds for weapons. In contrast, the ''super mushrooms'' in the [[Super Mario series]] and the ''heart containers'' in [[The Legend of Zelda series]] increase the total health by one.

The experience points and money given as rewards in [[Ravenwood Fair]] and [[Zombie Lane]] are ''optional'' [[Power-Ups]] in that they function like these but if they are not picked up after a certain amount of time the game picks them up for the players.

== Using the pattern ==
Designing [[Power-Ups]] need to consider some of the aspects of designing [[Game Items]], e.g. their locations, but not how they are used since their only use it to be picked up and for this reason one should also considered the options concerning [[Pick-Ups]]. However, one aspect where they usually differ from other [[Game Items]] is that they may be spawn semi-regular in game areas as [[Environmental Effects]]. When not tied into the game's diegesis, [[Power-Ups]] become more like [[Geospatial Game Widgets]] than [[Game Items]] and can be instantiated as special cases of these instead. Regardless of how they are created, there are two main category of [[Power-Ups]]: those that provide temporary powers and those that replenish [[Resources]] (although those providing increases in a player's [[Scores|Score]] might be seen as its own specific category instead of a case of affecting a [[Resources|Resource]]).

Common [[Resources]] to increase through [[Power-Ups|Power-Up]] pick-ups include [[Ammunition]], [[Armor]], [[Lives]] and [[Scores|Score]]. When applied to [[Abilities]] instead, [[Power-Ups]] commonly provide [[Temporary Abilities]] regardless of if these are [[New Abilities|New]] or [[Improved Abilities]]. This can most obviously be done through [[Time Limits]] but an alternative is to provide a very limited amount of uses of the [[Abilities]], e.g. presented as a few rockets, bananas, or other items that enable the actions, which makes the uses into a [[Limited Resources|Limited Resource]]. The use of these types of [[Power-Ups]] may cause problems with [[Player Balance]] since they typically give players advantages without matching disadvantages. However, [[Randomness]] can be used to make players not know what effect a particular [[Power-Ups]] has and this can instead be used, as for example it is in the [[Super Monkey Ball series|Super Monkey Ball]] and [[Mario Kart series]], as a way of achieving [[Player Balance]] by masking [[Balancing Effects]] that giving trailing players better [[Power-Ups]]. [[Power-Ups]] providing abilities can also open up for a specific type of [[Traps]] - those appearing similar to [[Power-Ups]] but having [[Penalties]] associated with picking them up (the ''Fake Item Boxes'' in the [[Mario Kart series]] are examples of this).

=== Diegetic Aspects ===
Given that [[Power-Ups]] disappear as soon as touched, they are difficult to combine with [[Diegetically Tangible Game Items]]. Since they have some little present in this sense in [[Game Worlds]], [[Power-Ups]] can break [[Thematic Consistency]] due to the immateriality of them compared to other [[Game Items]], [[Landmarks]], etc. Further, [[Power-Ups]] are quite often indicated by [[Geospatial Game Widgets]] if they are not already themselves [[Geospatial Game Widgets]], and this further makes [[Diegetic Consistency]] difficult. It is also quite common to add [[Geospatial Game Widgets]] to [[Avatars]] that have received a [[New Abilities|New]] or [[Improved Abilities]] from a [[Power-Ups]], as is for example done when taking the ''quad damage'' in the [[Quake series]].

== Consequences ==
[[Power-Ups]] are either created from [[Geospatial Game Widgets]] or are weak forms of [[Game Items]], i.e. [[Pick-Ups]] that cease to exist when taken and thereby instantiate [[Game Element Removal]]. They give players [[Ephemeral Goals]] of [[Collecting]] when they appear; while they themselves are not [[Strategic Locations]], the [[Resource Locations]] containing them are as is the location of [[Resource Generators]] that create them.

Even if [[Power-Ups]] make games have [[Game Element Removal]], more [[Power-Ups]] are often introduced during gameplay through [[Game Element Insertion]] since it is quite common to replenish them semi-regularly; examples of this can be found in the [[Mario Kart series]], [[Pac-Man]], and death match modes of the [[Quake series]].

[[Power-Ups]] often provide [[Temporary Abilities]], and when this is done through [[Time Limits]] it can increase [[Tension]] if the usefulness of the [[Power-Ups]] depend on the success of other goals; Using the ''quad damage'' [[Power-Ups]] efficiently in the [[Quake series]], for example, depends on locating and hitting enemies first. [[Power-Ups]] can for quite natural reasons give rise to [[Gain Competence]] goals, and since only one or a few players can typically benefit from these [[New Abilities]] they also tend to be [[Privileged Abilities]].

While knowing where [[Power-Ups]] are can promote [[Strategic Planning]] via [[Strategic Knowledge]], knowing when to take [[Power-Ups]] or when to move to places where they are likely to appear are results of [[Tactical Planning]] which [[Power-Ups]] commonly instantiate.

== Relations ==
=== Can Instantiate ===
[[Collecting]], 
[[Ephemeral Goals]], 
[[Gain Competence]], 
[[Game Element Removal]], 
[[Game Items]], 
[[Pick-Ups]], 
[[Privileged Abilities]], 
[[Tactical Planning]], 
[[Temporary Abilities]]

==== with [[Randomness]] ====
[[Balancing Effects]], 
[[Player Balance]]

==== with [[Time Limits]] ====
[[Tension]]

=== Can Modulate ===
-

=== Can Be Instantiated By ===
[[Geospatial Game Widgets]]

=== Can Be Modulated By ===
[[Environmental Effects]], 
[[Game Element Insertion]], 
[[Geospatial Game Widgets]],
[[Improved Abilities]], 
[[Limited Resources]], 
[[New Abilities]], 
[[Randomness]], 
[[Resource Generators]], 
[[Time Limits]], 
[[Traps]]

=== Possible Closure Effects ===
-

=== Potentially Conflicting With ===
[[Diegetic Consistency]], 
[[Diegetically Tangible Game Items]], 
[[Player Balance]],
[[Thematic Consistency]]

== History ==
An updated version of the pattern ''Power-Ups'' that was part of the original collection in the book ''Patterns in Game Design''<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004"/>.

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="Bjork & Holopainen 2004">Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.</ref>
<ref name="wiki">Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power-up entry] for Power-Ups.</ref>
</references>