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Glance.lu
Videogame characters used to have the life cycle of fruit flies. Quarter-hungry arcade machines ensured a nasty, brutish, and short existence. But now that console games with $60 price tags and multihour narratives are the norm, developers have found all sorts of ways to keep players alive longer. Here are some milestones in life extension.
Bonus Lives
Asteroids (1979)
One collision kills you, but you get an extra ship every 10,000 points. (Skilled players can rack up scores of bonus lives.)
Power-Ups
Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Salvation comes in mushroom form. Red ones let you get hit twice before dying, green ones grant an extra life.
Cheats
Contra (1988)
Popularized the cheat. This console classic has one-hit kills, but entering a secret code instantly bestows 30 new lives.
Health Gauge
Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
One-hit kills are replaced with a gradually depleting percentage (e.g., “You are at 87% capacity”) recovered by food and medkits.
Regenerative Shields
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
An overshield replenishes whenever you aren’t taking fire. Shot in the face? Duck behind a bush for a few seconds.
Purchasing More Life
Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
“Death” means a trip to the hospital and a stiff medical bill. Hiring hookers boosts your health. Just like in real life!
Do-Overs
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003)
A time-rewind feature allows players to back up a few seconds and try again whenever they die.
Hyperrealism
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
Wounds heal in real time, and you must hunt and eat animals to stay strong. Few have emulated this.
Immortality
Journey (2011) Death is so over. In trancelike indie games like this one, you explore endlessly, never dying. Closer to chanting a mantra than Pac-Man.
Illustration: Ilovedust
