History Main / HitPoints

* ''UsefulNotes/{{FUDGE}}'', a tabletop game/ game toolkit has a default mechanic called a wound track, which keeps track of individual wounds, albeit with a roll-over for wounds to go up a level in severity. The non-linear wounding system, presented in the 10th anniversary edition also keeps track of individual wounds, where there is no rollover, and is intended for grittier games. The only time hit points are even mentioned is when dealing with vehicles.

* In ''VideoGame/TronDeadlyDiscs'', the player is given a single life, but can take a few hits before he is derezzed. In the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 version, the player character changes colors whenever he gains or loses a hit point.

* In ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' and its sequels, the player character Arthur's [[BodyArmorAsHitPoints body armor]] is the players' only means of protection. Taking damage results in losing his armor and being stripped down to his undies, where another hit kills him. Later games, like ''Resurrection'' alter this so that Arthur only loses pieces of his armor when he gets hit instead of losing the armor completely.

* The first {{VideoGame/Bubsy}} game averts this by making you a OneHitPointWonder. The sequels, however, give you a health meter. Bubsy II gives you 3 hit points (represented by Bubsy’s expression by the lives counter, ranging from cool and cocky at full health, to slightly nervous on his first hit, to an OhCrap expression when another hit will take him out). Bubsy 3D gives you a numerical counter which starts each life with 3 “Paw Points,” which can be boosted up to 99 by accruing enough ScoringPoints ([[EveryTenThousandPoints every 40,000 was good for another “Paw Point,” while every 100,000 carried an extra life]]).

* ''TabletopGame/HeroSystem'' uses the two-value variation--there is "body" and "stun"; stun recovers fast and body recovers slowly and represents real damage. Body points also don't scale to ridiculous values as your character "gains levels"; they're supposed to represent actual physical toughness, period, not the abstract "magical protections and evasive skill that slowly get eroded away" that D&D hit points represent. A more powerful version of Franchise/SpiderMan, for example, wouldn't have more Body points, he'd instead be better at avoiding damage in the first place. Similarly, a more powerful version of the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] might only have a couple more Body points than a weak version of the Hulk, the difference instead being how high his Physical Defense and Energy Defense were (a character's defenses are subtracted from all incoming Stun and Body damage before it has a chance to affect them).

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' is something that manages to fall into the gap between the two health systems: a OneHitPointWonder without rings, invulnerable to most things with them. Rings are usually plentiful, and you even get a chance to grab some back if you get hit.

** How fighting games adjust hit point values across the cast can also vary: the most simple approach is to make the number the same for every character. However, games like ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'' can give each character unique health values and others offer a more in-depth system: characters in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' for example nominally share the same total HP number but can combine unique base defense modifiers and Guts ratings (a value which determines the magnitude of an additional defense buff which grows as the character's lifebar lowers) which effectively make them more or less durable both from round start and situationally (eg. a GlassCannon like Chipp Zanuff can have a higher Guts rating than the more broadly durable MightyGlacier Potemkin to give him a fighting chance at low health).

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' is something that manages to fall into the gap between the two health systems: a OneHitPointWonder without rings, invulnerable to most things with them. Rings are usually plentiful, and you even get a chance to grab some back if you get hit.

* Mario in the various ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' games have a simple hit point system. If Mario is in his super (big) form or has a power up like a fire flower, he can take a hit and shrink in size. Get hit while small and it counts as a lost life, so Mario essentially has 2 hit points. Some games has Mario go from powered up to super form when hit before going to small form, giving him 3 hit points.

** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. Tails' and Eggman's Mechs use ''both'' a LifeMeter and Rings at the same time. You lose both health and rings when hit, but you can gather the dropped rings back to recover some lost life.

* ''WebVideo/Unraveled'' featured an entire episode dedicated to quantifying the HP of the viewer's real life pet. Brian also briefly lampshades the origin of the term in battleship warfare simulators, and using the original definition of the term (how many missiles you can take before sinking), points out that the usual number of HP for a person or pet is One.

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* An extremely creative version in ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound}}''. Instead of getting instantly decreasing, the HP meter is an "odometer" that runs down to the new value gradually. Allowing fatally wounded characters to get off one more hit or survive if they get healed before the meter hits zero and they die. This run-down gets slower the higher the character's "[[HeroicSpirit Guts]]" stat[[note]]which also controls the chance of a [[CriticalHit Smaaaaash!]], and even survival of a fatal blow![[/note]] is. This makes players react quickly instead of anticipating death.

* In the ''LARP/OtakonLARP'', Characters (and items) have hit points assigned on a case-by-case basis, and can be restored by an hour-long trip to the Hospital (Out of game waiting period), or at Noon and Midnight.

* Early ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games had an [=EKG=] meter that could only be checked on in the pause menu that gave only a vague impression of how much health the player has left. The players' condition ranged from "Fine"(Green) to "Caution"(Orange) to "Caution"(Yellow) and finally "Danger"(Red). ''Resident Evil 4'' and onward switched to a traditional LifeMeter that replaced the [=EKG=].

* Early ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games had an [=EKG=] meter that could only be checked on in the pause menu that gave only a vague impression of how much health the player has left. The players' condition ranged from "Fine"(Green) to "Caution"(Orange) to "Caution"(Yellow) and finally "Danger"(Red). ''Resident Evil 4'' and onward go for a standard LifeMeter than can only be seen in the [=HUD=].

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' the player character moves more slowly and clumsily as he/she gets more and more injured, until they're barely hobbling along even while ostensibly "running." It really puts the horror in SurvivalHorror when the player character can barely stay ahead of the slow, shambling zombies.

* Several of Koei's ''VideoGame/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' games give you "hit points" in the form of [[WeHaveReserves units]]: The modifier equals thousands of able-bodied soldiers fighting for your general.