A display element showing the current disposition of the player. Invented in its most recognizable form by Infocom's Interactive Fiction.
Typically, this trope displays whichever are relevant of the player's score, state of health, ammunition, location, orientation and time remaining to complete the current task.
The display is almost always above (or at the top of) the main window (though early FPSes are an exception). Sometimes it appears at the bottom of the main window. Some games even have it to side.note . Many games even have two status lines, usually at the top and bottom, or at both sides. The status line(s) may even be part of the main window itself.
"The Status Line" was also the name of Infocom's newsletter, after a certain publication took issue with its original name, "The New Zork Times".
The Character Portrait (a drawing of a character's face shown while you interact with them) is a common feature of the status line. The status bar might also warn you when you've hit a Limit Break and, therefore, gotten access to some ability. The status line is frequently integrated as part of a Heads-Up Display (camera + info), or even on a Helmet-Mounted Sight. It's here where the Status Effects are shown. Flip-Screen Scrolling often gives a title to each screen section, which is placed next to the status line.
Super-Trope of Stat Meters and Dramatic Disappearing Display (the status line disappears during peak-tension moments). Compare and contrast Stat-O-Vision, telling how strong someone is with exact numbers by looking at them.
Do not confuse with Dateline, the location, date, and sometimes the source of a news story.
Examples:
- ANNO: Mutationem: When in combat, the display fully depicts the Life Meter, the main weapons that are equipped, the items being held in the shortcut menu, and the current amount of ammo for sub-weapons.
- Dizzy: The fact the subsequent sequels are, in fact, Numbered Sequels can only be known by checking the stats line at the top of the screen. It also lists the number of lives left and the score.
- The Secret of Monkey Island: It shows the various commands behind the sound effects to compensate for the purposefully low lighting of some scenes.
- Space Quest: The status bar never falls to display which era and game the protagonist is in, which he lampshades by learning the aforementioned information from it.
- Burning Fight: The status line marks the crates you encounter as "Wooden Box".
Fighting Games
- Super Smash Bros.: The status box contains each player's accumulated handicap in percentage as well as the number of lives left if that's the mode selected. All over a watermark of the character's original game logo.
Minigame Games
- Mini Mix Mayhem: The status line displays the Video-Game Lives and how much time the player has survived.
- Discworld MUD: The status line can be seen by typing "score brief" or by using a client that has that option.
- Lost Souls (MUD): The game's status line is "Show vitals", also known as "hp", plus an entire customizable status bar faculty.
Platform Games
- DuckTales: The status line serves to obscure several passages to small bonus rooms.
- Kirby's Adventure: The status line takes up a large section of the screen and includes an image of the weapon he's wielding.
- Socket: The HUD is located at the bottom of the screen. It includes the score, an energy meter, and the level you are in.
- Sonic Forces: Eggman's ultimate victory is shown via the status bar, which indicates he's successfully conquered 99% of the world.
- Time Zone: The second zone is a prehistoric world. How do we know? The player's status info dates it as "9999 BC".
Puzzle Game
- Illusions (1984): Taking place on the other side of a mirror, the cube levels have status lines with mirrored text.
Role-Playing Game
- Undertale: There are two status lines, one at the top of the screen and one at the bottom. The former features Frisk's inventory and money, while the latter displays Frisk's HP bar and his/her character portrait.
- Azur Lane: It displays the characters' responses to certain stimuli, such as being low in one of their meters or their reactions to certain commands.
- Crystal Quest: The status line runs across the top of the screen. Like the game, it takes full advantage of the color graphics available to it. Each part of the status uses a different color. It displays the score, the Video-Game Lives left as cherries, the time playing, and the wave you are in.
- It's split into four sections: "industries" (for the economy and production-related stuff), "grid", "crystals", "population count", "armies", "S.O.L.", and "access controls" (orbit, fuel, and DFNS).
- Empire III:
- OIDS: The status line shows your score, fuel remaining, shield status, number of ships remaining, number of OIDS on board, and number of nova bombs remaining.
- Phaser Patrol: There is a status bar at the bottom, showing shield status (on or off), equipment status (normal, damaged, or destroyed), the radar screen, your energy level, and messages.
Shooters
- Doom: It displays the protagonist's character portrait and all of the time-limited status effects (such as invisibility, invulnerability, and infrared goggles).
- Dragon Rage: The game's Instruction Manual refers to the status line as the Dragon Status Gem
◊ by t. The number is the Life Meter. The particles swirling around the gem are the Mana Meter. The gem's color shows what element you are using. The cut of the gem shows what level your element is.
Simulation Games
- Lunar Lander: Potentially the Ur-Example, as status lines were added beginning with the 1973 edition.
Strategy
- Code Name: S.T.E.A.M: A status line is visible for all S.T.E.A.M. members and all aliens on all modes except when replaying missions in Blind Eye mode.
- Dota 2: The status bar is located at the bottom of the screen, right beside the inventory, and contains the HP and mana bars, as well as all the status effects inflicted upon the character. A status line also appears for whatever character you select.
Miscellaneous
- Girl's Garden: The status line includes a series of hearts labeled "LOVE" that mark the number of Video-Game Lives the player has left.
