HUD (computer gaming)
The HUD or Heads-Up Display is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player in a computer game. Taking its name from the real life version, the HUD is frequently used to simultaneously display several pieces of information: - The health of the player or current character
- The ammo level of the current weapon
- The weapons held
- Any other items stored in the inventory
Typically this information is represented numerically, with the health level being a number a number from 0 - 100, 100 representing full health and 0 representing no health or death. However, many other methods of visual representation can be used. For instance, games like Far Cry employ a "health bar which empties as the player becomes hurt. Armour levels are also commonly monitored, either through a separate readout, or as part of the health system. For example, Halo 2 uses one rechargeable armour bar, acting as the health level. When this is depleted the player can only take one or two hits before death. Traditionally, games used lives to represent health. Every time the main character was injured he would lose one of his limited lives. There is also a lot of variance with regards to the display of other information. Some games permanently display all the weapons a character is currently carrying, others rely on a pull up weapon selector. Inventory or storage space may also be permanently overlaid over the screen, or accessed via a menu. Alternatively, only a limited number of items stored in the inventory might be displayed at once, with the rest being rotated into view using the [ ] keys.
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