In games , score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points (except in game shows , where scores often are instead measured in units of currency ), and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties. Most games with score use it as a quantitative indicator of success in the game, and in competitive games, a goal is often made of attaining a better score than one's opponents in order to win.
29-487: [REDACTED] Look up high score in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. High Score or Hi Score may refer to: High score , the highest logged point value in a game High score Scrabble , a variant of the board game Scrabble A satirical term for a high kill count , usually used in the context of mass shootings Media [ edit ] Hi Score Girl ,
58-403: A boss , a proportionally large number of points is usually rewarded. Extra points can be gained from gathering items , such as power-ups or other pick-ups. Usually, when a player gets a certain number of points, they may get an extra life or go on to a higher level . Points can be often used as currency which can be redeemed for rewards and player upgrades. The high score of a video game
87-483: A "continue countdown" screen, in which the player has a limited amount of time (usually 10, 15, or 20 seconds) to insert additional coins in order to continue the game from the point where it had ended; deciding not to continue will result in the displaying of a game over screen. The continue feature was added to arcade games in the mid-1980s due to arcade owners wanting to earn more money from players who played for longer periods of time. The first arcade game to have
116-679: A $ 1,000 prize to the first gamer who could break George Costanza's fictitious Frogger high score of 863,050 points. On August 1, 1982, the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard issued a colorful poster that listed the world record high scores for more than two dozen arcade video games. The poster was distributed among arcades worldwide. This was the first poster (#1) in a series of colorful posters that continues today, with poster #131 issued in October, 2008. In an episode of Friends , Chandler Bing puts in dirty words on all
145-503: A Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rensuke Oshikiri Hi Scores , an EP by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada Hi-Score – The Best of Che Fu , the first hits collection released by New Zealand hip-hop/R&B male vocalist Che Fu High Score (TV series) , a Netflix docuseries created by France Costrel See also [ edit ] All pages with titles containing hi score All pages with titles containing high score Topics referred to by
174-469: A button on the machine. The high score concept changed in July 1978 with the release of Taito 's shoot 'em up Space Invaders , where high scores were determined by gamers playing for as long as they could to stay alive, as high scores kept rising. The popularity of Space Invaders stemmed in part from players returning to beat the current high score, as players could now compete with each other over who had
203-481: A continue feature was Fantasy , and the first home console cartridge to have this feature was the Atari 2600 version of Vanguard . As a result of the continue feature, games started to have stories and definite endings; however, those games were designed so that it would be nearly impossible to get to the end of the game without continuing. Salen and Zimmerman argue that the continue feature in games such as Gauntlet
232-401: A high score. This has declined in popularity in recent years, as players are often allowed to play for as long as they can without losing, but not given free games even if they achieve a high score. The first video game to use the term "high score" was Midway 's Sea Wolf (1976). The game saved the highest score achieved on the cabinet, but could be reset by a player at any time by pressing
261-477: A powerful healing spell may affect anyone within a certain range of the caster (often only if they are a member of the caster's party ). Some games also have what are referred to as "aura" abilities that will affect anyone in the area around the person with the ability. For example, many strategy games have hero or officer units that can improve the morale and combat performance of friendly units around them. The inclusion of AoE elements in game mechanics can increase
290-502: A specified area. For example, in the role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons , a fireball spell will deal damage to anyone within a certain radius of where it strikes. In most tactical strategy games artillery weapons have an area of effect that will damage anyone within a radius of the strike zone. Often the effect is stronger on the target than on anything else hit. See also: Splash damage Area of effect can also refer to spells and abilities that are non-damaging. For example,
319-649: A very high number of points could result in unlockable players or modes. In some games, reaching certain scores gives an extra life , or a continue . In puzzle games, scores are usually gained by solving the puzzles quickly. Higher scores can be gained by performing combos of puzzle solving. There is often a time bonus which can add extra points. The level number is often a multiplier on the points, so higher scores are possible on harder levels. Level multipliers can also be picked up in some games, to further multiply your points bonus. In other games, points are typically gained from defeating monsters and enemies. When defeating
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#1732895533808348-561: Is a cartoon titled High Score . There is also a book entitled High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games . A 2007 documentary, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters , follows the attempts to beat the high score in Donkey Kong . In an episode of the TV series Seinfeld , George is astonished to find that the Frogger machine he played as a teen still retains his high score. With
377-511: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages high score In video games that feature scoring, points are usually an optional, side component of gaming. Players may achieve points through normal gameplay, but their score will often not have an immediate relevance to the game itself. Instead, playing to beat a "high score" set by the game program, another player or oneself becomes an extra challenge, adding replay value . In modern gaming,
406-435: Is usually the highest logged point value. Many games will have a list of several high scores, called the high score table or leaderboard . The concept of a high score first achieved cultural significance with the rise in popularity of pinball machines and electro-mechanical arcade games . Players who achieve a high score are often greeted with a congratulatory message and are able to enter their initials or name into
435-629: The Atari 8-bit computers of the late 1970s and 1980s, the term attract mode was sometimes used to denote a simple screensaver that slowly cycled the display colors to prevent phosphor burn-in when no input had been received for several minutes. Attract modes demonstrating gameplay are common in current home video games. Also aim-assist . Also bunny hopping . Also backfilling . Also achievement . Also banhammer . Also beta testing . Also story mode and campaign . Also character select . Also clutching
464-901: The 1990s, all performances would have to be videotaped to verify the achievement. The high score also exists in online games in various forms. The spread of the Internet has made it possible to compete with the rest of the world, rather than the players of a single machine or game. Many modern games have the ability to post his/her high score to a central webpage. Online multiplayer games, especially first person shooters , real time strategies , and role-playing video games often have ranking systems. These new high score lists and ranking systems often are more complex than conventional high score lists. Some are based on tournaments, while others track game servers continuously, keeping statistics for all players. Some games include default "high scores" that do not actually represent real players, but are displayed whenever
493-447: The game and coming in clutch . A common term in video games for the option to continue the game after all of the player's lives have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning. There may or may not be a penalty for doing this, such as losing a certain number of points or being unable to access bonus stages. In arcade game s, when a player loses or fails an objective, they will generally be shown
522-412: The game is not being played. Originally built into arcade games , the main purpose of the attract mode is to entice passers-by to play the game. It usually displays the game's title screen , the game's story (if it has one), its high score list, sweepstakes (on some games) and the message " Game Over " or "Insert Coin" over or in addition to a computer-controlled demonstration of gameplay . In
551-541: The high score made it nearly ubiquitous and a defining feature for many games. Magazines such as Nintendo Power and Sega Visions would often publish high scores submitted by their readers. The high score became most popular when, starting in 1982, the Twin Galaxies Scoreboard began to appear in the pages of Video Games Magazine, Joystik Magazine , Computer Games Magazine , VideoGiochi Magazine, Video Games Player Magazine and Electronic Fun Magazine. Later, in
580-517: The high score positions on a Ms. Pac-Man machine. He then finds out that they are not blanked when the machine is reset, so he has to break all his high scores to remove the offending words. (This is not possible on an actual Ms. Pac-Man machine; such machines only record one high score and do not allow the winning player to enter initials.) According to the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard, "high-score" attempts enjoyed as much press coverage as any other video game–related topic reported in
609-446: The highest score. In December 1978, Exidy 's Star Fire allowed the player to save their name as initials next to their high score. Since this data was stored in the machine's RAM , it was deleted every time the machine lost power, which in practice would almost invariably happen every night as operators preferred to leave the machines unplugged when the arcade was closed to avoid incurring unnecessary power costs. The popularity of
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#1732895533808638-543: The machine's memory is reset, often with generic initials such as "AAA." These scores often represent certain levels of achievement for a player to aspire to, ensuring that there is always something for players to compete with. Many video games also have default high scores built in, sometimes attributed to fictitious entities (e.g. Commander Keen ) or to members of the game's development team. The high score's prominence in video game culture and even mainstream society has led to various pieces of art and entertainment. There
667-411: The machine. Their score and name will remain there until someone "knocks" them off the high score list by achieving a higher score. For this reason, high scores are inherently competitive and may sometimes involve one-upmanship against other players. The high score has a close association to the "free game." When in an arcade, many games will offer a player a free chance at another game if they achieve
696-486: The media during the 1982–1985 period. Though the media was often focused on the amazing growth of the video game industry, it was equally as fascinated with the human side of gaming, as typified by the "player vs. machine" showdowns that led to new world record high scores set on nearly a daily basis. In fact, Twin Galaxies reports that during that early era it was not unusual for there to be multiple new world records reported in
725-569: The media on a single day. Glossary of video game terms#Continue Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry , the players , and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. Also isometric graphics . Also triple A . Also badge , trophy , medal , cheevo . Also aim down sights . Also control stick and thumbstick . A term used in many role-playing and strategy games to describe attacks or other effects that affect multiple targets within
754-421: The owners wanting to get rid of it, George decides to keep the machine for posterity, the catch being that he has to move the game without unplugging it, because if he unplugs the game the high score will be erased. Unfortunately, the machine is destroyed when he unsuccessfully tries to move it across the street in a spoof of the gameplay . On September 24, 2005, Twin Galaxies issued Poster #59, which publicized
783-625: The presence of a score is not as ubiquitous as it was in the past. During the era of arcade games , when, because of the technical limitations of the time, games could not be "won" or "completed" but were instead endless cycles of continuous gameplay , points had a much greater relevance. Many modern games no longer keep track of scores, and many no longer feature an option to save or record high scores. However, some games, such as role-playing games , have experience points , skill points , and use money or treasure , which can all be used to buy or upgrade skills and objects. In fighting games , scoring
812-403: The role of strategy, especially in turn-based game s. The player has to place units wisely to mitigate the possibly devastating effects of a hostile area of effect attack; however, placing units in a dense formation could result in gains that outweigh the increased AoE damage received. Also display mode and show mode . A pre-recorded demonstration of a video game that is displayed when
841-417: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title High Score . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_Score&oldid=1228409771 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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