Health

Health is an effect that allows a player to take multiple lashings of damage from their foes or the environment. It is of a limited quantity that can generally only be replenished through seeking first aid kits or by waiting a certain amount of time behind cover to recover. It is often visually conveyed to the player by a either a bar that decreases in length as health is depleted or by a number on the HUD representing the percentage remaining or the number of hit points left. Some games such as the Call of Duty series choose not to show a distinct amount of health, instead displaying the well-being of the player through means augmented within the gameplay such as an audible heartbeat and loss of colour from the screen. Health is often supplemented by armour; a similar quantitative device to represent how much more of a beating the protagonist may take.