7 Wild Ways to Measure HP More Interesting Than a Crappy Bar

These games binned off the traditional health bar in favour of weirder ideas...
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[@darksim0]

Tall Mario = 2 HP Short Mario = 1 HP

[@VegetaLF7]

Tall Mario with an item like the cape, 3 HP

[@msvi09official]

Tall Mario with a Fire Flower in the original game = 2 HP

[@axelcoombes604]

Nintendo really said "you short people are weak" and we never batted an eye

[@ArDeeMee]

I mean… you short people are so easy to stumble over that it sounds like an advantage. Bring the enemy down to your level, y´know?

[@jackwilliam4436]

Ghosts 'n Goblins main character with armor : 2 HP. Ghosts 'n Goblins main character in underwear : 1 HP.

[@PastelN01r]

Dead Space's HP bar is genuinely incredible in its design, very simple and informative and fitting for the world

[@SaintGerbilUK]

I do wonder how it works in "regular" life, everyone with full health unless they've been stabbed a few times and are still bleeding out.

[@TheOmegaXicor]

@@SaintGerbilUK I always thought it was the suit's health supply indicated by the amount of healing fluid or repair fuel or whatever powers the suit left over, the fluid runs out and you can't repair the suit and die.

[@wraithcadmus]

There's a whole talk on the GDC channel talking about the design decisions. Even little things like "boxouts in deep green aren't 'real'" so the player realises hints aren't in character, and that pausing uses a similar visual style, but put over the whole screen making it clear that "yes the game is actually stopped, unlike when you use your UI". The whole thing is also made of particle effects.

[@tikifreakazoid]

Well, I mean, it does have a big flaw in that the readout on the back would be functionally invisible. You’d need two mirrors to be able to actually read the info on the rig. Then again, I also assume Isaac has an at-a-glance version on his wrist or something. The back lights are probably for other engineers you’re working with to know right away if you’re having an issue if you get hurt and/or lose coms in, say, a vacuum. That just also happens to work out nicely for anyone hovering a few feet behind said engineer controlling their movements and keeping an eye on how many more times they can get stabbed.

[@tybkc]

My assumption is it's not for the wearer to read but for team mates to read at a glance in the case of industrial accidents. I assume Isaac's chest display could output a health meter but just doesn't because it would be repetitive in game.

[@Neva555]

RIP Luke. He couldn't have survived all that burn damage with so empty HP bar.

[@shinjinaraku4251]

Why is Luke's health bar not blinking red yet?

[@fabianlaibin6956]

​@@shinjinaraku4251 Obviously someone was lazy with his hud design

[@slight9217]

@@shinjinaraku4251 Well it's already red, also i'm pretty sure his health bar is more like a Nathan Drake thing, he's only really in danger when it's completely depleted.

[@prophetzarquon1922]

Clearly, Luke is a Jedi. That's why his health bar keeps dropping whenever he's not killing someone

[@ggenderking5609]

Deserved for calling minecraft Boring

[@healsallwounds]

"Yes, Janet? Yes, Minecraft? Yes, it’s wolf smut!" "Who the f*** starts a conversation like that? I just answered the phone!"

[@masonrenne7190]

Gold

[@cyanimation1605]

you laugh but I've heard evangelicals talk about Barney as sacrilege in the same tone.

[@lisah-p8474]

This is exactly how US Congressman talk about video games. Ever seen Lieberman talk about Mortal Combat? 😂

[@roax206]

IIRC you can even breed the villagers in minecraft.

[@marhawkman303]

@@roax206 minecraft has a lot of children.... some of which you can murder at will.... like that child zombie Luke killed.

[@filmandfirearms]

Dead Space's HP system actually makes a lot of sense in a work context. If it was right in your field of view, it would likely get distracting and make you unnecessarily paranoid, but on the back, your coworkers can instantly tell if you've been injured and how badly, even if they have no medical training. It also serves as a sort of mechanical canary in the coal mine, allowing someone behind you to see if you're walking into some unseen danger

[@EvilGremlin100]

I like how they described it as allowing others to be able to see your "well being".. Like, Mike's spine bar is really low.. what's up Mike? Are you hurt? "No, but I got dumped last night and I'm feeling pretty sad about it".

[@IAmMrGreat]

+ you wouldn't really need a bar in your vision to tell that you're hurt irl.

[@filmandfirearms]

@@IAmMrGreat You'd be surprised, tons of stories out there of guys getting seriously hurt on the job and not even realizing it

[@ComotoseOnAnime]

@@IAmMrGreat There are people who have been shot multiple times but didn't feel it because of the adrenaline, they only realized minutes after the after the fact when the situation was resolved and they were covered in blood. Adrenaline is a hell of a thing, and in a space mining accident where say, a micro meteorite zipping through you at orbital velocity, could definitely be missed if you're actively running away from the payload you've been mining for the last week that just exploded from an impact. Or maybe you have broken ribs and you can't feel it, or a cracked arm, or a TBI, or a concussion which both would make understanding how hurt you are impossible.

[@aiodensghost8645]

​@@IAmMrGreatI don't know about that one... when I enter a flow state, my body is the LAST thing on my mind, and thus any injuries I'd take are ignored

[@rfastravers8841]

I'm missing Sparx from Spyro. His color indicates your health and when you need health you flame/headbutt a critter which releases a butterfly which our dragonfly then chases and then eats.

[@greedyProphet]

Sparx also could grab nearby gems for you and iirc when you were on your last hit (no Sparx) he wouldn't grab nearby gems.

[@Windworks2486]

I was thinking about this system too. I remember stressing to find Sparxs because she would wonder about. Plus you couldn’t use certain guidance abilities if she was gone. It made it a fun and engaging system. In my opinion, it was better than Links full health special slash since I’m almost never at full health.

[@19CD91]

also with crash bandicoot. and marios size

[@scorpix96]

oh yeah sparks is great. Re-playing spyro as an adult and finally understanding it because I'd ignored the dragon's speech as a kid was also pretty good ^^

[@Kraklano]

That's just a bit more clear version of RE's HP bar, tbf. Instead of Fine(green), Caution(yellow), Caution(orange), and Danger(red)... Sparx is Fine(yellow), Caution(blue), Caution(green), Danger(no Sparx)

[@linuslarsson8094]

The R.I.G. could likely have another read-out accessible for the wearer, but I kinda like the idea that they're supposed to be used in worker teams, and co-workers can easily get a warning about something going very wrong with someone bent over their workstation, giving no conscious signs of alarm by themself. Given how extreme environment they are expected to work in, it makes a kind of sense.

[@Veelofar]

It also makes sense to allow for people overseeing via camera who can’t necessarily hear the workers to be able to see a problem happening clearly and easily before the workers even have time to reach for the radio

[@wraithcadmus]

It's exactly that, with workplace saftey posters encouraging workers to "Watch each others BACKS".

[@LashknifeTalon]

I feel like the wearer themselves is supposed to be aware they're not feeling good. If they lack that kind of awareness, they should ideally not be a dangerous work environment. Like, that's literally what pain is for--it's your body telling you "something is wrong".

[@Veelofar]

@@LashknifeTalon the problem is that there’s lots of gasses and things that the body doesn’t inform you of being a problem. There’s lots of colorless, odorless, poisonous gasses that will eventually cause a problem, but have gotten you to a point beyond likely survival long before you start feeling a problem.

[@SYKRAL1]

There could be a health indicator on the front side. Isn’t there a screen projected from the collar of the suit?

[@CoinMatze]

Age after 35 is just like being cursed in Dark Souls. Health capped at half and you need special items to get back to full health.

[@subnormality.]

Can confirm-- i basically have chug Estus just to get through the day...

[@StraightOuttaJarhois]

And to get the special items you have to fork over a bundle of cash to some weirdo with a creepy laugh.

[@CantankerousDave]

And replace the health potions with coffee.

[@srwapo]

So, like in real life?

[@ka-mai]

You get back to full health???

[@martinflyer1197]

Never thought I would hear the phrase "wolf smut" when I woke up this morning and yet here we are.😅

[@scorpix96]

What a sad life you live :p

[@michaelsaul8450]

This in combination with the latest Mom Can't Cook makes me wonder where Andy and Luke's minds are at

[@ArkaneStephanie]

You mustn't play dnd then

[@martinflyer1197]

@@ArkaneStephanie oh I do but when I play d&d I'm prepared for shenanigans. This caught me off guard lol

[@arenasviscatanius]

I love smut too

[@CabbyHat]

I really like how monster hunter world conveys the damage you've done to monsters during the hunts - you don't get to see their hit points or anything, but they become visibly more damaged as they take hits, which also conveys useful information about what abilities they still have access to. If a wing is shredded, you know they won't be taking to the skies as often, and it's always a relief when you manage to cut off a tail with a dangerous poison spike or water spray.

[@meikahidenori]

All the monster Hunter games are fantastic at this. You can evern tell when they're about to retreat and go heal with their behavior.

[@bulletbiters8621]

Not to mention them having a straight-up heartbeat moniter for displaying their health

[@sinteleon]

Also the only reason why Gypceros' gimmick even works. (ignore the fact that the end of mission notification hasn't happened...)

[@moga-hunter2410]

By the five I hated getting caught by the rubber chicken’s surprise flailing. I always went in for the extra carve when it “died” and then some vespoid would come out of nowhere and paralyze me right on top of the thing so it’s surprise attack could wipe out most of my health.

[@GoldRider4265]

I still refuse to forgive Rathian and her sisters for still having the full hitbox and poison attack with her tail swipe despite it being cut off

[@Thy_Boss]

_The Getaway's_ health recovery system was interesting, but puzzling it out was a chore: you didn’t “lean” on a wall with controls. Instead, you had to position yourself perpendicular to a wall and avoid touching ANY controls.

[@Terenceferguson]

Which some of us didn't know and honest to god thought it was the hardest game ever made 😂

[@GeneCash]

Are we sure that's Luke's health bar and not his sanity bar?

[@TheBlackSeraph]

Nah, then the camera would be slightly tilted and weird chanting would begin.

[@ka-mai]

No, the sanity bar was depleted long ago.

[@frantisekvrana3902]

Are we sure it was *Luke's* health bar?

[@rayherostudios8139]

@@TheBlackSeraphand don’t forget the clicking!

[@lordzeppelin3824]

That line at the beginning of “Sorry, why is it at half health?!” and “Wait, how have I lost health?!” had me on the floor. 😂

[@westrim]

Do you need a health potion?

[@clockworkmonsters8590]

Your health is low! Do you have any potions, or food?

[@elafimilo8199]

Best gag

[@corneredbadger]

ELLEN! His health was already plummeting at the end, you didn't have to murder him!

[@AndrewsYoutube]

Honorable mention to the way Konami showed enemy bosses' health in early 90s arcade games like 'X-Men', 'The Simpsons', and 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' by having them flash yellow or red faster and faster as their health got lower. I always liked that feature.

[@cuervoramos]

Metroid bosses usually went through 3 or 4 different colors the bastards

[@blazebane9995]

When I read this is instantly thought of TMNT 2 on the NES. Good times.

[@Ramsey276one]

Depending on the game, it also meant how dangerous the boss was becoming! Q_Q

[@jmgriffee]

Amusingly, KZbin insisted in cutting to an ad directly after "WOLF SMUT!", which set a tone for that advertisement that I'm sure the company did not intend.

[@alexharrison2743]

Same here 😂

[@Ramsey276one]

Something similar happened to a Twitter post, involved a wolf funny meme pic! XD

[@rootyful]

Dead Space's full in-world UI was truly revolutionary.

[@ArDeeMee]

And it still is. I haven’t yet seen any other UI that felt this unintrusive.

[@tylerhampson148]

The fact that the video is over and i now have lukes "how dare you" face on my screen

[@centurionquincy3899]

I know that they don’t really script their interruptions, but you know that he did not know she was gonna say that, and they had to cut the video so you didn’t hear the uproarious laughter that followed that face

[@birdjericho]

Luke: "I'll have you know, I am **perfectly** healthy!" **jams whole potted plant into mouth**

[@gamehunter88]

​@centurionquincy3899 you think the uproarious laughter was going to be from Luke, Ellen or one of the others watching though? My money's on Ellen.

[@JachAnen]

@@gamehunter88 Always a safe bet

[@clockworkmonsters8590]

@@gamehunter88 Jon snorts and it sets them both off, I'd say XD

[@xenogil180]

I really liked the concept of temperature as health in Cryostasis. Unfortunately, I only got to play the demo of the game. It is near impossible to find the game anymore.

[@robber233]

Incase my previous comment didnt post, myabandoware.

[@CantankerousDave]

I bought it on a Steam sale for a few bucks years ago. It’s mostly notable for being “PhysX enabled” and would run terribly on anything but an Nvidia graphics card.

[@xenogil180]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! @@robber233

[@xenogil180]

Unfortunately, I am in a region where it is no longer on steam@@Hi-bb5lo

[@aiodensghost8645]

Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason... I'll have to play this

[@rickimaru915]

First person, undersea, horror game Narcosis doesn’t have traditional health. Other than some insta-kill hazards you’re generally safe from harm, due to the heavy duty diving suit you’re wearing, but you have to manage your oxygen reserves. Being attacked or encountering frightening events causes you to hyperventilate, which burns through your oxygen reserves faster. This is represented by an indicator on your suit’s internal HUD

[@archerthecreeperkiller636]

The demonetized bit in the Wolverine part made me laugh 😂

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Even moreso since the skeletonization is ungrudgingly not given the same treatment.

[@MrStrikecentral]

Don't forget that in Code Veronica on the Dreamcast, you could see the EKG on your controller's VMU without having to go to your inventory at all. Brilliant technology.

[@CelticVictory]

The weird jaws of the velociraptor in Trespass just makes the flailing gun display even more hilarious.

[@DupaCycDupa]

Doom guy face getting bloodier and more beat up.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

that’s an unforgivable oversight…especially as it’s one of if not the first deviation from the bar

And B.J. Blazkowicz in Wolfenstein 3D before that.

[@Deliveredmean42]

There was... a lot of Chicken-o-meter as health bars in BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum games like atic atac in 1983.@@bostonrailfan2427

[@jameshart2622]

It's a real upgrade from his previous "heart containers", which are only very slightly better than a health bar.

[@FragFrog01]

@@bostonrailfan2427 Wolfenstein and Doom had both the "face bloodiness indicator", but also a clear percentage read-out right next to it. As such, I expect they would be disqualified.

[@RangerBeef]

Luke's deadpan face at the end absolutely killed me. lol

[@danielarmstrong3963]

One of my proudest gaming achievements is completing the Getaway without realising you could heal. I died so many times it was mental but I got there. It wasn't until after when I lent the game to a friend and was watching him play it at his house and he kept stopping near walls and I was like you gotta be f**king kidding me.

[@RtistiqSkubie]

😂😂😂😂

[@Pseudowolf]

Luke's health bar was just because he hadn't had lunch yet, I bet. It went up at the end temporarily because he ate a candy bar in-between his segments.

[@prophetzarquon1922]

I figured it was because he's a SWBF Jedi & he'd been killing people

[@tommyeliassen2071]

Amnesia: The Bunker made you look at how covered in blood your hand was on the inventory screen. Got nibbled a bit by a rat? Just a bit of blood on your fingertips, mate. Got maimed by the monster? Possibly two or three fingers covered in blood, or pretty much your entire hand if it was bad enough. I like it, because unless you open your inventory mid-confrontation, you're not gonna know how badly you got hurt until you've gotten away, somewhat mimicking how adrenaline got you through it and you only realize how messed up you are once it's "over"

[@StrangerMoontail]

Ellen: Freezing to death on an abandoned icebreaker ship in the middle of the Arctic is...- Ellen: (checks notes) Ellen: -bad. Got it. Me: Your wisdom is impeccable as always and brings great respect and honor to you and oxbox.

[@MichaelSmith-hf2qp]

I liked the Legacy of Kain health bar. It was a vertical health bar, and you would lose health on taking damage like normal. However, Kain is a vampire and after stunning living opponents, he would telekinetically pull the blood from them down his throat. Then health bar then had an animation of a blood waterfall filling it back up. Pretty cool for the PS1 era.

[@spiker.ortmann]

Soul Reaver's was cooler, the spiral you recharged eating souls and in the first you needed a full health "bar" to activate the blade...

[@riningan]

Luke's "How dare you." face at the end was just perfect.

[@RicPendragon]

Ghostbusters the Video Game also uses the Dead Space technique, where your health (and all other info) is shown on the proton pack

[@Gigawood]

QUICK, LUKE! LEAN AGAINST THE WALL!!!

[@namethegame2991]

Silent Hill 2, specifically on PS2, where, when not checking your status on the inventory screen, indicated low health with vibrations in your controller made to feel like a heartbeat. Other games in the series might have done similar things, but I specifically recall the feature from SH2.

[@jackwilliam4436]

Fear Effect 1 and 2 : Yes, it's a fear bar, instead of a health bar, but it does add a believably and very interesting element of unpredictability that really well serves the gameplay. For instance, even though your bar is green and regular, it can - during stressful events - temporarily turn red and erratic on its own, which makes for some more difficult and engaging segments.

[@omiai]

No Sparx? the moment i saw this list i thought 'the dragonfly from Spyro!' it was the only example i could think of off the top of my head! hope he's in the commentators edition! poor Sparx!

[@ishaboi5224]

Dang, when you brought up Resident Evil I thought you were also going to talk about how the different damage states are represented on your character too. In RE2 and 3 as well as their remakes, being in Caution made your character hold themselves in pain, while being on Danger made your character limp. This was a lot more impactful in the OG games, since your character could barely move on Danger, the limp just about cut your running speed in half. Plus in RE3 (and its remake I believe), you couldn’t dodge when on Danger either.

[@ShadowBaneLeader]

In Clock Tower 3 (PS2) you didn't exactly take physical damage from most enemies because they were ghosts. Instead, your character would gain more "panic" rather than lose health. this wasn't displayed on a bar but through audio visual cues. You'd hear a heartbeat that grew more intense with your panic and your walk cycle became more hobbled.

[@alexbarriga983]

it would've been great if Luke's health bar dropped to zero when Ellen roasted him and the 'you are dead' screen popped up XD

[@tino9718]

The health indicator in the first "Silent Hill" was what made me buy a PlayStation back then. There was a field turning from green to red in the pause menu, but in the game itself you could only measure your health by the speed of the heart beat in which the controller vibrated! I loved this mechanic so much.

[@Deano3225]

I had never heard of the getaway before, but that dialogue is incredible. Perfect use of tosser there.

[@GuyWithAnAmazingHat]

Monster Hunter has the best "HP bar", instead of having a HP bar, you tell a monster's health by their physical damage, appearance and behaviour. You know you're making progress when they get enraged, change phases, escape to eat or rest and when pushed to their final moments they unleash everything. Just like IRL you have no idea how much health your opponent has, heck not even your own. You can only have an estimate by seeing how your opponent and yourself look and behave.

[@cearnicus]

In space adventure Star Control 2, a ship's crew was basically its health points. This was sometimes used in interesting ways. - One race had an EVA special ability. Crew was reduced when they did so. - The Syreen, a race of scantily clad humanoid females, could 'recruit' crew from their enemies. Yes, that's exactly what it sounds like. - The Druuge merchants would accept crew as payment. Yes, that's _also_ exactly what it sounds like. And if you did this too often, you'd have to Explain Yourself to your Base Commander.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Gotta love that game. Sure is marked improvement to the first game, all while one can deem it as Mass Effect 3 before Mass Effect 3 became a reality.

[@danprentice7073]

I'm surprised you didn't bring up Uncharted health system where the screen slowly becomes more desaturated until it turns monochrome which by that point your dead . Apparently this into visualize Nate 's luck running out.

[@PikaLink91]

When I first played Silent Hill 2 and heard how violent James' exhausted breath sounded, I instinctively stopped up to let him catch it, afraid that he could die from exhaustion

[@DerekBarns]

This followed the original's simulated heartbeat in the controller whenever you were low

[@CraigJudd]

Back in the PS2 days, games came with a manual. I used to buy a game on my lunch break, read the manual at work, and be ready to jump right in when I got home. The Getaway's manual doesn't tell you about the wall-leaning health thing; all I knew was if I stopped next to a wall long enough to lean against it, it would take two seconds to peel myself off the wall and start shooting if some new muppet popped around a corner, and I'd die, so I actively avoided it. I got up to the police station before a random handy loading-screen hint informed me that leaning on walls would actually restore health. Made the rest of the game much easier!

[@INeverCreateVideos]

There’s something strangely amusing in hearing the term “niece’s mother” in place of “sister/in-law.”

[@DaSkittlzman]

😂😂😂 I had an ad right after Luke said Minecraft is "wolf smut", ad finishes and all I hear is "SMUT"

[@jeffathomp]

Xtra: Sure was smutty to make that tattoo heart. Also Xtra: Let's put it in the thumbnail.

[@kendoyle]

F for poor Luke

[@luthiennenharma]

Oh my, Luke's health is quite... fluctuating, it seems 😄 Also love his "Excuse me?!" look in the end when Ellen insinuates his health is just bad in general

[@the8626]

Also, in Dark Souls 2 [alongside having the health bar] you could also tell how much health you had left by looking at your character, as your character's stance becomes more hunched and tired-looking as you take damage.

[@normalhuman9878]

I can definitely relate to wondering why my health bar is dropping for no reason

[@katfromthekong414]

2:34 best stair running animation I've ever seen 😄 he's tiptoeing up the stairs like Widely Coyote

[@HiJackGaming15]

7 weird ways to recover health up next

[@TheZoenGaming]

I'm currently replaying X-Men Origins: Wolverine on PC, and I am blown away by the damage modeling of Wolverine. There's only one other game that I can think of that so impressively models damage to a part of the character's body where they are hit - Injustice: Gods Among Us!

[@ryadinstormblessed8308]

This KZbin video has its own weird health bar at the bottom of the screen! The more full that bar gets, the closer this video is to ceasing! And you reduce the bar by swiping left on it!

[@taylorcoffman676]

Never thought I'd hear "Minecraft" and "wolf smut" in the same sentence but thanks for that Luke

[@Veelofar]

You haven’t spent much time on a certain side of the internet. Probably you’ll want to keep it that way. For your own sake.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@Veelofarah, rule 34…destroying the childhood memories of adults sine the late 90s

[@joshuaknox2724]

that intro was hilarious "why's it at half health" LMAO

[@Dracas42]

"Is it just your bad health in general?" I really don't wanna see my health bar, now...

[@sonicking2004]

What about the proton pack in Ghostbusters the Video Game? That took the place of your traditional HUD with meters representing your character's remaining vitality they had left before they had to be revived by a fellow Ghostbuster, how close your photon pack is to overheating, and the ammo you have remaining for the secondary weapons like the slime thrower.

[@stephenadams8712]

Imagine being luke's sister and getting that call "minecraft is wolf smut" What sorry it's a bad line I thought you said wolf smut

[@SimuLord]

One presumes Luke's family is just used to it by now.

[@iSchmidty13]

3:09 in a SAAB no less??? Thats awesome

[@Tactical_Hotdog]

Ghostbusters: The Video Game displayed everything on the proton pack model, instead of a HUD, which was pretty cool.

[@KanuckStreams]

Fun Fact! The "Hit Point" origin was from an old war-game analysis for calculating the number of 14-inch shells it would take to kill that unit in question. So all humans have 1 HP.

[@buttonsfan]

Spyro (and Crash Bandicoot) having a secondary character keeping track of your heath. Spark is especially cool because of how he helps Spyro regain health.

[@Razuki5]

While not a visual representation, pokemon games usually have some sort of danger tone or change in the score when one of your ‘mons is close to fainting.

[@burgermike92]

Still uses a health bar though

[@Razuki5]

@@burgermike92 as did the wolverine example they used

[@burgermike92]

@Razuki5 Yes but just as they explained, the health bar is not what matters. It's Logan's physical condition. The beeping sound in pokemon doesn't matter because the health bar is still how you calculate how much health you have.

[@desmofan1864]

Ayyyy! I remember liking The Getaway, even w/its turn signal navigation :D The health recovery mechanic wasn't really any different than COD's "Hide to clear the jelly from your goggles" thing.

[@sg47b8a]

Ghostbusters the Game, the one with the cast from the first two movies, borrowed the idea from Dead Space, in that it used a green light/bar on the proton pack to indicate how much stamina you had. The game didn't use health in the traditional sense, instead having the meter be an indicator of how much force or damage you had taken before you would knocked down and needed to be revived. I forget what they call it, but they make a point in the game to mention that it's not exactly an indication of how healthy you are.

[@ForestFlame]

I personally love the candles representing both your and Leshy's health. It makes the game feel immersive.

[@TheFiddleFaddle]

Thanks for the shout-out Ellen! I managed to rig a satellite phone as a hotspot. Also it's really really cold 🥶

[@TheREALSimagination]

We need more innovations like the 'Trespasser' health indicator. But seriously, though, I'd more appreciate the ability to see my character's toes. Feels more immersive that way, AND I can see the tiny dinosaur nibbling on my ankles. Hi, Ellen!

[@josephbierzynski1884]

Splatterhouse 2010 has a similar system to Wolverine. I spent a... lot of time with exposed bones.

[@waffleking6871]

The best final second in any OX video, ever.

[@billthearle2243]

Check out Atic Atac for the ZX Spectrum. It had your life as a turkey that kept losing meat down to the bones as a life meter. Maybe that's where wall turkeys in Castlevania came from.

[@LumbersomeLlama]

I can't believe you didn't use a "I've got chills and they're multiplying" joke

[@seraphonica]

if Trespasser wanted to be less lewd, more functional, and even GASP clever, they could have put her heart on her sleeve. ah well.

[@joshuahadams]

Stranded Deep’s watch status indicators feel like that idea done right.

[@zombiedoe3404]

in signalis the screen gets progressively more buggy and audio gets muffled depending on health

[@JackiJinx]

Chibi-Robo for the Gamecube (possibly the sequels to an extent, but the genre changed a bit)! In combination with health, was an energy meter. Chibi Robo starts their day on a full charge, and each step takes it down by one until either charging up again or hitting zero. What can also diminish energy is being hit by something like, I dunno, an army of oranges in suited in camo. I wish more Chibi-Robo was a thing, like the original

[@TheTookinator]

That first game was a gem. You're not alone in wishing we had more.

[@K4RN4GE911]

That new VR mech fighting game Underdogs has a pretty good way to show your health. While there is a health bar, you're not always going to be focusing on it and more so on the car sized mechanized dogs leaping at you. That's why when you start taking damage, the cockpit's shield will slowly crack until it completely breaks, at which point with one more well placed hit, you're done. It even obscures the health bars for both your arms as well, adding to the panic.

[@thcwub3387]

I quite like the way Gears of War handles their health indication. It does a particularly good job of raising the tension as you get close to death while having the added benefit of making it somewhat difficult to effectively fight through the situation does to the loss of visibility.

[@AgentSapphire]

Isaac Clark's HP bar is based on Scuba oxygen indicators iirc. You have a measure you can look at but the one on your back tells those around you what level you're at so they can tell you to go up if you dont notice your own oxygen is low.

[@user-hs1xb9tv6e]

I think its safe to say that the people who designed the trespasser health bar most likely did it with only one arm if you know what I mean.

[@NivMizzet89]

Of course! They must've had some horrible affliction to their hand, rendering it unusable. And unfortunately, them modeling the in-game hand on that crippled appendage is what led to how the game looks now. How different things could've been.... That definitely is what you meant, right?

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@NivMizzet89they suffered from hairy palm syndrome?

[@rajatmusale1948]

"Oh good, it's back to full (health)" Confirmed: Luke is a final boss.

[@TheSuperSpud]

I know it’s a small thing but I just love you checking how much blood you have on your hand from your wound in Amnesia the Bunker

[@jekebe4858]

Okay, what did Jane put in Luke's tea? That was some seriously delayed poisoning effect.

[@Jambobist]

Oxtra using cleavage as bait? I'm in!

[@gwishart]

Oxtra using cleavage AND dinosaurs as bait. You can't say they don't know their audience.

[@Jambobist]

@@gwishart This week on Show of the Weekend we make dinosaurs with boobs out of felt!

[@WolfyFancyLads]

Fun fact about the Resident Evil ECG: If you're a certain level, you are more prone to death. I know that sounds stupid, but if you're at "Orange CAUTION" level then Hunters are more prone to take your head off and the Yawn is more likely to vore you whole. If you're an old school player, make sure you take note. If you're a new player, then do your research to do better than we did back when it was released!

[@ninjakirby9358]

What's aslo cool about dead space's RIG idea is that they also refer to it in Dead space 2 where the director says "Red, your rig is red. There's a health pack behind you, you should grab it"

[@shelgeyr490]

Dungeons of Daggorath, a cartridge game for the TRS-80 Color Computer, released in 1982, featured a heart icon that pulsed with an audible heartbeat. Moving, attacking, taking damage, etc ... all would make your heart beat faster. Push it too far and you passed out/died.

[@stone5against1]

I remember in The 4th Coming (T4C for short, an old MMO) where you could tell the general health of an enemy or other players by hovering the mouse over them. They would highlight in green if at full health, then gradually go to red as they lost health. So you could tell if you were going to spend hours grinding that one enemy or if you stood a chance

[@massgunner4152]

I misread the title as capy bara

[@lordofuzkulak8308]

14:18 - What Luke and Ellen don’t know is that the inventiveness of the Oxtra Patented Life Bar is that it’s the inverse of normal life bars; rather than showing how healthy you are, it shows how unhealthy you are; full means dead and empty means fully healed. Luke was one pixel away from permadeath, but fortunately sitting there allowed him to recover. 😜

[@FalseHero004]

Luke's health bar got a genuine chuckle out of me every time!

[@ammendum9044]

Another fun concept for a health bar is from a Newgrounds game called High Stakes, by Krystman. You need to play card games against vampires in order to get all of your blood back. For each move you make in every game, you can gain blood or lose some depending on the game's issue, and the total amount of blood you have is indicated by a quantity in milliliters, and by a wine glass slowly being filled - well, hopefully you're not emptying it too much.

[@Ikifoo]

Fear Effect for the PS1 was very keen to tout it's exclusive Fear Meter mechanic. Characters became more fearful as they took damage, increasing the chance that the next hit would be fatal. Literally the only difference between this and the Resident Evil approach is that Fear Effect just resets your health at milestones rather than giving you healing items. And perhaps a slightly more accurate use of an ECG.

[@SolaScientia]

I immediately thought of Dead Space for this one, so it's good to see it listed. Of the games I play I can't think of any that have unique or otherwise interesting hp indicators. They're all just some flavor of horizontal, I think. "Is it just your bad health in general?" That line followed by Luke's look at Ellen just before the cut is hilarious. Sort of related to that, the rapid draining of the health bar reminded me of when Luke defeated the Blood-starved Beast in Bloodborne only then to die, because he hadn't realized he was poisoned and, thus, did down an antidote in time. I think the whole chat was yelling at him to eat an antidote or heal or something.

[@timdesern4585]

I watch almost all of the ox extra videos and have played 8 years of Minecraft and you guys still teach me new things I never realized!

[@xSH1N0B1x]

Luke's Minecraft bit made me laugh so hard that i pee'd a little. Still hasn't dethroned my favorite from Jane on outsidexbox. Her bit about da Vinci's tank from assassin's creed brotherhood is GOLD.

[@livjones2917]

Did not know that about Minecraft wolves, that is so heckin cute!! ❤ (The tails, not the wolf smut!)