Deathmatch (video games)

Deathmatch, also known as free-for-all, is a gameplay mode used in many shooter games, including first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) video games, in which the objective is to eliminate opposing players as many times as possible. A deathmatch session typically ends when a predefined frag limit or time limit is reached, with victory awarded to the player who achieves the highest number of frags.

The deathmatch is an evolution of competitive multiplayer modes found in game genres such as fighting games and racing games moving into other genres.

Gameplay

In a typical first-person shooter (FPS) deathmatch session, players connect to a shared computer network in a peer-to-peer model or a client–server model, either locally or over the Internet. Players may also communicate with one another during gameplay, commonly through voice chat systems.

Deathmatches have different rules and goals depending on the game, but a common format in FPS games is a free-for-all structure, where each player competes against all others. The game begins with each player being spawned at random locations selected from a predefined set of spawn points. Being spawned entails having the score, health, armor and equipment reset to default values, typically including zero score, full health, no armor, and a basic firearm along with a melee weapon. After a session has begun, players may join or leave the game dynamically.

Players

In this context a player is either a human-controlled character or a character operated by a computer software AI commonly referred to as a bot.