Spawning (computer gaming)

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For information on other uses of the word spawn, see Spawn (disambiguation).

In computer and video games, especially first-person shooters, spawning is the in-game creation of an entity, for instance a player character, non-player character (NPC), or an item. Respawning is the recreation of a player, NPC or monster after its death or destruction, or at the end of a round.

Spawning of players occurs at the beginning of the round and respawning occurs after being killed or destroyed, either immediately or after a delay. Players spawn at spawn points or spawn sites, usually scattered throughout the map. However, in levels designed for team play, there may simply be two areas, one for each team. Some players will lie in wait around spawn points to kill players as they spawn, a frowned upon practice known as spawn camping. Spawn points for in-game objects other than players are often used and abused in a similar fashion in other types of games, such as MMORPGs. Similarly, the word respawn can be used to describe an item or NPC that reappears in the same area after it has been picked up or killed (respectively). Certain design flaws in maps can be taken advantage of by players who wish to spam a spawn with explosives.

[edit] Enemy (re)spawning

In some games, enemies may be respawned (or new ones spawned), to keep players on their toes and create tension, or force players to move on, making it too costly (in resources) and/or too dangerous to stay in one place for too long. Depending on the game, these enemies may come looking for the player, if they do not spawn within line-of-sight. Games that have done this to differing degrees include GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, System Shock, System Shock 2, and Doom 3. System Shock 2 and Doom 3, in particular, have been alternatively lauded or derided for these features by players and reviewers alike.

Spawning is also sometimes used in computer gaming in reference to installing a multiplayer-only version of a piece of software on a computer.

[edit] Player-requested entities

In some games, most noteably the Unreal series, a player who has administrative powers in a server or offline session, can spawn entities or inventory items at will. This is done by using a console, to input commands to be executed. By default, the console key is set to the key above the Tab key, which, on the US keyboard layout, is the Tilde (or ~) key. It should be noted that some games can also use the Tab key as the console function itself.