To Select
Selecting an entity, or entities, is the action of choosing it from a set of entities. Only agents can select entities. Selections can be permanent choices which cannot be reversed, such as a player selecting a character to serve as the his avatar. Selections can also have temporary effects and can be re-choosen, such as selecting a weapon to use.
Selection is often performed as a precursor to another action. Most actions require an entity on which to act. Selection can be used to choose which entity to act on. In some cases, selection of an entity does not guarantee that the entity will be acted on. For example, in shooters, a shooting entity will select a target, but will not necessarily hit the choosen target.
Contents
Examples
Strong Examples
Starcraft
In Starcraft, players will select an entity to which they will give an order. Players also select buildings to build, and resources to gather.
Super Mario Brothers 2
In Super Mario Brothers 2, players select the avatar to use for just one level. This selection will affect the gameplay.
Weak Examples
Doom
In Doom, player-controlled entities select a target by aiming the crosshairs at them. They shoot in the direction they have selected, which may or may not hit the intended target.
Counter Strike: Source
In Counter Strike: Source, in a normal game a player must join the terrorist or counter-terrorist side. This affects the weapons available to the player. The player must also pick an avatar to represent them, but that's just aesthetics. Some servers might automatically switch a player to another team if the teams become overwhelmingly unbalanced. Crosshairs are also used to try to pick out an enemy as a target and also to hit higher damage areas like the head.
Game Ontology Relations
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