Frag (video gaming)

Frag is a computer and video game term. Frag is roughly equivalent to "kill", with the main difference being the player can respawn (play again), i.e. the "kill" is only temporary. In games it is mainly used as a kill count and score system. The term is used in various first-person shooter (FPS) modes, i.a. deathmatch. The usage is different in different games, modes and implementations. This article describes the most common uses.

General

A player will "die" when the health value reaches equal to or less than 0, if the value is reduced to a very low negative value, the result may be gibbing depending upon the game -- which counts as a normal frag in regard to the score system.

In this context the term "frag" is used to replace 'kill' as these terms are final, whereas first person shooters usually allow respawning (instant or almost instant resurrection). The usage of the term fragging is also a response to advocates of computer game censorship, who argue that violence in games can cause violence in real life. The term 'fragging' rather than 'killing' thus becomes a semantic indicator of the distance of the violence from any real act.

Because a player will in most games not lose frags for being fragged it can be a tactical choice of a skilled player to perform an indirect suicide when badly wounded, as in getting fragged by a low scoring, weaker player in order to avoid allowing a high scoring player (who is the actual competition) getting a frag and thus also being transported away and with full health -- despite losing equipment.

Many games will broadcast messages to all players with information about which player fragged whom. These messages include which type of weapon used, in most games.

Score and credits

Players receive a frag for killing ("fragging") another player. In some games, the player also loses a frag as a penalty for being killed in ways other than by another player; this can be a suicide, either intentional or unintentionally -- e.g. by falling a long distance or discharging a rocket directly into a nearby wall. There can also be a punishment for killing teammates, e.g. subtracting one or more frags from the score; negative score values are possible in most implementations.

In most games, when a player is fragged, the player will lose all equipment gained and the screen will continue to display the visible (still animated) scene that the player normally sees, and the score list is usually displayed -- the frags. The display does not go black when the player dies. Usually the player can choose to instantly respawn or remain dead; when the player respawns the health value will be reset to the initial default value, and default equipment will be received. A player will usually respawn at a random selection of predefined locations.

No credit (frags or other form of score) is given for wounding another player in most games. This opens the possibility of "stealing" one or several frags, i.e. the act of one player killing a badly wounded player without the former being responsible for hurting the wounded player. E.g. by a third player entering a duel and fragging the two already badly wounded player(s), or simply hunting down a wounded sole player (without being responsible for hurting that player). The two players in the duel are given no credit for hurting each other while the third player is given all credit. This makes it especially attractive for skilled players to seek out less skilled players who are already engaged in battle and frag them. However in some First Person Shooters a point is awarded for an "assist" frag. Generally +1, +2 depending on the amount of damaged dealt to the wounded player.

Some games will credit a player with a frag for pushing another player off a cliff, however most games will merely subtract one frag from the score of the player who died -- with no credit given to the killer. Manipulation of the environment of the map which results in the death of a player may be counted as a frag in some implementations. Examples include pushing buttons to operate moving walls, causing a player to be crushed, or falling into a hostile environment (e.g. lava).

Telefrag

A telefrag is a frag involving teleporters, when one entity teleports into space already occupied by another. This can also occur when one player respawns in the same location as another player. 'Telefragging' will frag the player who is in the space the teleporter transports to and not frag the teleported player. A telefrag will result in the fragged player gibbing in most games. The first game to display telefragging was Doom.

Unreal Tournament (and its sequels) allows players to use portable teleportation device (known in-game as a "translocator") to frag an enemy player by creating a teleport exit underneath the target player, and then teleporting "on top" of him.

Chat Frag

In many multiplayer computer games, it is possible to use the in-game console to chat with other players in real-time during gameplay. Sometimes there is an indicator appearing above the player's character which allows other players to see that the player is busy typing and is not ready for combat. Most games, however, do not provide any immunity from damage for typing players, making it possible for any enemy player to easily frag the typing player.

Because of the ease that one can frag a typing player, it is considered unsporting (or even cheating) to chat frag someone by some gamers.

On the other hand, there are those who consider such frags to be "fair game." The reasoning for this being that the in-game environment is known by all players to be a battleground, not a chat room, and any player who stops to chat is willingly lowering his own defenses in the middle of a virtual "dangerous environment" and implicitly accepting the risk that he may be fragged while doing so.

This issue is less common in shooters that are played on gaming consoles, as the players are either physically in the same room, or use less-immobilizing voice chat systems to communicate.

Etymology

The origin of this term is most likely related to the military definition, possibly stemming from "Doom" deathmatch in which the object is to kill other marines. It is also believed to be an abbreviation of "fragmentation" in reference to the "gibbing" of players killed by explosions.Fact|date=August 2008

Another theory is that the video game creators used a term created by DC comics writer Keith Giffen for a character 'Lobo' - in the DC comic series of the same name - originally intended to replace other less parent friendly swear words.Fact|date=August 2008

The word "frag" can also refer to a (fragmentation) grenade.

See also: "Frag_(military)"

References

* [http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/F/frag.html Webopedia] .
* Quake video game series.
* OpenArena.