🎯 What is a Hitbox?
In the Art & Design of Game development, a Hitbox (Collision bounding box) is an invisible geometric space attached to the model of a character or object. It is used by the Game engine system to calculate whether any collision has occurred within the 2D/3D Space.
1. Types of Hitboxes
- Hurtbox (Damage receiving box): The box placed over the character’s body. If a sword or bullet touches this box, the character loses health.
- Hitbox/Strike-box (Damage dealing box): The box lying along the blade of a sword or the character’s fist during an attack. When a Strike-box sweeps through the opponent’s Hurtbox, damage is registered.
2. The Art of Balancing
A Hitbox doesn’t necessarily have to match the EXACT size of the character model.
- In Fighting Games, Hitboxes often adhere very closely to the model to provide Pixel-perfect accuracy.
- Conversely, in platformers like Super Mario Bros, Mario’s Hurtbox is sometimes designed slightly smaller than his actual body, giving the player the magical feeling of “squeezing through a gap”.
Learn more about the technique of temporarily disappearing Hitboxes in the article: I-frames.