Permadeath
The event where deaths of characters are permanent.
The avatars and characters that players control in games are often at risk of dying. While this makes gameplay risky, many games soften this by letting players have many lives or letting them start at a previous location if they die. A few other games instead have Permadeath. In these the death of one's avatar or character ends the game sessions.
Wikipedia has a entry on Permanent Death in games[1].
Note: World of Warcraft uses Permadeath for other purpose ("roleplayed deaths" and removals of characters from servers). These connotations are not included in this pattern but see the entry[2] on the WoWWiki for more information about this alternative use.
Contents
Examples
Some Tabletop Roleplaying Games do let player cheat death by reincarnation spells, memory backups, and other devices but these may not be available for players with inexperienced characters. For others, e.g. Call of Cthulhu and Hârnmaster, death is irrevocable either because they try to simulate reality closer or they focus on the frailty of humans.
The text-based adventure games NetHack and Rogue uses Permadeath so making single mistakes can lead to game sessions ending, and this feature is a central aspect of this type of games. Permadeath is considerably more rare in other type of computer-based games; there is a version of BatMUD where death is permanent and Diablo II has an option for "hardcore" gameplay that includes Permadeath. Player can restart from earlier positions in the Fallout series but selecting hardcore modes in Fallout: New Vegas means that the deaths of companions are Permadeaths.
Counter-Strike can be said to have Permadeath since players' avatars do not respawn after being killed. This does not hinder them from playing for long however, since matches usually are pretty short and all players spawn when new matches begin.
Using the pattern
While deaths occur in many games that include Conflict or Combat, Permadeath for players' Focus Loci are more uncommon (see Klastrup[3] for a discussion on the role of deaths in games) since it creates Player Elimination. It should be noted that Units typically have Permadeath but this pattern has little effect on gameplay since they most often can be replaced and they have no or little individuality compared to other Units. Likewise, Non-Player Characters often have Permadeath if they can be killed at all (besides depending on the types of activities permitted by the game this also depends on how vital they are to Predetermined Story Structures). This means that the pattern has most relevance for Avatars and Characters that are Player Characters.
The actual implementation of Permadeath is trivial, it is in principle avoiding to support Lives. There are however some more subtle decisions. Extra Chances can be combined with Permadeath, as done for example in the roleplaying game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. This let players have less risk of actually experiencing Permadeath but still preserve the consequences of the pattern.
Interface Aspects
In Multiplayer Games, Permadeath leads not only to Player Elimination but also Downtime unless the player leaves the activity completely. Letting these "dead" players be Spectators of the continued gameplay is one way of encouraging their continued presences - typically to be participants in the next instance of the game.
Consequences
Can Instantiate
Challenging Gameplay, Player Elimination, Replayability
with Multiplayer Games Downtime
Can Modulate
Avatars, Characters Player Killing,
Potentially Conflicting With
Lives, Save-Load Cycles, Smooth Learning Curves
Relations
Can Instantiate
Challenging Gameplay, Player Elimination, Replayability
with Multiplayer Games
Can Modulate
Avatars, Characters, Player Characters, Player Killing
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Possible Closure Effects
-
Potentially Conflicting With
Lives, Save-Load Cycles, Smooth Learning Curves
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
- ↑ Wikipedia entry for Permanent Death in games.
- ↑ Entry for Permadeath on the World of Warcraft Wiki.
- ↑ Klastrup, L. (2007). http://www.jvrb.org/archiv/1022/ Why Death Matters: Understanding Gameworld Experience]. The Journal of Virtual Reality and Broadcasting, Vol. 4, 2007.
Acknowledgements
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