How can gamers be made to fear ingame death?
- Thread starter clippen05
- Start date
I'd say that the best way to make a player fear death or losing is to have the game take a different turn if they do, and not just give them a game over screen, maybe we see a character the player was trying to protect die horribly, for example, if this was an rpg with auto save you could lose a great party member without being able to get them back, while still being able to continue on in the story.
I think Heavy Rain did it best, where death meant just that - one of your characters dies, and the story continues without them.
Depends on what death is associated with in a game. Let's break it down into some categories.
1. Loss of resources. This includes both your personal ones and in-game ones. Examples of personal resources are time, patience, and mental stamina, while examples of in-game ones would be experience points, consumable items, and abilities.
2. Story impact. How you dying affects the story. This can either mean that the game actually and explicitly shows it (a simple Game Over image isn't enough), or how you imagine it would affect the story. For this to actually be effective, you need to be invested in the story.
3. Loss of reputation (for want of a better term). When you lose in front of a crowd (online or offline) their opinion of you as a player will most likely go down (with exception to people who frequently lose), assuming they will register your loss in their minds. If you don't particulary care about this sort of thing, you won't be bothered though.
1. Loss of resources. This includes both your personal ones and in-game ones. Examples of personal resources are time, patience, and mental stamina, while examples of in-game ones would be experience points, consumable items, and abilities.
2. Story impact. How you dying affects the story. This can either mean that the game actually and explicitly shows it (a simple Game Over image isn't enough), or how you imagine it would affect the story. For this to actually be effective, you need to be invested in the story.
3. Loss of reputation (for want of a better term). When you lose in front of a crowd (online or offline) their opinion of you as a player will most likely go down (with exception to people who frequently lose), assuming they will register your loss in their minds. If you don't particulary care about this sort of thing, you won't be bothered though.
Perma death and a lack of saving opportunities.
Savestates, saving at almost whenever and wherever (Like Pokémon or Skyrim) and a lot of checkpoints make death meaninglesss.
Just look at Pokémon Nuzlocke runs, they introduce perma death to Pokémon and people are suddenly really afraid of reckless tactics and losing their Pokémons.
Some examples:
FPS: COD S&D style
RPG: Binding of Isaac style/Pokémon Nuzlocke run style
Savestates, saving at almost whenever and wherever (Like Pokémon or Skyrim) and a lot of checkpoints make death meaninglesss.
Just look at Pokémon Nuzlocke runs, they introduce perma death to Pokémon and people are suddenly really afraid of reckless tactics and losing their Pokémons.
Some examples:
FPS: COD S&D style
RPG: Binding of Isaac style/Pokémon Nuzlocke run style
That only applies to competitive FPS PLAYERS, not FPS games, death is meaningless in CoD for any but the hardcore and s&d players, domination and TDM aren't feard by the average player.Loonyyy said:
And about RPGs, ever played Binding of Isaac? It costs 5 bucks on steam and it has permadeath, forcing you to start the game over completely, most lets players are scared as shit about death.
Do it like they did in Heavy Rain.
Loss of continuity if you die. Or at least make your deaths alter the story. You want the good ending? Don't die.
Loss of continuity if you die. Or at least make your deaths alter the story. You want the good ending? Don't die.
The only games I?m worried about my character dieing in are:
Hardcore Minecraft (everything you did has to be deleted)
Valkyrie Chronicles: seeing the Cemetery and having a little back story for each character
ZombiU: looks stressful if you die having to go back to kill your old person who you trained up and got good weapons for.
How could these concepts be applied to make almost every game have bad connotations for death: semi Majoras Mask sense of doom if you die then you see what happens to your team or the world. Perhaps add more punishment for dieing or simply add more emotional attachment to characters (you die in COD that's it your team is dead all gone and you play with another group of Soldiers and at the end off the game you have a list of all the people that died on missions all the groups of people interact in different ways so you can see real people in them rather than code names in the beginning you a squad leader name your squad and choose the people you want and if you die they are gone)
Hardcore Minecraft (everything you did has to be deleted)
Valkyrie Chronicles: seeing the Cemetery and having a little back story for each character
ZombiU: looks stressful if you die having to go back to kill your old person who you trained up and got good weapons for.
How could these concepts be applied to make almost every game have bad connotations for death: semi Majoras Mask sense of doom if you die then you see what happens to your team or the world. Perhaps add more punishment for dieing or simply add more emotional attachment to characters (you die in COD that's it your team is dead all gone and you play with another group of Soldiers and at the end off the game you have a list of all the people that died on missions all the groups of people interact in different ways so you can see real people in them rather than code names in the beginning you a squad leader name your squad and choose the people you want and if you die they are gone)
I've had fear of death and failure in a game Minecraft Majora's Mask I didn't want to see the worlds that were there crumble and my achievements in the world made null because of my decisions.NuclearShadow said:
This does not scare me at all. Am I doing it wrong?Terminate421 said:
Ughhh, that sounds an awful challenge!Crimson Lucario said:
Dark Souls makes you fear death, under 2 circumstances: When you're human, since you'll lose your humanity, and when you've lost a lot of souls and/or humanity from your previous death and not picked them back up yet, since you'll lose them permanently if you don't.
Can't think of any other games that really make you fear death though.
Can't think of any other games that really make you fear death though.
Hardcore mode in Action RPG's like Diablo, Path of Exile etc.
You die, you're gone. Everything is lost. Fuck you, sir!
You die, you're gone. Everything is lost. Fuck you, sir!
Firstly it needs to be included as a mode so people know what they're getting themselves in for.
Probably the best is to impose a sense of permanence about it. Say you die in an RPG, you come back but have a permanent penalty to one of your skills/attributes. Or in an FPS you restart automatically with the starting weapons again, no matter how far in the game you were.
Failing that some sort of realism mode with exceptions. So you can only save in your house or something, and then you'll become much more careful just to avoid the long trek back from your house to the dungeon.
I don't think it's ultimately possible though. Aside from fixed save points spread really far apart there's not much way to make death meaningful in games, because you can always restart from somewhere. And a game which resets you to the very beginning when you die is always more likely to bestow frustration than fun.
Probably the best is to impose a sense of permanence about it. Say you die in an RPG, you come back but have a permanent penalty to one of your skills/attributes. Or in an FPS you restart automatically with the starting weapons again, no matter how far in the game you were.
Failing that some sort of realism mode with exceptions. So you can only save in your house or something, and then you'll become much more careful just to avoid the long trek back from your house to the dungeon.
I don't think it's ultimately possible though. Aside from fixed save points spread really far apart there's not much way to make death meaningful in games, because you can always restart from somewhere. And a game which resets you to the very beginning when you die is always more likely to bestow frustration than fun.
Never experienced real life danger in a game and I don't think I ever will. because I know a game is just a game and that everything that happens in it is just lines of code but the fear of consequence of dieing in a game can be used to stop people dying in the game and i think that's all that we can do as of now. The fear that you get when you are in danger is nothing like a fear (similar to a worry) of consequence in a game.NuclearShadow said: