Ubisoft Learns A Lesson About Death

[hebdomad]

you are still on the right track with this part:

maybe if you are not playing right, you just don't progress

You don't need to explode into a million pieces when you "die" - you just don't need to progress so that something actually challenges the player, make them worry about failing but you don't have to be a sadist, and maybe get them to do something risky because they know they can retry still. Without challenge, without "risk" - things feel like chores, not challenges.

Well death can still be used in games, Multiplayer games where there are guns and explosions, you expect death, it is in the context of what is happening.

And sometimes cheating death is fun.

Risk vs. Reward is also a good counter point to the whole ?no death? thing, there is not much risk diving into a bunch of bad guys If you know your just going to be thrown back. However, If you know that your going to start the level over if you die, and you succeed and avoid punishment, it feels awesome because you cheated death (and avoided been punished).

 

[meiadose]

well for me the only part of the game i din't like was the part were they ask you to pay extra in order for you to see the ending, like the game itself wasn't expensive enough

 

[Mythbhavd]

I don't mind dying in a game. I find a certain humor in it. What would really strike an obscenely humorous chord in me would be seeing an MMO in which, if you die, that's it. You have to start a new character.

 

[Sigenrecht]

Let's make a deal; you, Ubisoft, can integrate some subsidiary of the obsolete lives system in Prince of Persia that draws me away from most games and really allowed me to enjoy the game if you can make it so I haven't already broken the 100-death achievement break off by the time I kill my first villain. I mean, seriously. Maybe it's just me, but I die A LOT.

 

[Alex_P]

This talk of punishment is bullshit. They still don't get it.

When you die and reload over and over, you're slowly building up a storyline where the character got everything right. Dying gives you a feel for how difficult all this stuff the protagonist goes through is but reloading erases your mistake from the chain of events that define the main narrative of play.

When you mess up and the game puts you back over and over, you're instead building up a storyline where your character keeps on failing but wins anyway.

-- Alex

 

[PoToGo]

I don't really care if she saves me every two seconds. There's no point in adding ten seconds of load screen to that for the sake of saying "You Died." I get it. I'm aware.

 

[runedeadthA]

I know a way, make it so whenever they are about to die, the chick still saves them...BUT to be successfully saved you need to complete a series of quick time vents... MWHAHAHAHAH i am so evilly devious

 

[Cowabungaa]

You still go game-over in PoP, only difference is they cut out the "You died, load checkpoint?" No game-over would mean that, even if a jump would fail, you would just get teleported across the chasm or whatever you need to cross. But in PoP, if you still fail a jump, and keep failing, you won't get any further in the game. The only real difference here is that there are simply a LOT more checkpoints, every time you jump. And that's what's making the game easy, a lot of checkpoints, and not the fact that you don't réally die.

 

[ccesarano]

I see most of you have never read Shamus Young's view on Prince of Persia's death mechanic and being great for pulling newcomers into gaming without it being a cutesy wutesy party game.

What I don't get is why no one else enjoys a relaxing, laid back game like this once in a while. The game didn't make me tense and on the edge of my seat, but that didn't mean it wasn't fun. Do you know how rare it is to have a game that's actually relaxing? Leisurely even? Prince of Persia was a great game for the end of a long day where I just wanted to ease my mind.

You chumps always ***** about how games suck anymore, but ***** harder when someone does something different. Maybe you just played a handful of games that you thought did things right and are pissed not all games are the same?

 

[bjj hero]

"No, no, no, no, no...that's not how it happened."

I don't get what the big furor is anyway, perhaps if Elika started making snide comments after the tenth time?

Awesome, "How did you miss that you fuckin' n00b? You have a wooden leg or something? Go play viva pinata with skills like that..."

"No wait, come back, Im sorry! Put the pinata case down..."

 

[Abedeus]

"No, no, no, no, no...that's not how it happened."

I don't get what the big furor is anyway, perhaps if Elika started making snide comments after the tenth time?

Awesome, "How did you miss that you fuckin' n00b? You have a wooden leg or something? Go play viva pinata with skills like that..."

"No wait, come back, Im sorry! Put the pinata case down..."

I think she makes comments when you die over and over.

"- Watch your steps!
- I was watching..."

Or...

"- Next time I won't be around to catch you."

Oh, and she wasn't a bad idea. It just replaced the "No, no, that's not how it happened..." crap and the F5/F9 manouver known to FPS players.

Just combat was too easy and was generally a one big QTE.

 

[Blaxton]

I see most of you have never read Shamus Young's view on Prince of Persia's death mechanic and being great for pulling newcomers into gaming without it being a cutesy wutesy party game.

What I don't get is why no one else enjoys a relaxing, laid back game like this once in a while. The game didn't make me tense and on the edge of my seat, but that didn't mean it wasn't fun. Do you know how rare it is to have a game that's actually relaxing? Leisurely even? Prince of Persia was a great game for the end of a long day where I just wanted to ease my mind.

You chumps always ***** about how games suck anymore, but ***** harder when someone does something different. Maybe you just played a handful of games that you thought did things right and are pissed not all games are the same?

You've summed up all of my sentiments.

The game is fun, not intense, but still presented in a serious way. It's a semi-core semi-casual game, something that fits perfectly in my life. I can play an hour and put it down, pick it up again in a few days and do the same. This is my "sudoku" or "tower defense".

As someone said also, you do "die" in the same sense that you go back to where you were when you failed, but you don't have to sit through a loading screen. Loading saves should not be a game play mechanic.

 

[wild_quinine]

Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes has admitted that there was a "mistake" in the development of that game's "no death, no game over" mechanic. He now knows that gamers want to die.

Yeah, but I didn't until I played his bloody game. That was pretty much the turning point.

Here's a spoiler on the ending: it spoils everything.