Handling the death mechanic

[Morreion]

Storyboard: The unshuffled mortal coil (Massively)

Of course, death poses all sorts of problems in game design anyway -- what are the penalties, what are the lingering effects, is it a major inconvenience or a small hiccup, et cetera. But it poses a unique problem for roleplaying, because as it stands, you don't stay dead for long no matter what. So how do you deal with the implications of a world where death is less of a great beyond and, at most, a lost potential character title?

We're going to start off by ignoring the fact that logically speaking, most characters should die several dozen times before the tutorial is over. Yes, really, getting hit in the face by a sword should be completely lethal, not to mention being hit by a lightning bolt or set on fire. But even if we leave all that aside, there's the indisputable fact that your character has, in all likelihood, fallen over dead at least once or twice.

The author has 3 possible solutions for dealing with MMO deaths:

Ignore them (the preferred method)

You're not really quite dead

It's a natural thing

[Regolyth]

I kind of like this one response to the discussion:

I generally take a "gameplay and story segragation" apporach and assume there are no ressurection spells "in world"; they're there for game mechanics only.

That's the best explanation for me. However, I have often thought it weird that my character, and those around me, can be resurrected, but main characters in the story who die, stay dead. Can't I cast a rez on them?

[Morreion]

*laughs* That's a good point, really!

Let's face it, death and fear of it motivates lots of dramatic stories in the world. When death is a simple mechanic of no import, it's sort of an odd thing. Like if Hamlet had unlimited res capability instead of permadeath rules.

[sinaedh]

In games where there is rez, I tend to view death from NPC or PVP as "I'm not really quite dead" and along with Monty Python implications, the character can get better or recover. There is, however, the possibility of 'real death' for the character, and this is what motivates the character to choose risks. Only the player can determine what the real death is. Characters that are not played any longer may be experiencing real death (or maybe they're just sleeping). ;D

[Morreion]

*laughs* "I'm not dead yet!"

"Yes, you are, you're not fooling anyone!"

That reminds me of the 'death means injury and retreat' function in LOTRO. You have been hurt, are losing focus, and you get the heck out of there back to a 'rally point' (respawn).

[Loendal]

I always played it as a unconsciousness / spiritual rebirth kinda thing. Getting sent back to the "Sprit stuffin' rock" was just another step in the process. I don't think I had any characters in MMO's permanently die off except conveniently off-screen and even that may have only been in my IRC days.

Horizons was the only MMO I know of that actually gave a reason why the good guys never actually died. They were the gifted; the ones who were gifted with the ability to renew their lives as they stood against the Withered Aegis

[Morreion]

From what I understand, 38 Studios' upcoming MMO (working title Copernicus) has a mechanism called 'the Well of Souls' that incorporates coming back to life as a part of the actual lore. Pretty neat.