BLAM hurk! reload.... why do all protatonists have this superpower?

[A Curious Fellow]

There's something terrifically unfortunate about game stories. Let's go over a couple facts, and you'll see what I mean.

In most games, you are your main character. In fact, that's in almost every game. Now, when you die in a game, you go back to where you last saved and you get another try. Trial and error, as old as gaming itself, and the one trope that every game has. But somehow, the Prince of Persia titles are the only ones that actually acknowledge it.

This is a problem to me. Every game puts you in a position where you have no choice but to become Nicolas Cage from Next. Kind of alters up the story a bit when the protagonist is clairvoyant and can relive every five seconds of his life over and over again until he gets it right, but gaming has made it so mundane that we don't even talk about it. Every single protagonist in gaming has this super power. I think that particular weirdness needs attention. Thoughts?

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

Because it would suck if once shot the disc was unplayable.

 

[Harlemura]

Well, in some games like Call of Duty, the enemies move around a little, so it's more a case of your dude being an actual soldier by slowly and strategically advancing leading to your victory rather than him running out guns blazing until he magically knows where his killers are.

But that's over thinking it. I think it's just come to a thing that everyone's used to. You're just unlucky enough to have a brain that notices it.
Or maybe I'm just dumb... Either way, I never thought about it.

 

[Xelt]

Go play Sonic, the old ones. Or that floppy disk Lion king game. You'll know how annoying itt is to have limited lives.

 

[Lucane]

Did you forget about Oregon Trail?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Go play Steel Battalion...

If you don't eject before your mech dies, your save is deleted!

To my understanding at least.

 

[The Almighty Grigard]

Erm no.

You reload, you rewind time, it never happened etc. Ever heard of gameplay and story segregation? Yep those times you died never happened really since they aren't part of the story. The real story is that your generic gritty well armored soldier protagonist killed 600 people by himself and did that thing he wanted to do. Simple

 

[Scarim Coral]

Well games like Donkey Kong Country return and in a few recent Mario games, if you died like over ten times, the game offer you easy mode where the Ai take control and complete that level for you. To me it's way too easy as you can pretty much complete a game like that so it doesn't feel much accomplishment if you don't keep trying. So in another words I rather have the trial and errors then any alternative ways.

 

[veloper]

Play roguelikes like ADOM and Nethack.

You cannot keep saves when your PC dies and even the colors of the unidentified potions are randomized when you start a new game.

 

[TornadoFive]

Guys, I don't think he was saying, "We shouldn't be able to continue if we die" Just that perhaps the fact that the protagonist CAN try again if s/he dies needs some more explanation.

OT. I like the Assassins's Creed method of death. You never actually "die", you're just "desyncronised". It fits quite nicely with the game's story. It also has the advantage of having an explanation for the U.I and mini-map, which I really, REALLY liked when I saw it. The game actually takes away the U.I. and map when you're playing as Desmond, so it feels more natural.

 

[MikailCaboose]

It's good because I would be REALLY pissed if I died 40+ hours into Morrowind with full Ebony armor because I missed a jump by 1 inch. It's a case where realism takes a backseat for pure playability.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Alan Wake has a flashlight....

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Because most of us would probably not enjoy dying and having to start the whole game again.

 

[Gxas]

I always loved the way Prince of Persia: Sands of Time handled that.

"Wait... Thats not what happened..."

 

[Realitycrash]

There's something terrifically unfortunate about game stories. Let's go over a couple facts, and you'll see what I mean.

In most games, you are your main character. In fact, that's in almost every game. Now, when you die in a game, you go back to where you last saved and you get another try. Trial and error, as old as gaming itself, and the one trope that every game has. But somehow, the Prince of Persia titles are the only ones that actually acknowledge it.

This is a problem to me. Every game puts you in a position where you have no choice but to become Nicolas Cage from Next. Kind of alters up the story a bit when the protagonist is clairvoyant and can relive every five seconds of his life over and over again until he gets it right, but gaming has made it so mundane that we don't even talk about it. Every single protagonist in gaming has this super power. I think that particular weirdness needs attention. Thoughts?

Well, in one of my favorite games through the ages, Marathon (yes I bring up Marathon alot, shattap!), it's actually part of the story. When you save, you go to "pattern buffers", and when you die, you respawn at one. What is slowly (very, very fucking slowly) explained through the course of the entire series with hints (this being one of them) is that you are actually just a clone, and that the AI which you work for send you on suicide-missions, full well knowing you will die, but not caring because he has cloning-tech and a teleporter to put you right back at your last pattern-buffer.

Bioshock handled it in a similar fashion with those tubes that somehow stored your DNA (or whatever it was) and allowed..Well, guessing it was cloning. I got a bit confused.

And of course there are games with "Hardcore Mode", meaning you never, ever get to save. Old space-rpg game called Escape Velocity had this, as had Diablo.

 

[Laser Priest]

Play a game where you die once and can never touch the game again.

Sounds like a blast, doesn't it?