So, I recently picked Torchlight up on the huge Steam sale and decided to try a Hardcore character. For those who don?t know, a Hardcore character in Torchlight cannot be revived from death. You die, you?re dead. However, you do earn better loot. Now, this is on normal difficulty, so it hasn?t been particularly difficult to stay alive, particularly playing an Alchemist.
Until I encountered one-hit-kill smashy death traps.
As my character scrambled through the traps, the knowledge that one misstep would permanently kill my character sent true, gut-wrenching fear through my veins. Once I was through the trap, I realized this was the most emotionally invested I?d been in my character?s survival in any game in a long time.
In TORCHLIGHT!?
Video games have kind of spoiled us when it comes to dealing with the consequences of our actions. After all, what?s the harm in holding that grenade for a second too long if you can just reload the last checkpoint when it blows up? What?s the harm is exploring this high level dungeon if you can just be revived at the nearest altar?
Now, before I go any further let me say two things:
First, I?m no expert on this. I just play a lot of games. I?d really like to see Extra Credits do an episode on this. I?m just sharing my musings and hope to get some discussion going.
Secondly, the ability to revive your character quickly is a key aspect to many of the
experiences in games. It encourages you to try approaches that might not be safe, but are totally awesome. Jumping over that barricade with a grenade in one hand and a shotgun in the other is not something you would ever do if you couldn?t retry quickly. Not punishing players over much for death enables them to just have a good time with the game. Live the fantasy, so to speak.
However, my experience in Torchlight helped show me that the industry is neglecting some very poignant experiences by always letting the character come back.
Permanent Death Changes Gameplay
This is one of the reasons Permanent Death (I?m just going to call it PD from now on), isn?t a good fit for all game types. The knowledge that one wrong move will permanently kill off the Player Character will encourage players to tread more softly, forsaking the ball-to-the-wall play style of many games. This can mean getting players to try options they normally wouldn?t. The guy that always charges in and keeps firing until everything?s dead might try sneaking past the guard patrol instead. The player that turns her nose up at alchemy might decide the ability to brew stronger health potions is suddenly worth her time.
PD Helps Immerse the Player
No matter how immersive the game might be otherwise, every time you die and respawn it pulls you out of the experience. Death animations of your character, loading screens, and repeating the same sections over and over shove the fact that you?re playing a game in your face. They essentially say, ?Oh, you died, but it?s a game so it?s ok.? This is not really the type of thing that helps the suspension of disbelief.
Giving the player the knowledge they only have one chance and that the maniac wielding a knife can permanently end their day will draw a player in just as much if not more than a well told story.
PD Helps the Player Connect with Their Character
One of the things a lot of games seem to struggle with is getting the player to empathize with their character. How many times have we been asked to feel something for generic grizzled man #952 even though he only speaks a few poorly delivered lines?
The one thing we all have in common, though, is death. Mortality is one of the scariest things we have to accept in our lives. No matter who we are, no matter what we do, some day we are going to die. By making the character play by those same rules, a game gives the player an immediate in for understanding and connecting with their character. It cements the sense that the player and PC are in this together, and that, hopefully, if they work together, they can get out alive.
Proposed Ground Rules
This is where I?d love to hear more input. As I said, not all games need to incorporate PD. There are a lot of games that would just not be as fun if you only had one shot. Additionally, though, I think there are a lot of ways to screw up PD in games. I?ve compiled here a few things I think games should do when including PD.
1. Make it optional
One of the biggest reasons I suspect PD is not in many games these days, is most people don?t want to have to start from the beginning when they die. They just want to get through the game. Therefore, making it an optional play style allows those who don?t want to do it to still enjoy the game. Which leads me to?
2. Give players a reason to try it
For some, the challenge associate with PD is enough to get them to try it. For most, however, they don?t see the point. It?s one of those things you don?t think would be as impactful as it is until you experience it. You have to give these players a reason. Torchlight handles this well with the better loot incentive. Other options are giving the characters in shooters an additional weapon slot, or more grenades, or a longer sprint time. Maybe if you?re playing an RPG like TES when you die you can have your next character that plays PD start with whatever weapon the previous character was using. Or (my personal choice) give the character a quest to find and retrieve the items on their predecessor?s body.
Give some incentive for players to try PD and many more will.
3. Make death avoidable
This does not mean you need to remove the challenge from the game. In fact you shouldn?t. If the player never feels like their life is threatened, PD has failed. However, the player should always have it within their power to avoid death.
This means, if there is a one hit kill, make it avoidable. Don?t randomly kill the player because they stepped on a trap they couldn?t see.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising made a pseudo attempt at PD with Hardcore difficultly. There were no checkpoints and the missions could take upwards of an hour at times, so dying was a big deal. However, the game botched it up by making it too easy for the player to die to things that weren?t their fault. A lucky headshot by an enemy 300 yards away, an unlucky mortar strike, or simple mistake by the ?friendly? AI.
The player needs to be in control of their fate, otherwise it just becomes a game of luck.
In Closing
I'd love to see more PD in games. I think it has a lot of potential to advance the medium and provide experiences that most games can?t. What does the escapist think? Are there other things I haven?t considered? More benefits that didn?t occur to me? Problems? Any more rules games should follow for incorporating it?
Let me hear your thoughts.
TL;DR: You are bad and should feel bad. Read the post.;p
Until I encountered one-hit-kill smashy death traps.
As my character scrambled through the traps, the knowledge that one misstep would permanently kill my character sent true, gut-wrenching fear through my veins. Once I was through the trap, I realized this was the most emotionally invested I?d been in my character?s survival in any game in a long time.
In TORCHLIGHT!?
Video games have kind of spoiled us when it comes to dealing with the consequences of our actions. After all, what?s the harm in holding that grenade for a second too long if you can just reload the last checkpoint when it blows up? What?s the harm is exploring this high level dungeon if you can just be revived at the nearest altar?
Now, before I go any further let me say two things:
First, I?m no expert on this. I just play a lot of games. I?d really like to see Extra Credits do an episode on this. I?m just sharing my musings and hope to get some discussion going.
Secondly, the ability to revive your character quickly is a key aspect to many of the
experiences in games. It encourages you to try approaches that might not be safe, but are totally awesome. Jumping over that barricade with a grenade in one hand and a shotgun in the other is not something you would ever do if you couldn?t retry quickly. Not punishing players over much for death enables them to just have a good time with the game. Live the fantasy, so to speak.
However, my experience in Torchlight helped show me that the industry is neglecting some very poignant experiences by always letting the character come back.
Permanent Death Changes Gameplay
This is one of the reasons Permanent Death (I?m just going to call it PD from now on), isn?t a good fit for all game types. The knowledge that one wrong move will permanently kill off the Player Character will encourage players to tread more softly, forsaking the ball-to-the-wall play style of many games. This can mean getting players to try options they normally wouldn?t. The guy that always charges in and keeps firing until everything?s dead might try sneaking past the guard patrol instead. The player that turns her nose up at alchemy might decide the ability to brew stronger health potions is suddenly worth her time.
PD Helps Immerse the Player
No matter how immersive the game might be otherwise, every time you die and respawn it pulls you out of the experience. Death animations of your character, loading screens, and repeating the same sections over and over shove the fact that you?re playing a game in your face. They essentially say, ?Oh, you died, but it?s a game so it?s ok.? This is not really the type of thing that helps the suspension of disbelief.
Giving the player the knowledge they only have one chance and that the maniac wielding a knife can permanently end their day will draw a player in just as much if not more than a well told story.
PD Helps the Player Connect with Their Character
One of the things a lot of games seem to struggle with is getting the player to empathize with their character. How many times have we been asked to feel something for generic grizzled man #952 even though he only speaks a few poorly delivered lines?
The one thing we all have in common, though, is death. Mortality is one of the scariest things we have to accept in our lives. No matter who we are, no matter what we do, some day we are going to die. By making the character play by those same rules, a game gives the player an immediate in for understanding and connecting with their character. It cements the sense that the player and PC are in this together, and that, hopefully, if they work together, they can get out alive.
Proposed Ground Rules
This is where I?d love to hear more input. As I said, not all games need to incorporate PD. There are a lot of games that would just not be as fun if you only had one shot. Additionally, though, I think there are a lot of ways to screw up PD in games. I?ve compiled here a few things I think games should do when including PD.
1. Make it optional
One of the biggest reasons I suspect PD is not in many games these days, is most people don?t want to have to start from the beginning when they die. They just want to get through the game. Therefore, making it an optional play style allows those who don?t want to do it to still enjoy the game. Which leads me to?
2. Give players a reason to try it
For some, the challenge associate with PD is enough to get them to try it. For most, however, they don?t see the point. It?s one of those things you don?t think would be as impactful as it is until you experience it. You have to give these players a reason. Torchlight handles this well with the better loot incentive. Other options are giving the characters in shooters an additional weapon slot, or more grenades, or a longer sprint time. Maybe if you?re playing an RPG like TES when you die you can have your next character that plays PD start with whatever weapon the previous character was using. Or (my personal choice) give the character a quest to find and retrieve the items on their predecessor?s body.
Give some incentive for players to try PD and many more will.
3. Make death avoidable
This does not mean you need to remove the challenge from the game. In fact you shouldn?t. If the player never feels like their life is threatened, PD has failed. However, the player should always have it within their power to avoid death.
This means, if there is a one hit kill, make it avoidable. Don?t randomly kill the player because they stepped on a trap they couldn?t see.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising made a pseudo attempt at PD with Hardcore difficultly. There were no checkpoints and the missions could take upwards of an hour at times, so dying was a big deal. However, the game botched it up by making it too easy for the player to die to things that weren?t their fault. A lucky headshot by an enemy 300 yards away, an unlucky mortar strike, or simple mistake by the ?friendly? AI.
The player needs to be in control of their fate, otherwise it just becomes a game of luck.
In Closing
I'd love to see more PD in games. I think it has a lot of potential to advance the medium and provide experiences that most games can?t. What does the escapist think? Are there other things I haven?t considered? More benefits that didn?t occur to me? Problems? Any more rules games should follow for incorporating it?
Let me hear your thoughts.
TL;DR: You are bad and should feel bad. Read the post.;p
