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You shalt never have another pointless death.

Nazrix · 2000-11-02T01:20:44

If everything in a story-based game was really there for a reason, wouldn't it be interesting if the player's character never died. INstead the story would just be advanced. For instance, if the player were to try and steal an NPC's belongings and gets caught. Then the NPC would start fighting w/ the player. Then the player gets hurt badly enough to collapse. The guards drag the player into jail or throw the player outside the town and banish him. The player then has to deal with these situations and mend his wounds when he comes to or whatever else. There still is a consequence to the player's theft, but just not an ending to the game. The point is, instead of death the story would change because of the player's actions. The only time player death would occur is when it is a profound part of the story. How damn interesting is death (unless it does have a greater significance like being a martyr or something)? The player just either reloads a saved game or restarts, but if in place of death, a major change in the flow of the game's plot happens it's much more interesting. ""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator Nazrix, the yet-to-be-determined-cool half-liberitarian half-not-nihilistic-anymore-but-plain-confused messiah Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself. Edited by - Nazrix on 10/19/00 5:07:25 PM

Writing for Games Game Design

Started by Nazrix October 19, 2000 05:03 PM

33 comments, last by Nazrix 23 years, 8 months ago

dwarfsoft

1,237

October 19, 2000 07:05 PM

You obviously made good use of those F''s and C''s

.

Some good alternative to ''death is permanent'' include the spirit idea. You float around as a spirit and are able to cast spells, but you cannot communicate with others. Seers are about the only people who can hear you. Reincarnation comes to mind as well though.

Am I just ranting again?

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche

- blog - twitter - LinkedIn

Nazrix

307

Author

October 19, 2000 07:37 PM

dwarf that''s a good idea as well. It might be cool if you only have so many game days to get reincarnated, but being a spirit may have great advantages too. Like, Daggerfall let you become a vampire and werewolf, but you had only so many days to get a cure. Then once per game year you''d get a quest that could bring you a cure, and a game year was quite a long time.

""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself. "Just don't look at the hole." -- Unspoken_Magi

dwarfsoft

1,237

October 19, 2000 08:40 PM

Possession comes to mind.. You can wander around in somebody elses body, until they try and exorcise you from them. Then you can go to a preist and get reincarnated. Could be fun

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche

- blog - twitter - LinkedIn

Nazrix

307

Author

October 19, 2000 08:45 PM

quote: Original post by dwarfsoft

Possession comes to mind.. You can wander around in somebody elses body, until they try and exorcise you from them. Then you can go to a preist and get reincarnated. Could be fun

hehe...that's a good idea, dwarf

""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

Edited by - Nazrix on October 19, 2000 9:45:30 PM

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself. "Just don't look at the hole." -- Unspoken_Magi

MatrixCubed

199

October 19, 2000 09:02 PM

That''s essentially what I''m shooting for in my game: (yet another) online RPG... but I''m doing some things that have yet to be done, like choosing an unusual setting / comparable real world historical timeperiod, as well as orienting negative / antagonistic forces around the supernatural (as opposed to monstrous, a la AD&D / UO / EQ / you-name-it). Hopefully combining that with hiding stats from players will give a more realistic* "feel" for the game. I''m also attempting to include real-life stuff like lifespans (after which your character indubitably passes on) and permanent death (but again, giving ghosts / spirits the ability to converse with seers, and vice versa).

Not a lot of irrealistic* minutiae, but I figure someone has to try it sometime.

One small step...

*(Ir)realistic in terms of believability "for a fantasy game". You know it''s not real, don''t you?

MatrixCubed

[ Odyssey Project ]

dwarfsoft

1,237

October 19, 2000 09:36 PM

I am setting my Learning Experience in the Midkemian Universe (not on its world). I intend to start off small and if all goes according to plan, then I intend to make Midkemia (Kingdom, Kesh and etc.), Kelewan, I also intend to include the world of Katherine Kerrs books (can''t remember what it is called). The hall of worlds will become, and the garden will be a magnificent place. The garden that sits outside the universe will allow a viewer to see the beginning of the universe when the blind gods first started their inseccent(sp?) spinning and ripping of the ''stuff'' of the universe.

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche

- blog - twitter - LinkedIn

AndyMan

148

October 21, 2000 02:30 AM

I hope no-one has said this already...
If you want to make death something the player wants to avoid, don''t allow Save & Continue. Allow Save & Quit, but when the player continues, he shouldn''t be allowed to continue from that point again.
Or, allow a certain number of "Save & Continue"s. It shouldn''t be too hard to wind this into a story.

dwarfsoft

1,237

October 22, 2000 05:06 AM

I agree... Reload is the root of all evil. Never subject to demand to have it. If you want such an availability though, make it a part of the game for a spirit to seek to start from a period in the past. Therefore the character must have left beacons for the spirit to find. It might add to a little bit of fun in the game that way. Reload should always be at a cost though, so it is something to avoid rather than a necessary evil

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche

- blog - twitter - LinkedIn

MatrixCubed

199

October 22, 2000 11:02 PM

Hmm well considering my game is an online RPG (or FLS if you follow this link''s mindless innovation), "no save feature" isn''t really an option.

I''m sure many people will not be happy with it initially, but I am considering alternatives such as heirs and/or offspring (trying to decide how such a thing can be prevented from being abused).

MatrixCubed

[ Odyssey Project ]

ochavelli

122

October 23, 2000 01:10 AM

One way to handle death in a MMORPG is to turn a players previous (dead) characters into guardian angels for his current (living) character.

Perhaps you could have an altar that you sacrifice something on or whatever. Then, the player would be teleported to some spiritual plane. Maybe there''d be a Parthenon locking building and when you enter it all (or some) of your previous characters are there just chillin''.

Then maybe you could train with them or take one of them back you for a while. Or you could tell them to send down a lightning bolt to scorch a critter (a goblin no doubt) that tries to sneak up behind you and slit your throat. Or you could allow yourself to be possessed. Yada-yada-yada.

Alright, now get out there and start killing some players.

-----------
ochavelli

"...A dead MALE pig??!" -- another guy I work with

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You shalt never have another pointless death.

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You shalt never have another pointless death.

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