Question from Gaming magazine: Why is permadeath fascination

[Lord_Darkmoon 0]

Hi, I am a freelance Editor of the German gaming Magazine PC Games. I am writing an article about permadeath in games and would like to ask gamers who like and dislike this feature about their opinion on permadeath. If you are interested in having your opinion featured in the magazine, please write in one sentence why you like permadeath, what fascinates you about it or why you hate this feature. You will not be mentioned by real name in the magazine, just by the nickname in this forum or a nickname you would like (which should then be included with your answer). Thanks for your time and Support! Cheers, Andreas

[Mook 11]

A possibility to lose everything you've gained so far, which gives an unusual excitement in the gaming. Loving it.

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

It makes you think about every action you take and gives you a feeling of reward for accomplishing even the smallest things.

[ActionManZlt 160]

Experiencing the emotion of loss, and the fear that stems from that possibility.

Edited June 9, 2013 by ActionMan

[Walking Wounded 199]

In the right game setting permadeath creates a high level of adrenaline inducing immersion.

[Skinny_Man 7]

- Positives

* Makes the game more realistic and immersive

* Makes the player think before he/she acts

* When in a combat situation the experience is more intense. As well as even when just sneaking around knowing you could die or get spotted at any moment in time.

* Deceiving people is more gratifying

- Negatives

*Trusting people is harder

* You loss all your hard work, as well as time.

* More prone to "nerd rage"

[JeffDetroit 717]

Wait, DayZ is permadeath?! I didn't know that! I'm on my day 204, I'd better be more careful!

[gambla 118]

And it's simply logic, imagine to get killed and nothings happens at all ?

[gambla 118]

And it's simply logic, imagine to get killed and nothings happens at all ?

[joe_mcentire 2074]

Es schafft zum einen diese Bindung zu deinem Character und zum anderen verleiht es dem Spiel eine viel stärkere Wertigkeit. Man kann es vielleicht vergleichen mit einem Pokerspiel. Ohne Einsatz spielt jeder irgendwelche Hände, ohne darüber nachzudenken ob sie nun gut sein könnten oder nicht. Es geht um nichts, es ist also prinzipiell egal. Sobald nun aber ein gewisser Einsatz da ist, geht diese Sorglosigkeit verloren. Man überlegt nun ganz genau welche hand man spielt. Wann man folded wann ma raised. Und viel mehr, wann man All-in geht.

Interessant wird es vor allem dann, wenn man zusätzlich dem Character meinetwegen dann auch noch ein durch seine Handlungen veränderbares Aussehen gibt und/oder auch noch Skilli-trees einführt. Dies würde zu noch viel mehr Bindung führen und man kann dann durchaus auch mit seinem Character mitfiebern und mitleiden.

Gerade bei Spiele wie Dayz gibt es sehr oft diese wirklichen Herzklopfmomente, Angstzustände und furchtbareste als auch schönste Momente. Und darum geht es doch im Entertainmentsektoren wie Film, Spiel und Musik oder?

Edited June 9, 2013 by joe_mcentire

[God Dan 62]

I dont think permadeath can be removed. It is part of the game, and what the game is known for. It wouldn't be DayZ without it.

Edited June 9, 2013 by God Dan

[Cap'n (DayZ) 1827]

It creates tension knowing that everything you've worked for is at risk every second of the day, and that you'll have to work for it all over again if you die. Blank slate, as I call it.

[simfreek@hotmail.com 48]

The consequences of being complacent after collecting items that you have risked permadeath for has an emotional impact that stays with you as you loot up again.

You truly have to weigh risk vs reward for every action that is presented to you.

[Derpy_Hooves (DayZ) 4521]

Simple, it forces players to "think" their actions before they do them. Very few games these days make the player think about what they are doing or about to do and what it will do to effect them over the long run. Simple things like "Is it worth losing all this stuff that has taken me days to acquire by giving away my position when i take a shot at a target?".

Games where the players think are more rewarding in my opinion, the satisfaction i get when i out maneuver another player or simply "out think" them and come out trumps, much more than that of the usual run/gun of CoD and Battlefield which require all the skill of an itchy trigger finger.

[OrLoK 16185]

Hello there

Permadeath has resurfaced as a game mechanic as people are fed up with the constant "hand holding" that most mainstream games now adopt.

permadeath is nothing new on the gaming scene.

The unfortunate thing about the mass market is it follows trends. I predict we will have another "golden era" of gaming in the next few years where the emphasis is on niche and indy appearing games, then the big companies will see it as a potential revenue stream and adopt the appearance of those "philosophies" which will again shift the "cool" gamers focus away from the norm and onto the next big thing.

Permadeath is just part of that in vogue trend.

Rgds

LoK

[Mullraugh 1151]

Wait.. Permadeath isn't normal?

[joe_mcentire 2074]

oh derpy... just wanted to say hallo

[narwaljunior 18]

Permadeath creates tears and frustrations, but I say bring it on.

[St. Jimmy 1631]

DayZ mod's permadeath isn't enough permadeath (yet) for me that's all I have to say on this :D

[mynameismonkey 25]

Many DayZ gamers such as myself came up the hard way on arcade games. When you played an arcade game, it cost real money. For me, 10p. For others, a quarter. When you died, you were out that money. To continue playing, you needed more money. Death was death. Game over. Some games would let you continue for another coin, but the very essence of arcade gaming was how far you could get on one credit. Then along came PC gaming. Less twitch, more mental. No more coins. So games developed ways of hurting us. Ultima Online is a classic example of a game that when you died, you were dead. Some guy would come by and steal everything from your corpse. I used to leave trapped pouches in my bags so the first couple of looters would die. Gear was gear. Utility. Lost a sword? Buy or make another one.

WoW came along. No death. Just a straight up pure exchange of money and time in return for virtual goods. Not good at it? Don't worry, just keep going again, you won't lose anything. Ever since, this has become the rule, and consequences have become the exception.

Many of us yearn for real challenge. DayZ gave us this in a way we hadn't seen in a while. Sure, EVE has it to a degree, but in a RPG-ish shooter? My first couple of weeks in DayZ I had no idea there was daylight. I only played late night after work and family, so I only ever saw dark servers. I spent two weeks crawling around on my belly scared shitless. Each time I made a new discovery, or got a little farther. Each time I improved on my previous attempt. Just like those old arcades. Each credit was a new life with nothing to start with, just my wits and patience.

Out of the blue I'm supplied with NPCs that can actually kill me, and a human element that is both deadly competition and hilarious, joyful community. And it brings gaming back to its roots and it's most famous words.

GAME.

OVER.

Deal with it.

Edited June 9, 2013 by mynameismonkey

[Hetstaine 10852]

The challenge to stay alive for as long as you can thus creating an attachment with your character.

[jBrick 116]

When there is no reward or punishment in a game... then there is no goal. I can honestly say the only games I take interest in are the ones that are "hardcore". Games in which death means restarting and is something you try HARD to avoid. Looking at games like Battlefield 3 (a comparitive of DayZ) I see absolutely no goals and people running around not caring if they die. I prefer killing people who put in their utmost effort and the only way to ensure that is to punish people for making mistakes severely. The greatest sense of competition comes from severe loss or severe gain.... and I must say that THIS is the only way to play.

[methr1k2dop3 323]

Well if you die IRL you lose everything.

so if a video game wants to capture that then.....

[Shea 13]

Permadeath drives encounters of extreme situations, where paranoia drives peoples' decision making to extremes of murder for water or failing the ambush because, after all, who gets to shoot guns often enough to be proficient with them when every gunshot is like ringing a dinner bell.

[boneboys 7988]

To boldly go where no man has gone before, live long and prosper.