The ill-fated game over screen pops up every time you die. Death is something that most gamer’s always try to avoid. Death is a unique concept in games, because each game has a different view on the penalty of death. Death can be a game breaker or a game saver. Even not dying has a negative effect telling gamers they too good for the game because they don’t lose any lives. For video games it is context of which you die in a game.
If a game is going for realism, it benefits the game to have a harsh penalty for death. If the penalty is harsh for death, gamers are usually more cautious when playing. Experimentation can be hard at times if you fear about losing your one and only life in the game. The rush of only having one life can be great, as every step you take could be your last. One also has a sense of skill because surviving for a long period is beating the odds of the game thats inevitably wants you dead.
The Monster Hunter series is a game that has a fairly harsh penalty for death. Even though one death doesn’t spell the end of the game, teams usually frown upon the member who dies. Life is precious in the game as items are needed in order to prolong death. Food is used to keep stamina up as fatigue kicks in after long winded battles against giant monsters. Potions are used to keep health up as some monsters can take more than half of your own life with just one hit. Even forgetting one crucial item can spell death even before the battle even begins.Teams value players who also take other people’s lives into consideration rather than their own. The player who carries extra mega potions for the player who has run out, earns respect because that player values their life.
Death seems to be something to be avoided at all costs for most games, but what about games that use death as a learning tool. Laughing at the face of death can be important for a player to grow and learn skills. In some games, having a harsh penalty for death can ruin it because it might not allow players to take the risks needed to beat a game.
In Donkey Kong Country Returns, death seems to be at every corner. Judging the distance between two platforms can be hard unless you have prior knowledge of the game’s mechanics. Some gaps take precise jumping while others require the player to jump as far as possible. Especially in the cart levels, multiple tries are encouraged because one will find themselves jumping too early or too late into a pit fall. Even though you will be frustrated at the fact that you’re dying over and over again, you will acquire enough lives to take the risks needed. If you’re a person who likes to go for 100%, it is necessary to take even bigger risks to find that hidden puzzle pieces and KONG letters.
A game that takes death to a whole new level is Super Meat Boy. Death is something to be laughed at as every death in each level is recorded until you beat the game. Dying is only half the fun as you walk blood splatter all over saw blades and death spikes. Watching the replay brings a smile to one’s face as all your deaths go by the screen at the same time. If death was to be taken to seriously in the game people might be breaking their TV sets rather than having a grand old time.
Death is necessary game mechanic and can make or break a game. The main thing is that a player must feel as if they are in control of their own fate. If the game is too hard to play and does not give out enough lives then death feels inevitable. Although beating the hardest game that features only one life can have its rewards.