Difference between revisions of "Permadeath"
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− | '''Permadeath''', short for permanent death, is a gaming term which describes the irreversible loss of a character upon their death. Permadeath is contrasted against games where a character's death is not permanent | + | '''Permadeath''', short for permanent death, is a gaming term which describes the irreversible loss of a character upon their death. Permadeath is contrasted against games where a character's death is not permanent, for example, because the game allows the player to save their progress. The term "permadeth" is usually only used in games where character progress is gradual, like adventure and role-playing games. |
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+ | Games that use permadeath add an extra degree of loss when a character dies. Depending on the player, this can be seen as a positive or negative aspect. For players who like higher levels of risk, permadeath is seen as a good thing because it makes every action that much more risky. However, for players who prefer games to be more light-hearted, permadeath is seen as a bad thing because it eliminates the hard work that went into building up a character. | ||
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+ | Most pen-and-paper role-playing games that have ever been created use an aspect of permadeath. Even those games that allow characters to be resurrected often have rules for permanent death like being turned to ashes or not meeting the strict requirements of resurrection. For example, in the rules of [[Dungeons and Dragons]], a character can only be resurrected if they haven't been dead for too long, their body still exists and is present, and their soul is willing. | ||
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+ | Most early role-playing video games used permadeath as a mechanic like [[Moria]], [[Oubliette]], [[Akalabeth]], [[Rogue]], [[Ultima]], and [[Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord]], but this mechanic slowly became less popular through the 1980s. | ||
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+ | Permadeath has seen a bit of a Renaissance in the 2000s with many games reintroducing permadeath like the 2011 game [[Realm of the Mad God]] or incorporating optional permadeath modes like [[You Have to Win the Game]]. | ||
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+ | ==Bypassing Permadeath== | ||
+ | In the early 1980s, permadeath in video games usually worked by marking a character as dead in the save game file or simply by deleting the save game file. In order to avoid permadeath in computer games, players could simply make a copy of their save game file before loading a game, and, if they die in the game, restoring from their copy. While skirting a game mechanic is often seen as cheating to the gamer community, some games even encouraged this in the manual, like [[Alternate Reality: The City]]. | ||
==Links== | ==Links== |
Revision as of 14:16, 23 October 2018
Permadeath, short for permanent death, is a gaming term which describes the irreversible loss of a character upon their death. Permadeath is contrasted against games where a character's death is not permanent, for example, because the game allows the player to save their progress. The term "permadeth" is usually only used in games where character progress is gradual, like adventure and role-playing games.
Games that use permadeath add an extra degree of loss when a character dies. Depending on the player, this can be seen as a positive or negative aspect. For players who like higher levels of risk, permadeath is seen as a good thing because it makes every action that much more risky. However, for players who prefer games to be more light-hearted, permadeath is seen as a bad thing because it eliminates the hard work that went into building up a character.
Most pen-and-paper role-playing games that have ever been created use an aspect of permadeath. Even those games that allow characters to be resurrected often have rules for permanent death like being turned to ashes or not meeting the strict requirements of resurrection. For example, in the rules of Dungeons and Dragons, a character can only be resurrected if they haven't been dead for too long, their body still exists and is present, and their soul is willing.
Most early role-playing video games used permadeath as a mechanic like Moria, Oubliette, Akalabeth, Rogue, Ultima, and Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, but this mechanic slowly became less popular through the 1980s.
Permadeath has seen a bit of a Renaissance in the 2000s with many games reintroducing permadeath like the 2011 game Realm of the Mad God or incorporating optional permadeath modes like You Have to Win the Game.
Bypassing Permadeath
In the early 1980s, permadeath in video games usually worked by marking a character as dead in the save game file or simply by deleting the save game file. In order to avoid permadeath in computer games, players could simply make a copy of their save game file before loading a game, and, if they die in the game, restoring from their copy. While skirting a game mechanic is often seen as cheating to the gamer community, some games even encouraged this in the manual, like Alternate Reality: The City.
Links
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permadeath - Wikipedia.