267
rate

Death In Video Games - An Evolving Concept

January 10, 2009 in Blog comments 11

Jeffrey Matulef of thegamereviews.com blogs about the lighter side of the gaming world: death. Read on to find out about the different ways of dying over time with opinions on each. From the classics to the latest titles, each gets a mention.

Since the dawn of time, game players could be categorized as one of two things -- winners or losers. If you perform well, you win a game. If you don’t, you lose. It’s as simple as that. Lately, however, we’ve seen a paradigm shift; now we are seeing games you can’t lose. Or, more accurately, games that don’t have any clear, defined "losing" state. We’re used to the tried-and-true "game over" screen, but what if you can’t get a game over? Would it still be a game?
Dark Arcanine via thegamereviews.com »
Favourite this article Add source
| More
Report!
News story attached to:
Additional sources:
Images about this story:
Latest comment:
Most recently commented on by on Jan 12, 2009

Comments

Register as a member to subscribe comments.
  • 0
    chautemoc Jan 11, 09
    Sweet find .
  • 0
    tallteen86 Jan 11, 09
    Well, Bioshock DOES have a trophy/achievement for beating the game on hardest difficulty with Vita-chambers turned off...

    So the challenge is still there for those that want it. Though more options = better IMO

    With Survival horror, they could fall back on the 'turn off checkpointing' idea that Bioshock has neh? At least for the higher difficulties anyhow.
  • 0
    Goldva_X Jan 11, 09
    Lol, the main screenshot is from Friday the 13th on the NES.
  • 0
    Blackfalcon Jan 11, 09
    Death is important in games. And a lot of the time developers mess it up big time. GTA IV, for example, would have looked so much better if it didn't go black and white, but Rockstar decided to be all artsy and cool, and so you can't properly see Niko getting minced by a lorry. =(
  • 0
    ShinobiDyne Jan 11, 09
    Game deaths should be left how they are. Its more realistic to die and start all over again. But it will be frustrating as hell. And games are not here to mirror real life.
  • 0
    berrylee2005 Jan 11, 09
    death in games are the most important thing sometimes in games like for gears of war. if you get killed when you die what else are you to see.
  • 0
    Xenctuary Jan 11, 09
    Great article on quite an interesting topic.
  • 0
    Insanity Prevails* Jan 11, 09
    It's a nice way of lessening the frustration caused by death in games, as going through a lot of motions to get back to where you were previously can be a bit tiring, but it is something that needs to be handled carefully. Incorporating the concept into difficulty settings seems like a good way of doing things. That way the lesser skilled gamers can benefit from the system while those wanting the old school experience can plough through the harder settings without the safety net.
  • 0
    pooOBKp Jan 12, 09
    Lets bring back the life system. CoD should have 5 lives and then you have to restart the level over from the beginning. That'd piss off people too I'm sure. Dying or not dying, people will always complain about the process used. Game developers seem to have a tough crowd to please.
  • 0
    anacreon Jan 12, 09
    Bring back classic style gaming only 2 check points per stage 1 at a halfway point and 1 just before the end.

    In all seriousness there are waaaay to many check points hell harder difficulties should remove certain check points as well as add more enemies and the hardest difficulty would remove all check points in each stage so only the incredibly skilled can beat the game.

    I may be being a little harsh it is probably because i have been facing the frustrations of my childhood recently by playing a lot of classic games
  • 0
    Gamer boy Jan 12, 09
    Death is like a very important thing in most games. If they didn't have it, it would be like playing a shooter with unlimited health and all the best weapons from the start

This news story is archived and is closed to comments now.