[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] Perma-death

[cruise]

Thus spake Caliban Darklock...
> What are the results we want from perma-death?
> 
> Because it often seems to me that what people really want from
> perma-death is to make their players behave differently, and I don't
> think we get to do that. It seems like we might be conflating the two
> problems as one, and what players really hate isn't the perma-death
> itself, but the restrictions it places on their behavior.

See C) below - perma-death is something intended to have meaning in the 
game - but we cannot force it to have meaning to the player. It /has/ to 
be something they choose, when they choose.

Thus spake Tess Snider...
 > The problem is that "death," as such, is not really a mechanic, per
 > se.  Oh, sure, you can take all of somebody's points and abilities
 > away.  You can even force them to pick a different name.  But "death"
 > is just a name you put on it.  There's nothing preventing the player
 > from thinking of it as a prolonged convalescence.  "Death" is just a
 > piece of color -- an element of fiction, if you will -- free to be
 > ignored along with most of your other fiction.
 >
 > So, in the end, you either:
 > A.)  Don't have permadeath,
 > OR
 > B.)  Learn to live with ActionGuyJr,
 > OR
 > C.)  Find some way to make fiction matter in your game.

Which can only be done if the rest of the game encourages it and builds 
on that, such as allowing players to actually affect the game world 
permanently.

It's why I mentioned the CoH/V "changing sides" mechanic - it's a way of 
extending the character fiction without losing the ability to play that 
character.

Perma-death is only one of a class of "dramatic" events (with the 
emphasis on "drama") that a character could encounter during their 
existence - perhaps the others would be better used for the same effect?