Re: Instant Death


9 Mar 95 19:28:03 GMT

kvan@diku.dk (Casper Kvan Clausen) writes:

>neilg@kits.sfu.ca (Neil K. Guy) writes:

>> Am I the only one old-fashioned enough to find this damned tiresome
>>and rather rude on the part of the author?

>No. In fact, I much prefer the approach seen in LucasArts games, where it is
>IMPOSSIBLE to die. This does not detract from the tension if done properly,
>and greatly enhances gameplay. After all, dying only makes people

>a) Stop playing your game, or
>b) Restore or Undo (and then what have you gained?).

>So all in all, I think you should never be able to get killed in IF.

In terms of gameplay, death is never necessary. If you can implement a
death scene, you can implement a "near-death" scene in which the player
character realizes at the last moment what's going to happen and retreats
to safety (or some variation thereupon.)

Note that near-death is different from forbidding action. Near-death is
"As you enter the lair, the dragon's head swivels in your direction, ears
perked up and nostrils twitching. You wisely retreat." and not "You
wisely decide not to enter the dragon's lair." It's a subtle distinction,
but makes a world of difference to the feel of the game. The former
feels protective, the latter restrictive. Near-death makes the player
say "Whew, that was a close one"; forbidding action makes the player say
"Yes, I know there's a dragon in there. I want to take my chances, dammit."
In addition, a forbidden action can be misinterpreted by the player as an
action that will always be forbidden, ie in the same class as "eat sword".
When that is indeed the case, forbidding the action might be justified. I
have no problems with not being allowed to walk off a cliff. The cliff
just becomes another barrier, like a wall. A statement like "You step
off the cliff with one foot. Realizing that you're about to fall to your
death, you quickkly regain your balance and step away" may well be
overdramatic for the situation. (Or not, if the room description is full
of phrases like "your precarious perch" and "the howling wind".)

The best argument I've ever seen in favor of death is that it can enhance
an atmosphere of danger. Near-death doesn't feel the same as death.
Wandering around in the more secret regions of "The Lurking Horror" has a
strong edge to it, a sense that every step you take is putting your life
at risk. This sensation would probably be lost if you knew that the worst
that could happen to you is that you'd get stuck for a while.
Still, this only argues in favor of death with lots of warning. It
certainly doesn't justify that stairwell in "Veritas", although the case
in "John's Fire Witch" is debatable - the sight of John frozen in the cell
communicates some sense of danger, but is it adequate?

-- 
Carl Muckenhoupt | Is it true that Kibo habitually autogreps all of Usenet
baf@tiac.net     | for his name?  If so:  Hi, Kibo.  Like the sig?