GDD 018 : Deep Thoughts About Death In Games

Brian and Ike talk about death in video games where the character dies or vehicle explodes at the end of the game loop. They discuss what death brings to a video game and why it may be important to include it your game. So, get ready for some great insight! Today's Developer Diary Brian is extremely excited to announce his own Twitch TV channel! Here is the link to check it out: Fenix Fire Twitch TV and if you haven't caught wind of it yet, now would definitely be a good time. It's become a tool in the indie game dev by using it to broadcast the making of your game while making the game. It's a pretty awesome way to connect with fans! Brian's mind is blown by just experimenting with it. He says the good thing about Twitch is just how raw it is and that production value is considered a bad thing. People who watch want to be a fly on the wall and want to see what makes the game tick, what makes the designer tick and all the decisions that are being made. There's no post production and really no pre-production. It's just a matter of hitting play and performing. Ike is heading to downtown Denver to teach some young budding high school kids how to make video games. He's really looking forward to it. While he's away, we plan on having some guest hosts on the podcast so stay tuned for that! Death in Video Games Death doesn't have to be a morbid topic, in the case of death in video games it's a really interesting topic. Death in a video game is the ultimate point of feedback in your feedback loop. You have to have a carrot and a stick to get the full range of emotions out of a player. But as a player, it feels awful when you die. So why have death in your game? Well, if you take death out: It remove conflict or friction in the game The mastery element gets thrown out the window There's no desire for the player to learn a new skill Rewind the Clock Back to the Arcade The one good thing about mobile games is they have heart again and some skill going on all of a sudden which is great to see. Reminds us of where video games began....in the arcade. The entire coin-op industry throughout the 80's were all about mastery. Atarti made a bunch of coin-op games about mastery like: Pong, Pac Man, Missile Command, Pitfall, Space Invaders, etc. All these games were hard and they were quick. It was a bite sized game. In order for it to be a game, you had to die and that was part of the business plan to throw in more quarters and play again. Before internet and Twitch TV, you would go to the arcade and just watch someone play since it was a skill based game and be amazed by his abilities. Not only did you have to know the game, but you had to know your specific arcade since all the machines were different. Mastery is a huge part of all of this that started the video game craze. It's a feeling that males as opposed to females really strive for which is why it became a male dominated sport. It was high technology and at the same time brutally difficult. All of this stuff was really hard core and that's where video games were born from. It's important to acknowledge that. Death in Video Games - The Discussion Brian and Ike go through many different scenarios and ideas of what death can bring to a game as well as some good insight into this interesting and important topic. The dreaded loading screen: Mostly found in Console and PC games After you died, the game had to re-load and that was a penalty in and of itself Death was painful not because you had to put another quarter in but you had to wait An example of a game without death was the game Planescape: Torment  where you're this immortal character and you didn't "die" you would re-load in your spawn point. The whole game was built on the concept that you don't die and there was no loading.  The need for conflict:  In a game, there almost needs to be a back and forth Like the old saying goes, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

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