Permanent death
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In computer role-playing games, permanent death (sometimes permadeath or PD) is a term for a situation in games in which player characters (PCs) die permanently and are removed from the game. This is in contrast to games in which characters who are killed (or incapacitated) can be restored to life (or full health), at some minor cost to the character.
The term is most commonly used in discussions of roguelike CRPGs and massively multiplayer online role-playing games, although it sometimes used in discussions of the mechanics of non-electronic role-playing games.
The presence of permanent death increases the penalty for mistakes leading to the death of PC. Depending on the type of game and the player's involvement, the penalty can includes loss of power in various forms in game, loss of progress in in-game stories, and loss of emotional investment in the PC. The primary impact of permadeath in a game is to increase the significance of player decisions on life-and-death matters for the PC. Those games without permanent death may or may not impose a penalty for a PC's death. In some games a PC can be restored from death for an in-game fee; the availability of such restoration, even if the PC cannot afford it, means such games are not typically labelled as having permanent death.
[edit] In multi-player computer games
Due to player desires and the resulting market forces involved, MMORPGs (WoW for example)and other multiplayer-focused RPGs almost never have permanent death. Diablo II is a noteworthy, mainstream exception that includes support for an optional "hardcore" mode when playing online. "Hardcore mode" in Diablo II subjects characters to permanent death.
The majority of MMORPG players are unwilling to accept the large penalty of losing their character. Some MMORPGs experimented with permanent death as part of an attempt to simulate a more realistic world, but the majority of players preferred to not risk permanent death for their characters. As a result, while MMORPGs are occasionally announced that feature permanent death, most either never ship (so called vaporware) or are changed to remove permanent death so as to increase the game's mass appeal.
Proponents of permanent death desire the additional significance that the risk of permadeath gives their in-game actions. While games without permanent death often impose an in-game penalty for restoring a dead PC, the penalty is relatively minor compared to being forced to create a new PC from scratch. Therefore, the primary change in experience permanent death creates is that it makes a player's decisions more significant; without permanent death there is little actual incentive for the player to consider his/her in-game actions quite as seriously as he/she would in real-life. Those players seeking to play under the shadow of permanent death feel that the more realistic consequences heighten the sense of involvement and achievement they get from their character. The increased risk means acts of heroism and bravery within the game world are significant; the player has risked a much larger investment of time. However, in an online game, permadeath generally means starting over from the beginning level of power, isolating the player of the now-dead character from his or her former comrades.
The proponents of permanent death systems in MMORPGs are a relatively small sub-section of the hardcore gaming community. These players are often interested in additional challenges provided by games that attempt to be more realistic in aspects of their simulation. These players will often seek less restricted social and economic environments catering for a greater range of player versus player interaction and risk versus reward scenarios.
Those players who prefer to not play with permanent death are generally unwilling to accept the risk of the large penalties associated with permanent death. Paying the penalty of permanent death often means a great deal of time spent to regain levels, power, influence, or emotional investment that the previous character had. Depending on the design of the game, this may involve playing through content that the player has already experienced. Players no longer interested in the early aspects of the game are often unwilling to spend time playing through it again. These players seek to play the game to have fun and are unwilling to play through sections of the game they no longer enjoy in the hope of reaching sections they previously had access to. Some players dislike the way that permanent death causes players to be much more wary than they would in regular games; they argue that this cautiousness reduces the heroic atmosphere that games seek to provide. Of course, the significance of heroism without the risk of permanent death is dramatically reduced. Most MMORPGs do not allow character creation at an arbitrary experience level, even if the player has already achieved that level with a now-dead character, providing a powerful disincentive for permanent death.
Currently there are a few MMORPGs in development that promise permanent death as a feature, although purists will argue that the systems involved are not truly permanent death. Trials of Ascension features a hundred life counters for each player character; and Adellion, features three life counters per character. Each death costs a character a life counter and, when the life counters are gone, the PC cannot be returned from the dead. Both of these games claim to be in development, although neither game has yet announced a beta test. In Wurm Online, high level priests can choose to become a Champion of their god. While this makes them much more powerful, if they die three times, the character will permanently die. Face of Mankind, which has made it to retail, also claims to have permadeath, but what it actually provides is automatic respawning for dead characters via 'clone insurance'. This is available for a trivial in-game fee - two thousand credits per month when characters start with ten thousand. Characters also start with three free clones, more of which can also be purchased very cheaply, so permadeath only happens when players make a concerted effort to use it to delete their character (no other option for the player to delete his/her character is provided).
Armageddon (MUD) has featured permanent death almost from its inception, circa 1991, and has in fact greatly influenced the adaptation of permanent death (or watered down heavy death penalties) in most other role-playing intensive MUDs on the net.
Batmud Hardcore has featured permanent death using a separate copy of the 'normal' server which opened in 2000. This was heavily inspired by Diablo II hardcore.
[edit] In single-player computer games
Few single player computer RPG exhibit truly permanent death, as most allow the player to load a previously saved game and continue from the saved position. Of course, use of this facility is not mandatory. Intrinsic implementations of permanent death can be seen within the roguelike genre of games, such as NetHack, most of which do not allow for restoring games upon making a fatal mistake. Another example of a single player computer RPG that has permanent death is Wizardry 8 when playing in "Iron Man" mode. In an Iron Man game, it is not possible for the player to save his/her game manually and only saves on completion of certain quests or when exiting the game (allowing the player to pick up where he/she left off at a later time). If the player's whole party dies in the Iron Man game, the save file is permanently deleted.
The Xbox game Steel Battalion is an example of permanent death in a non-RPG context. The lengthy campaign mode must be started from scratch if the player fails to eject from a destroyed vehicle. This reinforces the simulation aspect of the game, and forces the player to think seriously about any risks taken on missions.
[edit] In other games
Few non-electronic role-playing games give players the opportunity to resurrect characters, although older combat-oriented games, including the most popular game, Dungeons & Dragons, sometimes do. Most modern games focus more on plot and character development than hack-and-slash combat, and as such player death is rarely part of the game, permanent or otherwise.
Even within those games in which death is an option, the presence of permanent death varies from frequently to never, based on the desires of the gamemaster and the group as a whole. Similarly, because of the freedom of the gamemaster to modify the rules, some gamemasters choose to add permanent death to the few games that normally lack it. Others may subtract it from games where it is normally present.
For most games with character resurrection, PCs typically must pay a price to be restored. The price is often an in-game fee paid to a non-player character with magic or technology capable of restoring the character. Such a fee might be paid by the PC in advance, or by other PCs. In many games, the amount of effort required to create a character is decidedly non-trivial, giving players a significant incentive to avoid permanent death. However, unlike in MMORPGs, new player characters can be created at the same or close to the same power level as the remainder of the party, to allow the new character to meaningfully contribute to the game in progress.
