作者：Kevin Ng

近年来游戏领域的趋势相当明显。《暗黑之魂》、《Super Hexagon》与《超越光速》中的死亡模式已十分普遍，或者更确切地讲，玩家几乎无法避免丧生。那么作为游戏开发者的我们为何要通过这种方式挫败玩家？

如何在游戏设计中融合死亡？

首先我们先来谈谈最近支持玩家频繁死亡模式的典范《暗黑之魂》。该作（其口号是“准备受死吧”）无疑是以消灭玩家为乐。然而，它与其前身《恶魔之魂》却可堪称为最佳热作。《Super Hexagon》的玩法具有更大难度。在多数电子游戏中持续30秒以上的体验听起来轻而易举，但在《Super Hexagon》中却需经过多次练习。《Super Crate Box》也采取类似方式，它极易爆发突发死亡状况，且会通过将全部责任归咎于你滥用枪支，增加残酷性。《超级食肉男孩》也偏爱玩家的突然丧生，角色极易爆炸成各个血块。在《超越光速》中保持船舰长度，以此增强抵挡中等攻击的防御能力颇具难度。《Day Z》中包含上述所有举措，其中还添加了PvP机制，并客观反映出人类本性的黑暗面。

super hexagon(from gamasutra)

虽然人们并不喜爱屏幕上显示的游戏结束字样，但这类游戏却会吸引我们再次投入其中。那么这是基于何种原因？玩家频繁死亡模式又能为玩法设计添加何种效果？

危机感

其中最显著的效果应是引发游戏的危机感。如果玩家极易在游戏中存活，那该作便无紧张氛围。要知道，近在咫尺的死亡是吸引玩家的关键。你不得不提高警惕，谨慎行事，注意每个视听觉线索。全身心投入其中。

影响

近几年来，我们已经逐步习惯游戏手把手教学，保证我们不会犯下错误，引发糟糕后果。玩家总会受到无形保护，以致不会遭遇失败境地。然而，如同按此方式培养孩子会令其丧失生存能力，这种方法最终会令玩家丧失游戏能力。毕竟，毫无影响力的世界是无法为你传授人生经验的。

了解这种真实影响效果的最佳途径是体验《Minecraft》的生存模式。该作普通模式中的死亡意味着重返基本营地。而生存模式中不存在重生选项。如果你失败了，你的角色将会丧生，更重要的是，你构造的整个世界都会毁灭。你开发的所有地方，发现并制作的所有道具，以及建造的所有房子都会永远消失。游戏会删除所有存档。因此你需在历经几个回合后才慢慢适应这种模式，调整玩法。在打开前门前，你应为creepers仔细检查四周。穿上装备后，你才能四处走动。你会随身携带一桶水，以防火山爆发。你从来不会挖掘脚下的土地。如果你已充分熟悉《Minecraft》中的普通模式，你应尝试生存模式。它很有可能会重新激发你对该作的兴趣。

自由感

也许，玩家频繁死亡带来的意外效果便是增强自由感。要知道，死亡可能会令玩家自由地试验，测试游戏的边缘地带。如果你知道自己不久就会死去，那么为何不尝试这种新战术？为何不试用自己通常不会使用的装备？尤其是《暗黑之魂》与《超越光速》出色地利用了这种影响力。

我们还应认识到，自由感总是伴随复活承诺而生。在flash游戏《One Chance》中，你有6天的时间可以拯救世界。这是电子游戏中的常见场景。但在该作中，你只有一次体验机会。你无法重试，也不会获得额外奖励。游戏会追踪你的进程，保证你只玩一次。而这种体验模式已完全转变死亡动态。你无法自由尝试，而应开始真正的生存本领。

现实感

玩家的死亡能够赋予游戏一种真实感。你会处在逼真场景中。《Day Z》的体验模式实则致力于质问一个问题，即如果爆发僵尸横行的世界末日，情形会怎样？这不再是《生化危机》或《僵尸围城》连环画中描述的场景，而是真实画面。那么此时你应储存食物与装备，同时潜伏在树丛中，偶尔冒险走进可能埋藏某款新型武器的城镇中。总之，玩家的丧生会提高游戏的真实感、可信度与效应。

进步感

在存在死亡与惩罚机制的游戏中，是什么元素吸引玩家再次回归？在上述游戏中（游戏邦注：除了《One Chance》），介于死亡与复活之间会催生出一种进步感。在《暗黑之魂》中，你仍留有上次获得的装备，而且等级数与上次一样。在《超越光速》中，虽然你会失去飞船、船员与装备，但你会解锁一艘全新飞船，赋予你更强能力。在《Super Crate Box》中，赚取点数可以解锁相应武器。通常，在你步入死亡时，你会觉得下次生命将更加精彩。而这也强大推动了“再来一次”的决定。

Faster than light(from gamasutra)

甚至那些未包含明确游戏机制的作品，也会在玩家存活期间，通过他们的学习提供进步感。《Super Hexagon》便是如此。促使玩家感觉到分数提高与越发擅长游戏是保持他们兴趣的好办法。

并非终结

在适当的环境中，将玩家死亡融入游戏设计中具有强大优势。如往常一样，你应先确定自己的用户群体，而后以此着手设计。制作一款具有一定难度的休闲游戏可能会疏远目标用户。但如果你将目标瞄准硬核玩家，那么探索玩家频繁死亡的优势会为游戏添加趣味。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Death is not the end

by Kevin Ng

The following blog was, unless otherwise noted, independently written by a member of Gamasutra’s game development community. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Gamasutra or its parent company.

The trend in games over the last couple of years is clear. Dark Souls, Super Hexagon, FTL – death is in fashion. Or, more precisely: frequent, almost inevitable player death. So why are us game devs climbing over each other to teabag the player? How can embracing the possibilities of death serve the game design?

Let’s start with the most famous recent advocate of frequent player death: Dark Souls. This is a game (whose tag line, remember, is “Prepare to Die”) which positively revels in killing the player. Yet both Dark Souls and its precursor Demon’s Souls have become big hits. Terry Cavanagh’s Super Hexagon is even more difficult. Lasting more than 30 seconds may sound like a given in most video games, but achieving this in Super Hexagon will take some practice. Super Crate Box takes a similar approach, readily handing out sudden death, with the added cruelty of making it entirely your fault in the case of disc gun misuse. Super Meat Boy delights in sudden player evisceration, gleefully depicting your character explode into bloody chunks. Keeping your ship together long enough to augment its defences enough to survive even a moderate attack in FTL is difficult. Day Z takes all of this, and adds adds a dollop of PvP and an object lesson in the dark side of human nature into the mix.

The list goes on. Yet despite sharing an almost unhealthy love for flashing up the Game Over screen, it’s these titles that we keep coming back to. So what’s happening here? What exactly does frequent player death bring to the gameplay design table?

A sense of danger

The most obvious effect is introducing a sense of danger to the game. If it is easy to stay alive, there is no tension in the game. Knowing that death could be just around the corner is a powerful way to engage the player. You have to keep on your toes, exercise caution, pay attention to every visual and audio cue. Watching TV in the background is not an option. Total concentration is demanded.

Repercussions

In recent years, we have become accustomed to games holding our hands, tutorialising, making sure that if we make mistakes, nothing bad will happen. The player is surrounded by an inpenetrable layer of bubble wrap, unable to fail. However, just as raising a child in this way may leave the child unable to deal with adult life, so this approach will ultimately fail the player. A world without repercussions is a world in which you don’t learn life’s lessons.

A great way to see the effect that real repercussions bring is to play Minecraft on survival mode. In normal mode, death means a respawn back at base camp. In survival mode, there is no respawn. If you die, your character dies, and more importantly, your entire world dies. All of the places you explored, all the items you found and crafted, and all the houses you built are lost forever. Gone. Deleted. And so it will go for a couple of games. And then you will adapt, and change your play style. You check carefully in the morning for creepers before opening the front door. You don’t go anywhere without armour. You carry a bucket of water with you in case of unforeseen lava. You *never* dig beneath your own feet. If you’re becoming overly familiar with normal mode in Minecraft, give survival mode a go. Most likely, it will reinvigorate your interest in the game. True survival horror.

Freedom

A perhaps unexpected effect of frequent player death is an amplified sense of freedom. Knowing that death will likely come quickly frees the player to experiment, to test the boundaries of the game. If you know you are going to die soon, why not try out this new tactic? Why not try out that piece of equipment which you normally wouldn’t use? You’re Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, so why not learn to play the piano? Dark Souls and FTL in particular make good use of this effect.

It’s important to note that freedom only comes with the promise of resurrection. In flash game One Chance, you have six days to save the world. Quite a mundane, expected scenario for a video game. Except in this case, you can only play the game once. There are no retries, no extra credits. The game tracks your system and makes sure you only play once.  This turns the dynamic of death on its head completely. Freedom to experiment goes out the window, and real survival instincts kick in.

Realism

Embracing player death can serve the feeling of realism within a game. It can place you more viscerally within its scenario. In Day Z, the experience strives to ask the question, what if a zombie apocalypse really did break out? And not just in the comic book brush strokes of Resident Evil or Dead Rising, but for real? So now you have to scavenge for food and equipment whilst skulking around in bushes, playing with the risk and reward of going into a town knowing that you might find a new weapon. Player death can make a game experience more real, more relatable, more powerful.

Progression

With all this death and player punishment, what brings the player coming back for more? In all of these games (except for One Chance), there is a sense of progression between death and respawn. In Dark Souls, you keep any equipment you had from the previous life, as well as any levels you have attained. In FTL, although you lose your ship, crew, and equipment, you unlock new ships that will get you further next time around. Super Crate Box unlocks weapons as you earn points. There is always the sense that even though you just died, your next life will be better. This is powerful fuel for the “just one more go” imperative.

Even those games without explicit game mechanics for progression between lives provide it through player learning. Super Hexagon is all about this. Promoting the feeling that the player is continually improving their score and getting better at the game is a good way to keep them interested.

Not the end

Embracing player death in your game design is a powerful thing to do, in the right circumstances. As always, it is necessary to judge your audience and design accordingly. Making a casual game really hard will likely alienate your audience. But if your audience skews more towards the core gamer, exploring the many advantages of frequent player death can be an interesting tool in the game designer’s toolbox. (source:gamasutra)