作者：Doolwind

本文主要讲述2010年两款融入角色叙述性死亡的热门作品，也就是指玩家在游戏故事元素中的死亡，尤其是在过场动画中。《质量效应 2》和《现代战争 2》都通过这些情节道具深化游戏故事叙述，但两款游戏都存在一个共同问题，这就是我现在要谈论的主题。

mass effect 2 from blogspot.com

死亡和电子游戏

游戏死亡机制在电子游戏由来已久。原本旨在促使街机玩家再次掏钱的简单渠道如今已变成多数游戏的核心要素。玩家每投入一个钱币就有3次起死回生的机会。电子游戏的标准风险-回馈机制都包含死亡元素。操作错误，玩家就会死去，采取正确举措，就能保住性命，而且还有可能得到光彩夺目的新道具。这些制作基于硬币决定死亡次数街机游戏的开发商也开始转投掌机和PC领域开发内容。我们渐渐不再把死亡当作游戏惩罚（游戏邦注：不再像《时空幻境》那样完全基于死刑机制）。

我们所看到的传统和新型叙述性死亡存在区别。前者由玩家控制，后者由游戏设计师控制。在《质量效应 2》中，玩家直接控制游戏结果，但一旦出现过场动画，额外点击也无法改变结果。

问题

当这两种死亡风格同时出现（游戏机制和叙述性），就会产生问题。浏览玩家死亡过场动画是个重要情节道具，我希望这未来能在更多游戏中出现。但若你在进入叙述性死亡过场动画前死过25次，其效果就将大打折扣。若常见玩法机制能够同叙述死亡分离，我们将在游戏中看到更优质的故事叙述。

解决方案

这个问题有若干解决方案。首先是最保险的，其次是稍有风险的，但后者更有机会创造优质作品。

无死亡环节

不要把死亡作为失败惩罚，而是让玩家丧失能力，或在危难之际安排队友相救。有些现代射击游戏会在不破坏悬念的情况下安排队友救治玩家。随着基于团队的游戏越来越具可行性（游戏邦注：这归功于越来越强大的CPU和AI），这似乎是个合理选择。

另一可能选择是像《时空幻境》和《时光沙漏》那样给予玩家返回权利。虽然这是个非常基础的机制，但能够完全改变游戏整体设计。

Braid from withfriendship.com

永久死亡

多数设计师都会摇头表示厌恶此构思。这会产生沮丧感，阻止除硬核群体之外的玩家体验游戏。但请保持耐心，下面我将谈及此疯狂路线。

少数群体在体验游戏时自愿加入永久死亡元素。这是个非常棒的构思，能够增加故事叙述的份量。玩家会觉得自己和游戏设计及角色联系更密切。其实死亡机制已变成叙述工具。如何将永久死亡和叙述死亡结合起来？这对有些有趣游戏起到促进作用，能够大大增强玩家在屏幕前的兴奋感。

若游戏基于永久死亡理念创建，将完全改变整个设计过程。设计师需注意不要融入或将导致玩家死亡的不公平情境。我们需避免让玩家进行反复尝试，而是融入当前游戏风格少有的合法设计机制。

总结

有关这些选择方案，我们有两个注意要点。首先，风险-奖励机制仍需置于恰当位置。缺乏消极体验，玩家未受到任何挑战，体验将大打折扣。其次，也许我们需要避免直接融入死亡元素。只有进行放弃此做法，设计师才能将死亡元素转变成游戏特殊组成部分，而非玩家取得成功的基础。

游戏邦注：原文发布于2010年5月11日，文章叙述以当时被背景。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Narrative Death vs Game Mechanic Death

by Doolwind

[Spoiler Warning: Small spoilers about two modern games are contained in this post, without specific details].  Two of the most popular games of 2010 have involved narrative death of the player character.  That is, the death of the player during the story elements of the game, specifically a cut-scene.  Both Mass Effect 2 and Modern Warfare 2 took their narratives to a deeper level with these plot devices, however they were both watered down by one key problem which I’m discussing today.

Death And The Video Games

Game mechanic death has a long history within video games.  What started out as the simplest way to get players to pop another quarter into the arcade machine has grown to be the cornerstone of most games.  Players were expected to die three times per coin.  The standard risk-reward system in our video games involves player death.  Do something wrong, you die, do something right, you don’t die, and possibly get a shiny new item.  The same developers that made arcade games that relied on these coin popping death sequences moved to making games on home consoles and PC’s.  Over time we’ve become slightly less reliant on death as a punishment with games like Braid dropping the death penalty entirely (and using it as the foundation for the entire game).

There is a difference between the deaths of old and the new style of narrative death we’re seeing.  The player controls the former while the game designer controls the latter.  In the case of Mass Effect 2 the player does have indirect control over the outcome, but once that cut scene starts no excessive tapping of the buttons can change the outcome.

The Problem

When these two styles of death (game mechanic and narrative) meet is when the problem arises.  Watching a cut-scene where the player dies is a great plot device and I’d love to see it in more games in the future.  However it’s watered down when you die 25 times leading up to the cut-scene with the narrative death.  If this common gameplay mechanic can be separated from the narrative death we will see even more powerful narratives in our games.

The Solution

There are a couple of solutions to this problem I’d like to discuss.  The first seems the most logical while the second is a lot riskier, but has the greatest opportunity to make a game that stands out.

No Death

Rather than death being the punishment for failure, have the player incapacitated or have a teammate come to your rescue just as your about to die.  Some modern shooters have the opportunity for a teammate to heal you without breaking the suspension of disbelief.  As squad based games become more feasible (with increased CPU power and AI) this seems like a logical choice.

Another possibility is to give the player rewind ability as in Braid and Sands of Time.  This is a more foundational mechanic though and would completely change the design of the game.

Permadeath

Most designers will shake their head in disgust at this idea.  It will likely lead to frustration and stop anyone but the most hardcore players from playing.  But bear with me as I take a small walk down insanity lane.

A small group of gamers are applying self-imposed permadeath while they play their games.  This is a great idea and adds a lot of weight to the narrative of the game.  Players feel more connected to the world and to their character.  In fact, the gameplay mechanic of death becomes a narrative device.  How would combining this style of permadeath with a fully narrative (read cut-scene) death?  It would make for some interesting gaming and I could certainly see myself screaming even louder at the screen than I already do.

If a game were built around the knowledge that permadeath exists it would completely change the design process.  Designers would be extremely careful not to put any unfair situations where the player may die.  It would also require the removal of any trial and error from the games, a legitimate design mechanic when used sparingly in our current style of games.

Conclusion

With either of these options the there are two main takeaway points.  Firstly the risk-reward system still needs to be in place.  Without a negative experience the player is not challenged and the experience will be watered down.  Secondly, perhaps we need to move on from tying the risk directly to death.  Once we move away from this, it empowers designers to make death a much more special part of their games rather than the foundation on which the player must climb to victory.

What are your thoughts on game mechanic death vs narrative death?  Did you feel narrative death in Mass Effect 2 or Modern Warfare 2 was watered down by the game mechanic death?  Do you have any other solutions I haven’t listed?（Source：doolwind）