Death

[fog]

perma death can add that illusive adrenaline spike that comes of near mis and mild anxiety .  an actual quatifiable rush for some

It certainly does in Demons Souls.  And the worst thing is it's usually your own fault.  You know there are certain enemies that you shouldn't take on until you've levelled up lots and still you do it.  Bang.  One hit kill.

(Death isn't actually permanent in Demos Souls, you just lose any XP you've collected up to that point. Possibly a solution that would keep everyone happy.)

[Prime_8]

i think death is somethng that needs to be looked at on a game by game basis .
i love teh old games that let you 'revive and save and such but nagged you or razzed you for doing it ...
' if you were a real game you would not have died rite there !"
' you just had to slow down and look at the frag trap scenery didnt you !" .. lol

[fog]

i think death is somethng that needs to be looked at on a game by game basis .

I think we can all agree with that.

It's an area that doesn't get enough consideration IMO.  All games default to either a "lives" or "energy" system (yeah that's me) and that's about it.  I'm sure there are more interesting mechanisms out there.

i love teh old games that let you 'revive and save and such but nagged you or razzed you for doing it ...
' if you were a real game you would not have died rite there !"
' you just had to slow down and look at the frag trap scenery didnt you !" .. lol

Careful. On the end of level screen in DUO I made some jokey comments about how a player had performed and got a couple of emails complaining about it. Seriously

[Prime_8]

again , can't pleas em all.
one simply needs to be up front ...

serious sam , stupid in youre face fun with beter than but like duke nukem commments . not bad for tech demo that accidentaly became a game .

i suppose im gruf and dont care when a game talks smak .

what i hate is games that stick you reviving at insanely hard spots tha story / game play / previous puzzels obscure how to win/ fiish a spot .

whe i see that i chalk that to a more grievous error / lack of game designe than cheezy death systems .

[fog]

what i hate is games that stick you reviving at insanely hard spots tha story / game play / previous puzzels obscure how to win/ fiish a spot .

whe i see that i chalk that to a more grievous error / lack of game designe than cheezy death systems .

Yeah I'm with you there too.  I hate that.

I'm currently playing Final Fantasy Tactics and it's mostly a fantastic game.  It's essentially a series of cut scenes followed by battles.  Die and you have to sit through the cut scenes yet again.  No skipping them.  That's another crime against game design that's unfortunately far too common.