Permadeath: Permanent death. Once a character loses all their health, they are dead and cannot be used any more. You must either create a new character or restart the game. In some circumstances, you can penalise the user in their new game for a death they suffered in a previous one.
The concept of permadeath in Roblox games is not very common, however there are very few games that indeed do have this mechanic implemented (a growing example being Rogue Lineage, though their permadeath is delayed via having three respawns/lives).
I’ve taken a massive interest in setting up a permadeath mechanic in my game over using a leveling system to make the game more exciting (or frustrating) and to put the stakes higher for failure or making the wrong moves. Of course, that doesn’t come without design questions about using permadeath.
Is permadeath a mechanic worth pursuing in my game? What types of scenarios or games would it be appropriate to have it in? How would this impact UX?
I like the game mechanic in other games, but I’m not sure if the younger audience of Roblox games will like it as much. From what I’ve seen it usually appeals more to mature audiences so it could possibly limit the people who enjoy playing your game. I’m not an expert tho, so I’d say if it’s working for some other games there’s no harm in giving it a go too. Maybe there could be an option to turn it off if that extra audience really matters!
You don’t see games like those everyday at all on Roblox so I believe that it’ll be a good idea to make something like this WHILE making sure everyone enjoys it. Just like Elttob said, younger players many get frustrated with the death penalties or permadeath. I recommend you added short time-our kind of death penalty instead of going all out with the permadeath.
I would say this is a good concept depending on what you want your games purpose to be. Is it needed. If you have a game that takes alot of grinding would the perm death benefit the game, or just make people angry about death. The game needs to be fun overall. It really maters on what you are doing. Also, The Oasis.
Could you elaborate on what you mean by a “short time-out” death penalty? In my mind, seeing this makes me think of longer respawn times which defeats the purpose of permadeath. It’d be very hard to make players happy in a permadeath game but for others, the risk could be something enjoyable.
I don’t necessarily think it is needed, rather something I’m interested in pursuing as a core part of the game’s (vicious) cycle. Whether there’s grinding or not, the point in permadeath is that once you’re dead, your progress is gone or severely impaired. I’m interested in the concept itself, but I suppose the circumstances do matter a bit?
Consider your target audience. Are they older, more mature players? Or are they younger players? If they’re older and your game is hardcore, then perhaps it’s a good idea. If it’s more casual or you’re targeting a younger audience, not using permadeath would make more sense.
You are perhaps adding a hardcore difficulty, if you’re planning on adding permadeath mechanics. It is a good idea for difficult games, by the way. Just like Realm of the Mad God.
I believe that this idea would be most suited to horror games and RPG games. I can see the three lives system being used in an RPG but I, personally, am not a fan of needless death extenuation. If this system is adherent to the general atmosphere you wish to create, I’d go for it. If the game itself is targetted towards a less mature audience, I’d say refrain.
Edit: Noticed that your other thread is discussing an RPG so I’m assuming this is the premise of the question. I’d say that permadeath is a good idea for an RPG. Minecraft is a sound example of how this can be used effectively, while ordinary respawning will lessen the impact of the game, potentially making it less fun.
Straight permadeath just results in rage and regret in spending all that time to lose it. It should be accompanied with something to help the player.
Roguelike games are some of the most fun and addicting in my experience. Games like Deadcells uses your deaths as a sort of new start with upgrades from your previous. And Realm of the Mad God uses your previous life to unlock new characters if you make it to level 20 on specific characters. Using this mechanic with a mix of others can create an amazing mix of progression and loss, making you want to get better while allowing you to do better becauss of your previous attempt.
Permadeath seems to be a concept with a very niche interest group. It can often be the largest detractor - or attraction - to a game and can make or break it, obviously. If you wanted the best of both worlds you could perhaps introduce two game modes / difficulties to your game, one being permadeath. This would probably attract the audience that permadeath interests while also not sacrificing the younger audiences like Elltob says.
Dungeon Quest lets you optionally enable “Hardcore mode” in which you cannot respawn, but you get 2X loot. It makes the game more challenging and fun.
However, there is still an overriding element of character progression that does not go away. In my opinion, you need long-term progression in order to sustain a Roblox game and keep players re-playing.
Instead, you could purchase cosmetics that is kept permanently. This is similar to any survival game I have tried out, for instance, Unturned. For ideas, they can be obtained during each run, but they must return safely back to the “safe haven”.
Choose it as an option, rather than the entire game having permadeath. Players’ choice, we don’t force them to play it. Hehe.
What’s your rationale behind this? It’s hard for me to determine the credibility of this without much information to go off of. Between a hardcore and a casual game is understandable, but what does age have to do in influencing my selection?
It probably would’ve been a good idea to clarify in the OP that it’s not a linear game of that sort. If I were pursuing difficulties then my question is already cut out for me, but I’m talking about permadeath as a primary game mechanic and in general whether it’s worth the pursuit in my game.
Why is it a good idea in difficult games? What’s your rationale behind this?
Completely agree. A day spawn time may sound like a good idea, but you would need to have characters cycled. Of course that’s how I see it! Nice comment.
Hmm, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe it doesn’t matter. I often use my younger sister as a look into the minds of younger roblox players. Not that she speaks for everyone, but she enjoys playing a game called The Streets where when you die, you lose all of your items. I play it with her sometimes and I think that it adds risk, strategy, and most importantly IMO, fun! Minecraft is also a game that uses permadeath that is extremely successful. If you don’t mind telling us, do you have a game idea in mind? That might help with finding out a proper implementation for your game.
I’ve been playing Rogue Lineage a lot lately, a Roblox permadeath game, and would have to recommend that you tread carefully. It has to be easy to get to a basis of “okay skill” and it has to be reliant on skill rather than power. A fresh spawn should, if they are amazing, be able to beat a fully geared player or the game has no stakes.
I can’t disclose any details about the game right now which is why I had to ask the question in a more generalised fashion. That being said, the game is meant to be an RPG of sorts with flavouring to avoid blandness. I was thinking about permadeath as a potential game mechanic but I’m not sure how that’d fair.
I do ask this question for games that are not only RPGs as well though. There may be other types of games where permadeath may be an interesting mechanic to include. I’d like to gather whatever information I can before I consider its implementation.