Roguelike Radio Episode 25: Permadeath
Feb 28, 2012
Guests Darren Grey and Nicolas Casalini discuss the concept of permadeath in gaming, exploring its presence in roguelikes and comparing it to replaying story games. They delve into the balance between failure and interesting consequences, including the impact of permadeath on player investment. They also explore the challenges of multiplayer mode in games like StarCraft and the importance of good game design in creating engaging permadeath experiences.
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Far Cry 2 Permadeath Run
- Ben Abraham played Far Cry 2 in true permadeath and documented the run as a long-form playthrough.
- He chose Normal difficulty to balance challenge and survivability so the narrative could reach its end.
Semi-Procedural Narrative Works
- Far Cry 2 mixes fixed map and dynamic procedural elements creating variability without full roguelike randomness.
- The game reorders events and substitutes characters, giving a semi-procedural narrative experience.
Failure Feels Unfair Without Clear Causality
- Players resist permadeath because modern games encourage undoing failure and maintaining control.
- Loss feels unfair when the game's internal causality is opaque, like repeated bad RNG dice rolls.