Gaming has always had a special relationship with death. A topic so often feared and avoided by contemporary society is an easy lesson every gamer comes to terms with the moment they fall into a pit as Mario or get shot in the head in a first person shooter. In many ways death is essential to gaming because there needs to be a way to fail at a game and having the central character die has often been the logical consequence. As games have moved into the realm of “reality” (I use quotes because the reality is perceived even though the plot may be far from possible), death has also moved on this way. A few contemporary titles have made death more of a finite principle, allowing NPCs and even the main characters of the game to die permanently (although in most cases a new campaign will net you another chance). This is a far stretch from the days where you had three chances to conquer Castlevania as Simon Belmont or the dreaded escort missions that required you to die if the person you’re protecting happened to meet their doom. This concept of a permanence to death and the things you do having actual consequence may be easily shrugged off by the “churn” gamer, but for the rest of us trying to find a deeper connection in video games it’s a whole new world.
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