@Zassimick: My views on the "death penalty" have evolved over the years. It was jarring at first to play games like Bioshock and PoP08 and not have the sensation of dying in the traditional video game sense. I think back then I'd answer differently, but over the years I see the act of dying in a video game as an iron clad rule, to be on par with putting up a wall in game design... and walls are never good in the world of creativity.
For me, games should be unencumbered by gamer tropes and comforts... it strips the medium of possibilities. So in the case of PoP08 I think its important to look at the game not as an exercise in staying alive, but rather a challenge to traverse a large map with little minimal room for error. What they did right was by keeping us alive, we are in the world playing and the player learns quick that the penalty of failure isn't death/loss of life/game over, its instead, come back and try again... keep working to that platform across the screen. This distinction in design must be made by the gamer in order to think of the game as the different experience it really is.
In this sense I didn't look at that game as an action platforming type experience, but rather a big repeatable puzzle lite type game that seemed to know its combat was pointless and instead focused on the beautiful locales and the traversal of their world.... keeping me in the game and not shoving me to a title screen when I failed their acrobatic puzzles (yes I use the word "puzzles" very loosely) was a wise decision.
It also helps that the Scoobie Doo voice acting from North was so misplaced that I actually rooted for elsa(? shit I can't remember her name, Elise? arg) to drop him a few times.
Also a very cool achievement for those who feel very infrequently through an entire playthrough. tough.
Log in to comment