Avoid being distasteful

For some reason this thread only just popped up on my screen, which is a shame because it’s a very interesting theme.

I think a lot of people take offense at certain things because of the disassociation modern life imparts to the practical realities that underline it. And the nature of Death is one of the most obvious amongst them.

People tend to have a slightly warped idea of Death and what it might or might not imply. People tend to be horrified at the suffering of another person and yet the horror of an animal suffering is considered shocking, but less disturbing. It might be due to something as simple as a common association.

When we see another person suffering it’s easier for us to put ourselves in their place and presume to identify with that suffering. Or, alternatively, the scenario makes us realise the tenuous nature of our own mortal coils. In turn this leads to the facing a fear that people would rather ignore, to the point of hiding it from them selves.

Disregarding the fact that Death is, at this moment in time, inevitable for everyone. It’s really just a matter of time, not if, but when.

The secondary aspect is the loss of those close to use and the memories, happy and sad, that the final curtain call bequeaths us. Other, after the event, situations can lead to a return to those memories and the feelings associated with them.

More importantly, for game designers, is the fact that people bring these notions to the gaming table with them. That being the case they can play an important part in a persons’ experience of a game.

In relation to this theme it might be an idea to consider alternate takes on the idea of Death. In the TAROT people sometimes flip out at seeing the Death card, assuming it to mean the most obvious association. In fact it actually refers to a moment of profound change, the end of one cycle and the beginning of another.

In a similar vein, the common view of Death is of a shady entity, when in fact the entity merely exists to guide souls from one area of being to another – in something that might be considered a helpful manner. A mythological association could also be draw with Charon the Ferryman who transports the dead across the river Styx in return for payment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon_%28mythology%29

And as others have already mentioned, the game could be more like the Pratchett take on the matter, with each creature having its own figure for Death, like the Death of Rats character. Linking the idea to another life form might be enough to distance people from the idea of their own conceptions about the entity and its lore.

Once again, agreeing with other posters, if you haven’t read the Sandman novels you’ve missed out. And Neils’ characterisation of Death is ‘Peachy Keen’.

Moving along, the mechanics of a game associated with this notion could take many forms.

It could be a simple reaping trick taking game.

It could be a themed abstract relating to the journey of souls along the various rivers of Hades, in return for payments of different types.

It could be that Death is a helper, bringing peace to bewildered souls, showing them the way forward by giving counsel in relation to the matters or events that chain them to the mortal world – like the spirits did in Scrooge, but with a guidance counselor with a wider outlook.

Death doesn’t decide it simply lays out the facts in a manner that helps people come to terms with them, and with the benefit of clarity decide the direction they wish to take.

It’s a process that doesn’t require Death to have a personal and subjective input and why should it. Arguing for a set path is pretty pointless when you can simply wait for someone to change their mind or heart, and Death has all the time in eternity to wait.

This take on things could lead to multiple different mechanics. Set forming card play, free roaming social interchange to sooth disturbed souls and persuade them to move on, add in minions (or replace allies and monsters with resolutions and events) for a deck builder, play to the logistics and design around Death managing all those souls for a worker placement.

You could even tie the theme to the TAROT and have character cards working in relation to the events that deck describes, possibly using the various layouts within the game. Instead of a reading for a real person the cards would be used to guide the lives of in game characters. Although some gamers might find this particular take a little too esoteric and problematic in relation to their own belief systems.

All told, the possibilities for associating mechanics with the theme are pretty endless.

For a far less "grim" version of the reaper, check out On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony (part of the incarnations of immortality) Death doesn't KILL the people in that novel, he releases them from comas, and near-death-agony. You may not want it quite THAT benevolent, but I'm sure death can be seen as a release instead of murder by a skeleton-guy with scary weapon/farming tool.

-Shoe