Death happens in games. A lot.
Well, or at least it used to. This episode of the Moving Pixels Podcast considers the changing face of death in video games as well as what kinds of roles death serves in games.
Is death about punishment, pleasure, pedagogy, or is it merely an immersion breaking illusion? We play around with a number of possibilities.
This podcast is also available via iTunes.
Additional discussion of death in video games:
Perfecting Loss in N+ by L.B. Jeffries
Pac-Man Will Die: Cynicism and Retro Game “Endings” by G. Christopher Williams
Sierra Vs. Lucasarts by L.B. Jeffries
Hippolyta: A Study in Simplicity by G. Christopher Williams
Dreaming in Limbo by Nick Dinicola
Brutalizing Children in Limbo by G. Christopher Williams
Our podcast contributors:
G. Christopher Williams is the Multimedia Editor at PopMatters.com. You can find his weekly updates featured at the Neuromance blog.
Nick Dinicola is also a regular contributor to the Moving Pixels blog.
Thomas Cross contributes frequently to the Multimedia section at PopMatters.com, and he also pens the Diamond in the Rough column for GameSetWatch.