Punish the Loser

TODO: So much ramble. No structure. What's the point, again?

Vae Victis. Failure comes at a cost, for some games more than others.

The cost of failure often sets the pacing of a game, and can be used as a means to keep the action honest and 'realistic'. Even old school arena deathmatch reduced you to a basic weapon with every death; though a lot of modern "2 gun" shooters only trouble you with the time to sprint into a LOS from some random part of the map.

There are problems with punishing the loser in persistent games. Loss of ability/equipment (in a game where replacing it isn't a game in itself so much as a Time Sink) degrades the level of competition/play (in a game where the level/depth of play is locked behind 'stats' and 'equipment'). While this is completely viable in a game where there are other means to achieve goals other than direct conflict, and there are goals above and beyond direct conflict...well, how many games have so many options? If it puts the winner on an inevitable winning path, with the options of opponents sufficiently compromised such that beating them reduces to clear options, further victory becomes a case of be there, do that; ultimately punishing the victor!

It also commonly reduces to yet another time sink. Replacing what was lost/taken forces you to be there, do that yet again.

Strangely enough, old school deathmatch does become a minigame of stealth, evasion, route planning and disuasion when facing an overarmed opponent. It's ultimately far more cerebral than many MMOs that would place themselves as more of a "thinker's" game.