So, first, that's a nice idea but the bottom line is that you're in the minority. And there's a reason for that.
Most games which are centered around maxxing involve a fair amount of drudgery to get your character up and running to a viable fighting/playing level. Having to do that over and over again because of real death would bore most people into quitting.
Now I agree with you that the shock of true player death adds a spice to the match that REALLY makes it heart pounding. My point, however, is that the number of fights that your average player would want to risk his/her actual life on are VERY VERY few and VERY VERY far between. What this system would create is largely a bunch of players who either run away all the time, or who would never go out and play, etc. I do NOT want to sacrifice the fun of fighting battles every day for the once per 2 month heart-pounding-battles where I'm willing to risk my character. And many others wouldn't either.
People don't LIKE to re-do the drudgery of leveling. It's boring.
BUT, there IS a way to get that thrill you're looking for. Long ago in Neverwinter Nights, KAAOS as a guild coined the term "Deathmatch." What we did was in cases where you had a serious dispute with another player, you fought a duel, and what you bet on that duel was your character. The lose had to delete their character and its name, never to be seen again.
This proved to be such a popular idea, that the coders of the game in the next revision created a "deathmatch chamber" wherein if you fought a duel, those who died automatically were wiped and went to the re-roller.
THAT my friend, is where you get the heart-pounding excitement. But you only do it for true level-playing-field fights over significant issues. You DON'T lose your character because you were ambushed by 5 guys who didn't even know who you were, but they did know that they could kill you with ease.
Regards,
Hedron
The False Prophet
KAAOS - inventors of the NWN Deathmatch |