Salem Interview

IGN found itself fascinated by the element of permanent death in the upcoming free-to-play MMO Salem, and they talk with lead developer Björn Johannessen about it, in an article-format interview.

If you do die, that may not be the end of the road. Yes, that character is gone from the world for good, but their belongings may not be. “On death your character falls to the ground and you are kicked back to the title screen with the option of creating a new character. Your old character’s corpse — gear and all — stays in the game world until natural decay removes it, someone buries it or it is otherwise disposed of,” says Johannessen. “Any new character you create will have the option of staring as the ‘legitimate heir’ of your previous character, so your new character will probably be able to start by your old character’s abode, and will be considered the owner of any land claims your old character had.”

Of course, you may not have access to the skills and stats that your original character had. For an experienced player who has put hundreds of hours into a character, that could potentially be game-ending, with the time it would take to recoup the loss seeming insurmountable. Johannessen sees it differently, though. “Rather than being the reason people quit playing the game, I think that permanent death is what will make people start playing it in the first place. Death can be a harsh experience, but on the other hand it is also what makes the gameplay so meaningful.” On the other hand, it could be a way of hitting the reset button on your character. Johannessen has stated that witchcraft will be featured in Salem as one of the two paths to magical abilities, and it doesn’t seem farfetched that once you stray down one path, the other will be locked out. Perhaps the death of a character will let you explore the other side of that fence, providing a whole new game experience for players who tire of their first choice.