Simming death

[Valdivia]

When we are simming, we are writing about the life of many characters. Every aspect of their life, sometimes. Their adventures, that’s true, but also what they do on their free time, what they have for lunch of how they have decorated their bedrooms.

Inevitably, those characters will at some point be confronted with death. The death of others, sometimes secondary characters that have barely appeared, specific to a mission, whose death is a way to add drama (an involved civilian, maybe?), or to give closure (a villain beyond redemtion?).

But sometimes, very rarely, it is our own characters who are dying. Possibly not main characters, but maybe secondary characters we have known and developed for years. Those who started as a minor NPC and evolved to have a small piece of our heart, and of everyone on the crew. Sometimes, a player can decide to give such a character a definitive ending. It is something rare, but I can think of examples. And these moments, if written properly, are sure to leave a deep mark on every player that has known them. 

If you had to sim the death of a character, how would you do it? Come to the forums to discuss it!

This is a new post in our category Simming Questions. Here we will be asking questions about our community, our characters and our writing, and how you interact with it all.
 

[Evan Delano]

I always prefer it when characters have a chance to say goodbye, either indirectly in a scene shortly before the death, or as they lay dying. A shocking and sudden death can be an effective narrative tool when used effectively judiciously, but it can also be damn near abusive to your audience (I'm looking at you George R.R. Martin).

Edited June 29, 2017 by Evan Delano
word choice

[Vylaa]

At the end of our Year in Hell I killed off Alucard's evil alternate self in a fight between selves during our final battle with the Dominion.  It ended, as I recall, with a satisfying Gibbsian neck snap.  No one felt sorry for the way he went, he was truly a vile person.

[Zephyr]

It depends on the character. If it was an alternate universe self such as the kind Vess had to kill, then yes. Likely quick and painless. If it's an NPC who is slated for death but it needs to be slow and agonizing because plot, then slow and agonizing. If it's an NPC's relative...well, that's different and likely have time to say good byes and such. 

[Sal Taybrim]

I don't really care how it happens just so that it is meaningful to the story... and that dead character stay dead.

 

Nothing ruins the gravity of mortality more than a dead character magically coming back to life after they're been pronounced dead and mourned.

[+ Trellis Vondaryan]

1 hour ago, Sal Taybrim said:

Nothing ruins the gravity of mortality more than a dead character magically coming back to life after they're been pronounced dead and mourned.

Right, no Miracle Max "mostly dead" for Sal!

But I do agree, it should be meaningful and useful to the plot somehow.

[+ Rune Jolara]

I have only ever killed off one character. It was actually a very difficult thing for me to do because of personal reasons. Those who know me, know the whole situation surrounding it. Long story short, I did it thinking it would help me get some closure to losing someone in RL... it didn't really but that's another story. I would like to think it had meaning.

As silly as it may sound, I don't think I could write anything else like it again in game.  

[+ catscatscats]

As Skyfire said, it depends on the character.

During T'Reshik's pon farr arc, I was half-tempted to kill her off and make Taurek my new primary, and although I ultimately decided against it, I had a plan to make it some awesome, hallucinatory descent into delirium type thing which would nevertheless hopefully provide some closure. I think some characters might suit a quiet offscreen death, while some might suit an epic sacrifice or something, but it should always be a careful negotiation between what the player wants and what suits the character's narrative. Given the permanence of character death (usually), it's not a decision that should be taken lightly.

[Hannibal Parker]

I have killed off MSPNPC's and have thought of killing off Hannibal once or twice...then I woke up! If he did die, it would have to be epic and mean something. Killing off a character should never be taken lightly. Once gone, they can never come back.

[Blake]

I'm not a fan of 'death scenes' - I find that a lot of the time, they're drawn out or in some ways too complicated and I've never found them overall satisfying. But I like the emotional reaction to that kind of loss from others. I think all of the characters I've killed (and one I brought back to life (haha)) have been killed off-screen, with the reactions to that simmed, because that kind of reaction lasts not just for one scene - it can affect one for years to come if necessary and could easily change your character, which is what I've specifically done with Blake, in that she lost her husband (off-screen) and is still affected by that two years on.