There was a post today over at Keen and Graev’s Gaming Blog, which raised the subject of “corpse runs” in old school MMOS such as Ultima Online. In-game death came with penalties back then and there was the prospect of XP loss or that your corpse could be looted, and you could potentially lose rare gear. It got me thinking because I’ve never played an MMO that has had, to my mind, such harsh sanctions. In fact game mechanics such as permadeath, corpse runs, and the loss of equipment will put me off playing any such game that has them. I suspect that unless you’re a player who is particularly motivated by achievement, competitiveness and challenge, then such systems are seen mainly as an inconvenience and impediment.