Lives, Do they have a place in modern gaming?

They'll always have a place in Platformers. HP bars are overrated.

Yeah because I imagine it's already scary enough to have to be going through the game with only 5 chances

but I want to throw in like


super tense moments and **** to make it all the worse for the player

Heck yeah; to me, they're a VITAL point in game development (both official and fangames). That's why I had an issue with Super Princess Peach because it didn't have that limitation making it a bit too easy.

So, in short - a "lives" system is ALWAYS needed (as well as a "continue" system if you reach a Game Over).

Shoot-em-ups would like to take down any argument that lives are unnecessary.

Arcade style games like shooters and stuff pretty much need lives. They're not quite as important in other genres anymore, though. While lives certainly have their place in 2D platformers, they often feel kind pointless in 3D platformers. For instance, Banjo Kazooie had lives, Tooie didn't, and there was barely a difference. Also, frequently as I lose lives, I've never had a game over in Super Mario Galaxy. 1-ups are just too abundant.

the new prince of persia had no lives, still a brilliant game :D

I'm not a fan of lives.
I like upgradable HP better.

you couldn't even DIE in that game

Game saves negate the utility and need of a lives system. Like someone mentioned they only have use when there's some vital statistic like score that depends on them, and that's if there's any reason to care about score at all.

A Game like Sly Cooper had Lives and collectible Horseshoes. Creative idea, and it made the game a little harder. Wasn't a huge fan of them switching to HP bars, though I still loved the games.

Games like Devil May Cry, however, which have you restart a level after death, and give you upgradable HP bars, are just as good.

This is a really hard decision having to pick between the two, since I feel it's dependent on the game itself, difficulty, length, etc. But if we're just asking if lives have become obsolete, then I say no way. Let the good times role!

Lives suck. I hate them.

Looking at Retriever's Post, I have decided against putting lives in my SDL Mario Engine. Yeah, it really depends on the game, but usually they're ANNOYING.

Lives are a necessary part of platformers, so long as save points are spread out in a challenging fashion and Game Overs don't just put you back right where you were when you died. Even if the game gives you a whole lot of lives, it's still better than the game having no life system.

And RPGs definitely don't need them.

How I see it is this - for one of my fangame projects I'm doing - if the player has run out of energy (costing him/her one life), then the section of an overall level starts over again at the beginning. That's how I see it. In the case of a Game Over, the player starts the overall level again at the beginning. Just a matter of keeping things fair; that's what makes the lives system beneficial.

That's not true at all.

Lives are useless in modern gaming, there's simply no use for them. And usually when they are implemented properly, (As in, you have a very limited amount and once you die it's GAME OVER) it's horrible and gets in the way of the enjoyment of the game, which makes me hate them even more.