The Death Stories Project has gotten some airplay on Warcry and WOW Insider, but it deserves a further mention. Should the administrators of this project hold up their end of the research bargain, the results should be terribly interesting. Anyone can talk about virtual gross domestic products and social interactions, but it takes some dedication to seriously consider the ramifications of online fatality.

Compared to other MMOs, death in WOW is relatively pain-free. Sure, if you take the Spirit Healer’s offer, your equipment is going to take a sizable hit. If on the other hand, you buck up and make a ghostly corpse run, the damage is practically negligable. When next you’re in town, pay for some repairs and you’re on your way. Of course, I offer this from the perspective of a cloth-wearing priest. Those of you sporting the heavier armor probably pay a prettier penny.

Now, compare that with old EverQuest. Death in EQ had far more of a sting. Your weapons didn’t suffer damage … because they were still out keeping time with your mouldering body. If you wanted to get that Screaming Mace back in your hot little hand, you were going to have to go get it. With any luck, you had some spare armor and weapons in the bank, as well as some pocket change. You needed that handful of gold to pay whatever kind shaman felt like bestowing upon you Spirit of The Wolf and Levitate. If you had neither equipment or cash, then it was down to a matter of getting your naked toon from point A to point B without dying again. And to add insult to injury, death meant a loss of XP. A loss of too much XP resulted loss of level.

So … go visit Death Stories. Tell them your tales of woe.