According to Kotaku, Peter Molyneux said that the upcoming Fable 2 will do away with dying in the game altogether. Instead, when a player is "defeated," he will fall to the ground and be unable to get up until paying either gold or experience points.
In the meantime, he gets the $#!% kicked out of him by his foes. The time spent in get-your-ass-kicked mode depends on how much you pay. More gold equals a faster recoup.
If you are beaten for too long, your character will be the proud new owner of a scar…or two…or more. These scars serve to make you a despicable personality in the game world, making social interaction more difficult, and undoubtedly more annoying to deal with.
Molyneux has commented on death in games before, saying that there is usually no real consequence to dying, so the decision to go with scars is clearly an attempt to change that.
Additionally, he cited Hollywood films as an inspiration. Filmmakers don’t kill their heroes, but they will torture them. It’s a way of forming a sort of bond between character and viewer – the viewer feels that he has experienced the character’s suffering right alongside of him.
What could be better than bringing that same feeling into interactive media?
