SACRIFICE AS GAME MECHANIC

A few games I played recently have lead me to start thinking more about a certain concept: Sacrificing something in a game in the hope of getting something better out of it. The idea of sacrifice can obviously be understood in many vastly different ways, some of which hardly have anything in common with each other. But what they have in common is that they give the player the feeling of having to give something up as a means of getting somewhere, ranging from a valuable resource to their main character's sanity. As I started listing some types of sacrifices that I could imagine or had actually seen implemented in games, it occurred to me that there are probably many more ways of using this concept for interesting game mechanics. So I'd like to hear what kinds of thoughts or ideas others have on the subject.

The most common and (theoretically) unspectacular type of sacrifice that occurs in games is probably the practice of giving up resources that exclusively exist for that purpose. Spending MP or items in order to aqcuire a certain benefit, like damage to an enemy or the restoration of another resource such as HP, is something we all know too well. Where it gets more interesting is when these resources serve another additional purpose or are vital rather than easily expendable, like in games where HP themselves also serve to fuel skills, or losing your MP can mean lower stats or even death as well.

Another type of sacrifice that usually requires some more planning and strategic thinking consists of gaining or building up some sort of advantage, and then being given the choice to give up this benefit in exchange for a different desirable effect. Examples are typically stackable buffs a character can acquire over time, but the player can also at any point decide to spend these buffs in order to unleash a powerful skill that gets stronger with every buff stacked so far. In this example, a theoretical long-term benefit is given up for a short-term advantage, but I'm sure there are many other ways to approach this as well.

The one type of sacrifice that I found to be especially rare, both because of their possibly great impact and their dramatic effect, is when actual characters are taken out of the picture in exchange for some kind of benefit. Obviously, mechanics based on this are usually associated with more evil figures, and often set in the context of demonic rituals and the like. For example in the game Spelunky, it is possible to offer the (dead or unconscious) bodies of other living beings, including friendly NPCs, to the goddess Kali by placing them on an altar. Doing this a few times will result in the player receiving an item.
Another even more morbid example can be found in the strategy game Battle for Middle Earth II. In this game, recruited units usually consist of small groups of the same type of warriors whose ranks are slowly filled up again to replace their fallen comrades as long as at least one of them remains. But the faction of Angmar can recruit a Warlock unit who is instead accompanied by a group of acolytes who serve as fuel: Every spell the warlock casts actually causes a certain number of the acolytes to die, which not only restricts the number of spells he can cast within a short time, but also gives enemies the option to quickly kill off the acolytes in order to block the warlock's spellcasting abilities.

In RPGs, mechanics like these aren't very common, although we do occasionally see the boss who sacrifices his little minions to damage the heroes or steal their remaining health. But I think there's probably still tons of ways to make use of this idea of "giving to receive." And they definitely can, but don't all have to be quite as dark as some of the ones described above. So what are your thoughts?

author=Sooz
Given the title, I was expecting something more along the lines of a major (possibly narrative) thing, like permanent loss of something important for permanent gain. (Is that a thing that's come up much, at least as a choice?)

You're right, I did approach this subject more from a gameplay-centered angle. But obviously, the nature of making sacrifices itself is very well suited to serve as a major plot device. I'd be interested in hearing ways this can be accomplished, if possible in manners that simultaneously affect the way the game is played as well.

Craze and Gredge, those are some pretty great examples. And especially that mechanic from Karsuman's game idea you described strongly combines the technical and narrative aspect.
It also made me think about a possible game set on a shipwreck or something similar, where the player has to face the dilemma of either trying to rescue everybody and running the risk of sinking or people starving, or sacrificing some of the passengers to make sure the others survive...
Or, more simple and possibly less morally dark, a game where your main character loses strength (e.g. Max HP) with every battle instead of getting stronger as in usual levelling up. However, that would probably make players feel frustrated very quickly, and I'm not sure whether there's a good way to make such a progression curve fun at all.

Those are some really amazing concepts right there. And I very much agree with Craze's point that these kinds of high-impact mechanics probably work better in shorter games that can more easily function on such an experimental basis. And Schwer-von-Begriff's example already shows clearly that the exact definition or type of sacrifice can be taken into many vastly different directions. I'd really like to see how a game based on the premise you described would actually play as well as influence the player's perception of their own experiences and actions.

author=Sooz
And yeah, it's v. much something that needs to be planned around at the outset if it's more than a minor effect, just because a sacrifice really should feel like a loss with a big impact on everything.

Good point. I wouldn't say this is always true, but in general, making the player really feel the meaning and consequences of their sacrifice is something that cannot be achieved without making it an integral part of both gameplay and narrative. After all, a permanent loss is something extremely noticable in real life, and trying to emulate that impression in a game (which theoretically can just be restarted at will) really requires some idea of how to affect the player's psychological state.