Oh wow... An SAO themed RPG with perma-permadeath would be so awesome. Do want now. q_q

HAven't watched .hack in probably almost a decade, or at least what feels like one.. IIRC, it really started to get bad after a certain point. Anyway, if you like the idea, I've heard Log Horizon operates on a similar concept of getting stuck in a game

I think that bit was kinda necessary for the story though. I mean, imagine being stuck in some other (not your real) body would really screw with your sense of self after a while. Putting them in their own skin was just to help them feel sane in the long run.

Or just being that kid who was hitting on the girl who turned into the fat guy when the char models became how the users actually looked