I always imagined it would be like in the Lego games, where the minifig just falls apart.
I doubt this is possible, it's very far-fetched - but I always imagined you could use those minifig parts siba made - and when a player dies, just spawn them - colored correctly - at the player and hide all their nodes on their dead body. It would simulate that they just fell apart, and other players could kick around the parts before they disappear for a few seconds afterwards.