I really don't feel the emotions I get from reading or watching TV/Movies while playing video games. I don't blame the writing or the production so much as my own personal inability to stop trying to win. Most games break down into a fancy spreadsheet for me at the instant of interface. This isn't to say that I don't enjoy the writing in good games; it just doesn't strike the same chord in me as passive entertainment.
Of course, when inspecting multiplayer games, we open up entirely different ranges of emotional content than passive entertainment. This is a place for the more practical emotions.
Let me tell you about a guy. My friends and I were playing Age of Conan at the time. This was in the beginning when the game was still buggy as hell, but they hadn't set about intentionally destroying it yet. At any rate, we were playing on the FFA server. This guy I'm referring to was playing a barbarian, same as me. He was even a pretty good fighter, and there aren't many I'd say that about in the early days of the game. The main difference was that he was also using an exploit that would cause him to do ridiculous damage following a knockdown. Basically, his fights consisted of one swing to knock you down, one more to kill you. This was, of course, quite beneath me. I had the most pure contempt for this guy, I can't even articulate it. Most people who cheat are just so bad that they start to lean on it as a crutch. This guy didn't even have that excuse, he was simply without pride. I ran into him pretty frequently because this was my intent. He would beat me probably one out of four or one out of three fights, but killing this guy was just so satisfying.
As flavors of triumph go, beating someone very skilled is great, but beating someone you hate is something altogether different.
The feeling of invincibility that comes with being the undisputed best at a particular game is pretty sweet too, though obviously a hell of a lot more difficult to come by. Everyone should get to feel like Achilles a few times in their lives. Maybe with a little Highlander or Karate Kid theme music.
The creeping satisfaction that comes in a grand strategy game is also pretty nice. Witnessing events unfold according to your expectations, turn after turn. A word here, a troop buildup there, monkey paw agreements, countless little touches guiding everyone toward apocalyptic battles whose outcomes are predetermined.
Some games make you want to scream in triumph, some just make you feel like a god. I know this isn't the sort of pathos the OP is looking for, but I thought it was important to point out how games can evoke emotions that other mediums simply can't in my experience.
I can't think of any time a game has really triggered an emotional response other than excitement/awe over a particularly well done sequence of events or impressive graphics. Stepping out into the world when playing Unreal for the first time, for example. But I truly can't think of a time when I've emotionally responded to a game's storyline.
That being said I've had strong emotional responses to gameplay - such as getting pissed off at a difficult boss, gimped/cheating AI, as well as a feeling of genuine accomplishment when beating a part of a game that is a real challenge.
Edit - I take it back, there is one game with a narrative that affected me. Max Payne 2. I'm not sure exactly what it was about that game, maybe the song? Anyway, something about it was very convincing that Max was on a very ugly trajectory. I think it's because I really started to wonder if anything that ever happened to Max was real - and that maybe the entire story (including MP1) was about one man's descent into insanity rather than a story of revenge. Maybe his family was never killed, maybe the left him. And he slowly melted down, killing all of those people over nothing.
Oh, and Portal. The first time I played through Portal I felt genuinely like I was genuinely being experimented upon by GladDOS. Killing the CC didn't bug me, but the constant hounding and the decay of the Aperture building really set the mood.
So yeah, upon further consideration there are a couple of games with narratives that have elicited an emotional response out of me. But for the most part I typically don't respond in that way. At least not to games. Films and books? Totally. No idea what the difference is.
One of the best moments that my friend and I still talk about involved playing the first AvP online. We were pretty bad at it, but still enjoyed playing. Anyway, in this particular game, there was 1 or 2 aliens, at least one predator, and a few marines (I think that's how it worked). We had just tag teamed an alien with another player and the other player was cheering (there was some command that made him yell and throw his hands up I believe). All of a sudden, he just exploded. An invisible predator blew him to hell, and I had never been more scared playing a multiplayer game, it was like a scene from one of the movies. Needless to say, he finished us off pretty quickly.
I can't think of any time a game has really triggered an emotional response other than excitement/awe over a particularly well done sequence of events or impressive graphics. Stepping out into the world when playing Unreal for the first time, for example. But I truly can't think of a time when I've emotionally responded to a game's storyline.
That being said I've had strong emotional responses to gameplay - such as getting pissed off at a difficult boss, gimped/cheating AI, as well as a feeling of genuine accomplishment when beating a part of a game that is a real challenge.
That may be because most games are actually pretty bad media.
Don't get me wrong, I like lots of games, but they're great gameplay systems, as pieces of media, interactive or not, a huge chunk of what's out there is terrible.
Persona 4 is the only game that has ever made me put down the controller in shock.
December Spoilers (Srsly, don't click unless you don't give a shit or are past December in the game):
I didn't even like Nanako as a character too much; I appreciated that she was a pretty accurate depiction of a six year old girl but other than that I was like, whatever. But man, when she died in early December I just couldn't fucking believe it. I was torn between shock that Atlus actually killed her off and an incomprehensible rage at the asshole who killed her; I've never been affected by a videogame so strongly before.
Of course, if you avoid the bad end she comes back to life due to the power of friendship but still, that shit was heavy.
Honorable mention to Digital Devil Saga 2 in the EGG facility for the second (or was it the first? I haven't played DDS2 in a while) time.
The entire game (and DDS1 before that) was foreshadowing some huge past conflict between Serf and Heat in regards to Sera, and since Heat was such a dick and Sera was obviously scared of him, you of course expected him to be the one to blame. So when you find out that Serf, then main character of the game, was actually a huge douchebag scientist who used others just to further his own career, and that Heat was in the right and Sera was just delusional and hiding from the truth, it kind of came as a shock. Then everyone starts dieing and shit and everything just goes to hell. Really, the entire last third of that game was just crazy.
Persona 4 is the only game that has ever made me put down the controller in shock.
December Spoilers:
I didn't even like Nanako as a character too much; I appreciated that she was a pretty accurate depiction of a six year old girl but other than that I was like, whatever. But man, when she died in early December I just couldn't fucking believe it. I was torn between shock that Atlus actually killed her off and an incomprehensible rage at the asshole who killed her; I've never been affected by a videogame so strongly before.
Of course, if you avoid the bad end she comes back to life due to the power of friendship but still, that shit was heavy.
So, I've been watching the giant bomb endurance run (LP) and I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that behind the spoiler right there.
Persona 4 is the only game that has ever made me put down the controller in shock.
December Spoilers:
I didn't even like Nanako as a character too much; I appreciated that she was a pretty accurate depiction of a six year old girl but other than that I was like, whatever. But man, when she died in early December I just couldn't fucking believe it. I was torn between shock that Atlus actually killed her off and an incomprehensible rage at the asshole who killed her; I've never been affected by a videogame so strongly before.
Of course, if you avoid the bad end she comes back to life due to the power of friendship but still, that shit was heavy.
So, I've been watching the giant bomb endurance run (LP) and I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that behind the spoiler right there.
The true ending is pretty badass and rather emotional if you get it:
During the final battle, the last boss - a god, mind you - kills your entire party and tries to do the same to you. The main character is dragged into the netherworld and on the verge of oblivion when he begins to awaken his true power. Each of the maxed-out social link characters speak to you and plead with you not to give up.
The main character climbs out of the abyss much to the shock of the god and stares her down. He then removes his glasses as he now knows absolute truth (or something like that). He then proceeds to summon his own persona in FULL GOD MODE and destroy her.
I can't think of any game that has ever given me such an energy-pumping, 'hell yeah' moment.
Oh, and I also agree with Digital Devil Saga. The entirety of the first game is dedicated to building up a relationship with the characters, while the second game is nothing but nonstop plot twists and death sequences. Every single character that dies in DDS2 goes down like a god damn martyr (and hero, to boot). And I teared up at every single one.
Persona 4 is the only game that has ever made me put down the controller in shock.
December Spoilers (Srsly, don't click unless you don't give a shit or are past December in the game):
I didn't even like Nanako as a character too much; I appreciated that she was a pretty accurate depiction of a six year old girl but other than that I was like, whatever. But man, when she died in early December I just couldn't fucking believe it. I was torn between shock that Atlus actually killed her off and an incomprehensible rage at the asshole who killed her; I've never been affected by a videogame so strongly before.
Of course, if you avoid the bad end she comes back to life due to the power of friendship but still, that shit was heavy.
So, I've been watching the giant bomb endurance run (LP) and I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that behind the spoiler right there.
Ah fuck, sorry, I was hoping that labeling it as a December (aka late game) spoiler would be enough; I'll go back and edit it to make it more clear.
I can't think of any time a game has really triggered an emotional response other than excitement/awe over a particularly well done sequence of events or impressive graphics. Stepping out into the world when playing Unreal for the first time, for example. But I truly can't think of a time when I've emotionally responded to a game's storyline.
That being said I've had strong emotional responses to gameplay - such as getting pissed off at a difficult boss, gimped/cheating AI, as well as a feeling of genuine accomplishment when beating a part of a game that is a real challenge.
That may be because most games are actually pretty bad media.
Don't get me wrong, I like lots of games, but they're great gameplay systems, as pieces of media, interactive or not, a huge chunk of what's out there is terrible.
It also depends greatly on how much suspension of disbelief you're 'willing' to give a game.
If you think of Solid Snake like you do Indiana Jones, seeing them both simply as characters, you're probably going to overlook some of the more obvious clues that YOU ARE PLAYING A GAME once you start getting sucked into the story.
I can't think of any time a game has really triggered an emotional response other than excitement/awe over a particularly well done sequence of events or impressive graphics. Stepping out into the world when playing Unreal for the first time, for example. But I truly can't think of a time when I've emotionally responded to a game's storyline.
That being said I've had strong emotional responses to gameplay - such as getting pissed off at a difficult boss, gimped/cheating AI, as well as a feeling of genuine accomplishment when beating a part of a game that is a real challenge.
That may be because most games are actually pretty bad media.
Don't get me wrong, I like lots of games, but they're great gameplay systems, as pieces of media, interactive or not, a huge chunk of what's out there is terrible.
It also depends greatly on how much suspension of disbelief you're 'willing' to give a game.
If you think of Solid Snake like you do Indiana Jones, seeing them both simply as characters, you're probably going to overlook some of the more obvious clues that YOU ARE PLAYING A GAME once you start getting sucked into the story.
From experience I can tell you suspension of disbelief is mostly "server-side", if you will. It's created by the game, movie or whatever, not the player. There's some room for subjectivity, but it's reasonable to predict how much you're stretching it and take steps to reinforce it.
Take Uncharted, for instance... it seems moronic that punches are actually stronger than bullets, but given the action adventure references, they needed a way to make you go in for the melee finisher as well as make fire spray and running and gunning remain accurate (compare to the horribly loose shooting of Bionic Commando or Red Faction, for instance). Nerfing guns actually helps suspension of disbelief because it leads players to play as if they were in an action adventure movie instead of playing Gears of War.
Now take Prototype. Great game, great mechanics, but the storytelling there is only kicking me out of the game. I couldn't stop thinking "why is this guy so angry"? For starters, Alex is bent on revenge despite not remembering revenge for what exactly AND waking up in much better shape than he was before. At least they remembered to give him a sister, so protecting her was at least some motivation, but as a piece of media the whole package is crap, so the only real feelings you're gonna get are from the gameplay system itself, and that will only ever make you think "Cool" at best.
Persona 4 is the only game that has ever made me put down the controller in shock.
December Spoilers (Srsly, don't click unless you don't give a shit or are past December in the game):
I didn't even like Nanako as a character too much; I appreciated that she was a pretty accurate depiction of a six year old girl but other than that I was like, whatever. But man, when she died in early December I just couldn't fucking believe it. I was torn between shock that Atlus actually killed her off and an incomprehensible rage at the asshole who killed her; I've never been affected by a videogame so strongly before.
Of course, if you avoid the bad end she comes back to life due to the power of friendship but still, that shit was heavy.
So, I've been watching the giant bomb endurance run (LP) and I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that behind the spoiler right there.
Ah fuck, sorry, I was hoping that labeling it as a December (aka late game) spoiler would be enough; I'll go back and edit it to make it more clear.
So does she get put in the midnight channel or what happens here
Persona 4 is the only game that has ever made me put down the controller in shock.
December Spoilers (Srsly, don't click unless you don't give a shit or are past December in the game):
I didn't even like Nanako as a character too much; I appreciated that she was a pretty accurate depiction of a six year old girl but other than that I was like, whatever. But man, when she died in early December I just couldn't fucking believe it. I was torn between shock that Atlus actually killed her off and an incomprehensible rage at the asshole who killed her; I've never been affected by a videogame so strongly before.
Of course, if you avoid the bad end she comes back to life due to the power of friendship but still, that shit was heavy.
So, I've been watching the giant bomb endurance run (LP) and I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that behind the spoiler right there.
Ah fuck, sorry, I was hoping that labeling it as a December (aka late game) spoiler would be enough; I'll go back and edit it to make it more clear.
So does she get put in the midnight channel or what happens here
Also, how far into the game are they if they're chasing some guy down in a game themed dungeon?
Persona 4 is the only game that has ever made me put down the controller in shock.
December Spoilers (Srsly, don't click unless you don't give a shit or are past December in the game):
I didn't even like Nanako as a character too much; I appreciated that she was a pretty accurate depiction of a six year old girl but other than that I was like, whatever. But man, when she died in early December I just couldn't fucking believe it. I was torn between shock that Atlus actually killed her off and an incomprehensible rage at the asshole who killed her; I've never been affected by a videogame so strongly before.
Of course, if you avoid the bad end she comes back to life due to the power of friendship but still, that shit was heavy.
So, I've been watching the giant bomb endurance run (LP) and I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that behind the spoiler right there.
Ah fuck, sorry, I was hoping that labeling it as a December (aka late game) spoiler would be enough; I'll go back and edit it to make it more clear.
So does she get put in the midnight channel or what happens here
Yeah, she gets kidnapped and thrown in the TV. You rescue her, but she never really recovers and eventually dies in the hospital with you and Doujima at her side.
Like I said, if you manage to avoid the bad end she recovers due to anime physics but still, that shit was pretty crazy.
Those things killed me so much. Of course I was trying to beat the game only using the crappy dragon sword.
The ending of Dead Rising was pretty powerful,
and kinda dumb imo, but it just shows the raw hopelessness of Franks situation, hes trapped on top of an overturned tank, with the girl on top of a jeep, 50 feet away, with about 600 zombies around them.
Half Life 2 when
The resistances starts, and you go through the city killing striders, it was just like, wow, all this happened because a guy with a speech impediment put another guy who was mute in stasis, it makes G-Man seem not so evil.
The Fatal Frame games have some pretty heavy stuff. Like the end boss's story from FF3
She was basically born to be sacrificed in a ritual, but meantime meets some dude and falls in love. Buddy shows up to save her at ritual time, only to be killed in front of her dying eyes.
The more I think about it, the more I think all those games did such a great job because I was more sympathetic to the ghosts' stories than I was mad that they were attacking me.
Have you read the books that Myth's narrative style (and certain story elements) are based on?
tell me now
As for legacy of kain, I consider it to be one of the finest stories ever written (not of merely "game" stories). The mere fact that Hennig was able to write a story about time travel, paradoxes, and fate and still make it coherent and sensible is worth a gold star.
Have you read the books that Myth's narrative style (and certain story elements) are based on?
tell me now
As for legacy of kain, I consider it to be one of the finest stories ever written, game or not. The mere fact that Hennig was able to write a story about time travel, paradoxes, and fate and still make it coherent and sensible is worth a universe full of gold stars.
fixed. Thing is, it's not just the story-telling that's incredible. The gameplay is just as great. I'm running through Soul Reaver 1 right now and it's incredible how a PSone title can do so many revolutionary things in both narrative and gameplay. The block puzzles alone put other titles to shame. But enough of the praise. More with the feeling.
Bioshock twist. Yes, that one. It threw me a mile and I was so pissed. I actually stopped playing that night at that point thinking why fucking bother. And then I realised that's exactly the feeling Levine and his crew wanted to hammer home. Well played good sirs, well played.
I hate to say it, I really do, but this one's a classic:
Final Fantasy VII.
I even knew about it before I played the game. I knew Aeris died, but when the time came, I was still really pissed. It was such a low-blow, and the first time in a game that I experienced a permanent loss (FFVII was my first RPG, and it was the first time I was attached to a character like that), not only from a story standpoint, but from a gameplay standpoint. Aeris was the healer on my team, that's what she was there for. Now there was a huge gap and I scrambled to fill it. Not really that traumatic, but you can bet your ass that Jenova took an ass-whuppin'.
I don't think I've ever regretted seeing a villain die like Ryan did. In fact, I hesitate to even call him a villain: while he is responsible in part for the state of Rapture, he is, to me at least, a man who is trying his hardest to keep a pane of broken glass from shattering to pieces. He still loves Rapture and what it (used to) represent(s), but it's all fucked up and the only thing he can do is to stop it from going even further to hell.
And his final act, when you meet him face-to-face, after all that time when you thought he was a megalomaniac, his final act is to force you to murder him just to make a point. Why does he do it? Does he hate Fontaine so much that he hopes you'll get revenge, or does he love you as a child of Rapture? Does he do it simply because he knows he's going to die, that everything he went out to create was undone, and all he wants to do is show you the truth?
One of the first multi-sided characters I've ever experienced in a game.
I don't think I've ever regretted seeing a villain die like Ryan did. In fact, I hesitate to even call him a villain: while he is responsible in part for the state of Rapture, he is, to me at least, a man who is trying his hardest to keep a pane of broken glass from shattering to pieces. He still loves Rapture and what it (used to) represent(s), but it's all fucked up and the only thing he can do is to stop it from going even further to hell.
And his final act, when you meet him face-to-face, after all that time when you thought he was a megalomaniac, his final act is to force you to murder him just to make a point. Why does he do it? Does he hate Fontaine so much that he hopes you'll get revenge, or does he love you as a child of Rapture? Does he do it simply because he knows he's going to die, that everything he went out to create was undone, and all he wants to do is show you the truth?
One of the first multi-sided characters I've ever experienced in a game.
While I'm not much of a fan of the narrative in Bioshock (trite good vs evil stuff, classic "we played gods and were punished for it" nonsense), that bit was pure genius.
It was the fact that this presumed villain was willing to get killed for the sake of his beliefs, were they wrong or not, that sold that scene. That, and making you do stuff you don't really want to do always works in games
Come to think of it, add Silent Hill 2 to the list.
System Shock 2. So you spend the whole first hunk of the game listening to Polito bark orders in your ear. Push you from place to place, doing god knows what, but you keep trusting her because she's the only other human being on the ship. She's mean, but dammit, when compared to the technozombies walking the hall, she's safe. So you stick with it, do what she tells you, and trust that her attitude is just the stress.
Then you finally get to the room she's holed up in.
But there's a body. A woman's body. Her body, with a bullet hole through the head and a gun on the floor. She killed herself? Why? I've done what she wanted! She was just talking to me! We were going to escape!!
And then that voice.
"The Polito form is dead, insect."
The walls fall away and there She is. No words have ever made feel as vulnerable in a video game as:
Even though I always know it's coming, that scene still gives me chills. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a god damn entrance. Even as good as
I think there has only ever been one moment in gaming where I actually bolted upright and screamed "HOLY FUCK SHIT" and proceeded to nearly hyperventilate, cry, and poop myself. It didn't help that I was playing completely in the dark, in a new apartment, alone. What game you ask?
See, taht part had been spoiled for me on these boards so hitting it wasn't so much shock as it was, well, I am most certainly fucked, aren't I?
Going on about this: I'm the same way about it. Emotional moments to me tend to lost a LOT of their impacts not only if I know of it, but also if I even know something's coming my way. It's kind of strange actually: If I know what happens but don't know WHERE it happens, I'll still get a fistful of emotions in the face.
For example: (Elite Beat Agents spoiler)
The Christmas Stage. I knew there was going to be a rather emotional part in the game, but I had NO IDEA it would be there. The result: I tried my hardest not to fail. So hard in fact, I would just go and reset the game if I either failed the stage or the third part.
Going in another emotional direction (Another EBA spoiler)
finally finishing the last stage on any difficulty had me doing some good fist pumps. That plus the epic imagery plus nearly failing it in the end was some kind of unholy combination all set to spike my adrenaline to incredible heights.
Wing Commander: the kamikaze
bioshock: pure rage there
portal: firepit? Firepit! Oh fuck fuck fuck...
Mafia: the final fight and the event leading up to it.
Sonar on
I'm building a real pirate ship. Really. Wanna help? Click here!
caffron said: "and cat pee is not a laughing matter"
I'll second, or third, or whatever the Elite Beat Agents
Chicago: You're The Inspiration
Also, Wing Commander Prophecy:
When Dallas dies. Can't find a YouTube, but it was a hell of a moment.
Finally, Earthbound.
I felt such a feeling of accomplishment at so many points in that game. And many different emotions sprung up at many different parts of the game... it's the most emotion-evoking game I've ever played. When you save Paula from the clutches of the Happy Happyists was a particularly happy moment. Moonside really freaked me out as a kid, and it still disturbs me now. I felt such a great sense of accomplishment after beating Magicant for the first time, and I always feel a little fear in the back of my head when fighting Giygas, and I always tear up when everyone starts praying and Giygas starts to die.
...Damn you, Earthbound. I have to play you again now.
I'll second, or third, or whatever the Elite Beat Agents
Chicago: You're The Inspiration
While on the subject of EBA, the opening to Jumpin' Jack Flash is one of the biggest "FUCK YEAH" moments in video games I've ever had. The ending is pretty great too. There is something to be said for humanity pulling together to destroy an evil alien by firing a laser made out of pure ROCK.
Also the whole last section of Mother 3 was quite the experience. After everything you go through during the last two bosses though I thought the game's ending was a little weak.
I'll second, or third, or whatever the Elite Beat Agents
Chicago: You're The Inspiration
While on the subject of EBA, the opening to Jumpin' Jack Flash is one of the biggest "FUCK YEAH" moments in video games I've ever had. The ending is pretty great too. There is something to be said for humanity pulling together to destroy an evil alien by firing a laser made out of pure ROCK.
You're right. Especially after
The EBA's break free of being stoned from the crowd chant. Yeah... that was sort of a FUCK YEAH moment.
Haven't beaten Mother 3 yet. Just started Chapter 5 the other day actually.
Oh man, that System Shock 2 scene always gets to me. Even though the game looks so dated, the sound design is some of the best the industry has ever seen. That speech makes my skin crawl. Eric and Terri Brosius deserve some kind of award for what they did with Looking Glass.
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
I think there has only ever been one moment in gaming where I actually bolted upright and screamed "HOLY FUCK SHIT" and proceeded to nearly hyperventilate, cry, and poop myself. It didn't help that I was playing completely in the dark, in a new apartment, alone. What game you ask?
Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
The scene?
MUTHAFUCKIN BEAR
The first had some terrific moments. One of them was really obvious and you can see it coming but it still hit hard.
Posts
Of course, when inspecting multiplayer games, we open up entirely different ranges of emotional content than passive entertainment. This is a place for the more practical emotions.
Let me tell you about a guy. My friends and I were playing Age of Conan at the time. This was in the beginning when the game was still buggy as hell, but they hadn't set about intentionally destroying it yet. At any rate, we were playing on the FFA server. This guy I'm referring to was playing a barbarian, same as me. He was even a pretty good fighter, and there aren't many I'd say that about in the early days of the game. The main difference was that he was also using an exploit that would cause him to do ridiculous damage following a knockdown. Basically, his fights consisted of one swing to knock you down, one more to kill you. This was, of course, quite beneath me. I had the most pure contempt for this guy, I can't even articulate it. Most people who cheat are just so bad that they start to lean on it as a crutch. This guy didn't even have that excuse, he was simply without pride. I ran into him pretty frequently because this was my intent. He would beat me probably one out of four or one out of three fights, but killing this guy was just so satisfying.
As flavors of triumph go, beating someone very skilled is great, but beating someone you hate is something altogether different.
The feeling of invincibility that comes with being the undisputed best at a particular game is pretty sweet too, though obviously a hell of a lot more difficult to come by. Everyone should get to feel like Achilles a few times in their lives. Maybe with a little Highlander or Karate Kid theme music.
The creeping satisfaction that comes in a grand strategy game is also pretty nice. Witnessing events unfold according to your expectations, turn after turn. A word here, a troop buildup there, monkey paw agreements, countless little touches guiding everyone toward apocalyptic battles whose outcomes are predetermined.
Some games make you want to scream in triumph, some just make you feel like a god. I know this isn't the sort of pathos the OP is looking for, but I thought it was important to point out how games can evoke emotions that other mediums simply can't in my experience.
That being said I've had strong emotional responses to gameplay - such as getting pissed off at a difficult boss, gimped/cheating AI, as well as a feeling of genuine accomplishment when beating a part of a game that is a real challenge.
Edit - I take it back, there is one game with a narrative that affected me. Max Payne 2. I'm not sure exactly what it was about that game, maybe the song? Anyway, something about it was very convincing that Max was on a very ugly trajectory. I think it's because I really started to wonder if anything that ever happened to Max was real - and that maybe the entire story (including MP1) was about one man's descent into insanity rather than a story of revenge. Maybe his family was never killed, maybe the left him. And he slowly melted down, killing all of those people over nothing.
Oh, and Portal. The first time I played through Portal I felt genuinely like I was genuinely being experimented upon by GladDOS. Killing the CC didn't bug me, but the constant hounding and the decay of the Aperture building really set the mood.
So yeah, upon further consideration there are a couple of games with narratives that have elicited an emotional response out of me. But for the most part I typically don't respond in that way. At least not to games. Films and books? Totally. No idea what the difference is.
That may be because most games are actually pretty bad media.
Don't get me wrong, I like lots of games, but they're great gameplay systems, as pieces of media, interactive or not, a huge chunk of what's out there is terrible.
December Spoilers (Srsly, don't click unless you don't give a shit or are past December in the game):
Honorable mention to Digital Devil Saga 2 in the EGG facility for the second (or was it the first? I haven't played DDS2 in a while) time.
The true ending is pretty badass and rather emotional if you get it:
The main character climbs out of the abyss much to the shock of the god and stares her down. He then removes his glasses as he now knows absolute truth (or something like that). He then proceeds to summon his own persona in FULL GOD MODE and destroy her.
I can't think of any game that has ever given me such an energy-pumping, 'hell yeah' moment.
Oh, and I also agree with Digital Devil Saga. The entirety of the first game is dedicated to building up a relationship with the characters, while the second game is nothing but nonstop plot twists and death sequences. Every single character that dies in DDS2 goes down like a god damn martyr (and hero, to boot). And I teared up at every single one.
Ah fuck, sorry, I was hoping that labeling it as a December (aka late game) spoiler would be enough; I'll go back and edit it to make it more clear.
It also depends greatly on how much suspension of disbelief you're 'willing' to give a game.
If you think of Solid Snake like you do Indiana Jones, seeing them both simply as characters, you're probably going to overlook some of the more obvious clues that YOU ARE PLAYING A GAME once you start getting sucked into the story.
From experience I can tell you suspension of disbelief is mostly "server-side", if you will. It's created by the game, movie or whatever, not the player. There's some room for subjectivity, but it's reasonable to predict how much you're stretching it and take steps to reinforce it.
Take Uncharted, for instance... it seems moronic that punches are actually stronger than bullets, but given the action adventure references, they needed a way to make you go in for the melee finisher as well as make fire spray and running and gunning remain accurate (compare to the horribly loose shooting of Bionic Commando or Red Faction, for instance). Nerfing guns actually helps suspension of disbelief because it leads players to play as if they were in an action adventure movie instead of playing Gears of War.
Now take Prototype. Great game, great mechanics, but the storytelling there is only kicking me out of the game. I couldn't stop thinking "why is this guy so angry"? For starters, Alex is bent on revenge despite not remembering revenge for what exactly AND waking up in much better shape than he was before. At least they remembered to give him a sister, so protecting her was at least some motivation, but as a piece of media the whole package is crap, so the only real feelings you're gonna get are from the gameplay system itself, and that will only ever make you think "Cool" at best.
Ninja Gaiden 2, I know for a fact I had to put that game down for at least 2 days after
Goddamn dragon mech things.
At like 3:38 or so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSbDarpJfIk&feature=related
Those things killed me so much. Of course I was trying to beat the game only using the crappy dragon sword.
The ending of Dead Rising was pretty powerful,
Half Life 2 when
And last, who can resist CoD4 when
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjyHHkpMyss
Night times are basically oh fuck oh fuck what was that sound run run run
The more I think about it, the more I think all those games did such a great job because I was more sympathetic to the ghosts' stories than I was mad that they were attacking me.
As for legacy of kain, I consider it to be one of the finest stories ever written (not of merely "game" stories). The mere fact that Hennig was able to write a story about time travel, paradoxes, and fate and still make it coherent and sensible is worth a gold star.
fixed. Thing is, it's not just the story-telling that's incredible. The gameplay is just as great. I'm running through Soul Reaver 1 right now and it's incredible how a PSone title can do so many revolutionary things in both narrative and gameplay. The block puzzles alone put other titles to shame. But enough of the praise. More with the feeling.
Bioshock twist. Yes, that one. It threw me a mile and I was so pissed. I actually stopped playing that night at that point thinking why fucking bother. And then I realised that's exactly the feeling Levine and his crew wanted to hammer home. Well played good sirs, well played.
Any part of CoD4 past the British intro.
I turned the game on the third day or so after getting back from Iraq. I watched the whole scene
cringing.
Haven't played it since.
Final Fantasy VII.
I even knew about it before I played the game. I knew Aeris died, but when the time came, I was still really pissed. It was such a low-blow, and the first time in a game that I experienced a permanent loss (FFVII was my first RPG, and it was the first time I was attached to a character like that), not only from a story standpoint, but from a gameplay standpoint. Aeris was the healer on my team, that's what she was there for. Now there was a huge gap and I scrambled to fill it. Not really that traumatic, but you can bet your ass that Jenova took an ass-whuppin'.
I've been made pretty uncomfortable by certain games in the past.
And his final act, when you meet him face-to-face, after all that time when you thought he was a megalomaniac, his final act is to force you to murder him just to make a point. Why does he do it? Does he hate Fontaine so much that he hopes you'll get revenge, or does he love you as a child of Rapture? Does he do it simply because he knows he's going to die, that everything he went out to create was undone, and all he wants to do is show you the truth?
One of the first multi-sided characters I've ever experienced in a game.
While I'm not much of a fan of the narrative in Bioshock (trite good vs evil stuff, classic "we played gods and were punished for it" nonsense), that bit was pure genius.
Come to think of it, add Silent Hill 2 to the list.
But there's a body. A woman's body. Her body, with a bullet hole through the head and a gun on the floor. She killed herself? Why? I've done what she wanted! She was just talking to me! We were going to escape!!
And then that voice.
"The Polito form is dead, insect."
The walls fall away and there She is. No words have ever made feel as vulnerable in a video game as:
"I AM SHODAN."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fin2QCAsKI
Even though I always know it's coming, that scene still gives me chills. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a god damn entrance. Even as good as
was, for me... it'll just never compare to this.
I didn't find it too scary. I hear that the Oblivion Lost mod basically turns it from free-roaming FPS into survival horror. I still need to try it.
Embarrassment is definitely NOT what I was feeling there.
See, taht part had been spoiled for me on these boards so hitting it wasn't so much shock as it was, well, I am most certainly fucked, aren't I?
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
The scene?
Going on about this: I'm the same way about it. Emotional moments to me tend to lost a LOT of their impacts not only if I know of it, but also if I even know something's coming my way. It's kind of strange actually: If I know what happens but don't know WHERE it happens, I'll still get a fistful of emotions in the face.
For example: (Elite Beat Agents spoiler)
Going in another emotional direction (Another EBA spoiler)
bioshock: pure rage there
portal: firepit? Firepit! Oh fuck fuck fuck...
Mafia: the final fight and the event leading up to it.
caffron said: "and cat pee is not a laughing matter"
Also, Wing Commander Prophecy:
Finally, Earthbound.
...Damn you, Earthbound. I have to play you again now.
PSN ID : HBoxx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPMFXfNk1IM
While on the subject of EBA, the opening to Jumpin' Jack Flash is one of the biggest "FUCK YEAH" moments in video games I've ever had. The ending is pretty great too. There is something to be said for humanity pulling together to destroy an evil alien by firing a laser made out of pure ROCK.
http://www.audioentropy.com/
http://www.audioentropy.com/
You're right. Especially after
Haven't beaten Mother 3 yet. Just started Chapter 5 the other day actually.
The first had some terrific moments. One of them was really obvious and you can see it coming but it still hit hard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3eYcRS0DUk
Man I wish they'd rerelease this game.