emotions in games

[Top Hat]

Bringing emotions to video games

Generally speaking, the tone of the article sends out the message that "emotion" in gaming is not the norm. Granted, it's still developing overall, but here, I think this is a case of choosing to look at just one side of gaming (sports and action games), and making generalizations, followed by sweeping statements to make a point.

The article gives current-gen examples of "primitive" forays into the realm of emotion in games, but as I was reading this, the first thought that came to mind was Out of This World. That game was released almost a decade and a half ago, yet I recall feeling confusion, despair, and most important a strong sense of empathy toward my game character and his "mute" guide. To top it off, this was an action game, not even an adventure, where I think "emotion" has been a strong element in some of the hallmark titles over the history of the genre.

Yes, I agree that the sophistication of storytelling, and emotion-inducing elements in games has plenty of room to grow, but I think they've always been there.

I think this article doesn't really say anything important about emotions in games; however, it makes more of a statement about the "run-n-gun" dominance in the industry, and the marketplace that promotes it. After all, they wouldn't throw a stick in the mud now and claim emotion is something that's new or emerging, if they weren't so blinded by the myriad of games that possess little emotion (and there's nothing wrong with those games either).

My example is, what, 13 years old. Am I looking too much into this game, and injecting emotional elements that never existed? Please tell me about the oldest game you can think of that made you feel a true attachment to the character(s), and brought out emotions in a meaningful way (i.e. not "I was levelling up that character for a week, and now I am very angry that he is dead.").

[Boy]

Wild Arms for the PS1 made had a particular scene that tugged my heartstrings...but after a little bit of thought, the earliest game I can remember getting an emotion out of me was Secret of Mana. I was sad when the main character was banished from his hometown for things that he had no control over.

[Nicato]

Ok, this article is missing a few 'emotional' games.

Wind Waker: Link displays sadness, anger, doubt, fear, embarassment, happiness, pain, and at least a dozen more emotions during the course of play.

Pikmin: Pikmin scream when drowning or being eaten and it's all your fault. I've had to reset a couple times from guilt.

Skies of Arcadia: Though not as seamless as WW, there is a lot more charater interaction (read: personality clashes).

[EnduroGamer]

Firstly, I'd like to thank the wonderful author of the article for spoiling Ico for me with the following paragraph...

"Ico" was something different: a traditional jump and puzzle game where the player controls a boy condemned to death by his village for being born with tiny horns. The game play itself was repetitive, but it managed to weave an emotional subplot with a skill rarely seen in the genre. When you discover that the boy's mortal enemies are actually the ghosts of other little horned boys killed by villagers the surprise carries an emotional punch. The hero is fighting his own kind.

Yes, I've played Ico but I never finished it YET. And I didn't know about the above-mentioned surprise.

The problem I have with this article is his introduction. He knows the masses play (or at least can identify) Madden and action superhero games, but they are certainly not the examples of the emotional connection in games. Where's the mention of Max Payne? The cinematics in the original Max Payne where he learns of his dead wife were incredibly powerful scenes. Definitely emotional stuff. Heck, I replayed through portions of them to show my wife, and she was almost in tears.

And what about the Shenmue series? The opening of the first one, when he sees his father die? The end when he boards the ship to sail to a foreign land? The end of part II when the player essentially lives out the early-stages of a budding boy-girl relationship. These were very emotional scenes.

I'm glad he at least mentioned Ico as an example of a game that succeeded in the emotional connection, but there are far more popular games that accomplished that feat as well and his argument would have been stronger by not having to rely on a less popular game for his example.

Heck, even though the little guy annoyed me at times, I genuinely felt sorry for Tricky in Starfox Adventures and wanted to try and take care of him since it seemed he lost his dad. And yes, Wind Waker is another good example.

[cerpin_taxt]

The first game I can remember ever feeling any kind of emotion about was Lunar: Silver Star Story. I cared about Alex and his friends journey. I despised and pitied Ghaleon. The game had so much personality. It remains one of my favorite games to this day, because of that.

This is probably just my opinion, but I feel like Silent Hill 2 conveyed alot of emotion. The characters were frightened, confused, and depressed about their situation. Just as James wanted to know if his wife was alive and why he was brought here, so did I. Thats just the lead character, I felt sorry for poor Eddie going crazy and sad for depressed Angela. Maria just freaked me out though. I feel this game was more than just a survival horror game. It had such an impact on me, I can remember just about everything about it to this day.

[Zanbatou]

I really can't remember the first time a game provoked an emotional response from me because I've been having responses (at least in a limited sense) since before games had animated graphics. However, there has definately been a clear evolution in terms of the scope and intensity of emotions that games have explored from the days I started gaming to the present. Some of the best examples to come to my mind along the way are...

Out of this World- seconding Top Hat's nod.

Astynax- This NES game is really just a personal choice of mine. It's not all that famous and, in hindsight, really not all that good of a game, but it had some limited anime styled cutscenes througout that I found touching when I was six or seven.

Myst- I felt pity for the two trapped men within the study, and felt distraught that I'd eventually have to choose to trust one over the other. Learning about their personalities through subtle clues uncoverred while exploring their homes on various worlds and the changes of heart I experience while doing so was a new experience for me. The way the story finally unfolded at the end was very sad and moving as well. Aitrus, IMO, remains the most tragic and developed character in all of gaming. On top of that, that game maintained a very developed sense of wonder and solitude throughout, especially for the time.

Chrono Trigger/Final Fantasy 6/Final Fantasy Tactics/other J-RPGs- I may have devloped a strong distaste for this type of game as of late (excluding tactics, I suppose), but there's no doubt that I fealt genuinely connected to some of my characters when I was playing through these games the first time.

Homeworld- How can you not feel emphathy for the homeless and hunted race that you help guide through the universe? I wanted them to get home, but I was never able to successfully get them there.. ;_;

Thief- I fealt sorry whenever I had to kill someone (the humans, anyway) in this game. Only severe moments of tense desperation could cause me to do so, and I would usually reload games and play for hours more just so I could get around doing so.

Silent Hill- This game inspires very real feelings of fear and dread that don't necessarily go away when the game is turned off. I was caught completely off guard by this game.

ICO- This is definately the biggest/most evolved one for me, for thoroughly discussed reasons.

[Epic Juicebox]

Originally posted by Zanbatou:
Chrono Trigger/Final Fantasy 6/Final Fantasy Tactics/other J-RPGs- I may have devloped a strong distaste for this type of game as of late (excluding tactics, I suppose), but there's no doubt that I fealt genuinely connected to some of my characters when I was playing through these games the first time.

This reminds me of the part in Final Fantasy VI when you take Locke back to Kohlingen for the first time... I still get chills when I think back on that scene!