I will freely admit that there are certain TV shows and films that make me tear up. I’m not quite as bad as my mum who will cry at pretty much anything, even stuff that I don’t actually think is sad, and, weirdly, stuff that actually happens to me doesn’t actually get much of a response. It’s much easier to take the cathartic root and let your own emotions out through characters on a screen.
The weird thing is whilst there are plenty of shows, films and even some plays that really grab me at the core emotional level, there weren’t any games that managed it until very recently. In fact there’s exactly one game that’s managed it and that is Halo: Reach. I don’t want to give away too much as the game is still pretty new, but there’s a point where something completely unexpected left me with my mouth hanging open, whispering ‘No’ and found my eyes filling with tears. Even thinking back on it now it brings a tear to my eye, so resounding the moment was.
Now I will admit that I don’t play a huge volume of games, but it’s not like I’ve only ever played Reach. I’ve certainly played enough that only getting a real emotional response from one game doesn’t exactly speak volumes about the quality of writing in games.
Games do often get attacked  for having a weak story, and I do find that hard to argue with sometimes. Even the games that get compared to blockbuster movies rarely have a story that you could imagine as passable. There are a few exceptions where I think the story is spot on, but there really are fairly rare. Perhaps it’s stretching a story over eight to ten hours rather than the two to three of a film that often  causes the story to fall apart.
However, I’ve nearly really thought about game writing apart from the story and occasionally the characterisation. Looking at it from an emotional stand point had never really occurred to me before now, but actually it really does seem lacking when you look at it. I want to feel connected and involved in the story and characters. If you can really emotionally invest in a game I think it becomes far more involving and feels more real compared to modern games.
That may sound a little, but surely that’s the whole point of a game. I’m not talking about realism itself, that’s a whole different discussion that I’ve had numerous times before. What I’m talking about is whether or not you feel a game’s world is real, whether or not it’s something that you feel you can actually connect to and grab hold of. The more involving a game is the easier it is to have the feeling of escapism, and that’s what a good story is about at the most basic level.
Sure it can make you laugh or make you cry, a good story can make you feel a hundred different ways. However what you really want is to escape from  your every day life  into another world and I think the easier it is to make a connection into the other world  the easier it becomes to escape. Maybe it’s a little sad that we want to escape from our real lives so much, but then again so is most of the human condition.
bunimomike
“Sure it can make you life or make you cry”
Great topic, Kris.
I love it when I actually feel something for a game or the characters. A moment in UC2 had me thinking “oh god, no” which was great. I’d felt enough for the characters where I’d grown attached to them.
There’s been numerous mentions but it’s worth commenting on Shadows of the Colossus one more time. That was a real “ah, something in my eye” moment. People who’ve played it through to the end will understand all to well.
If a game is character driven then we MUST care about them. We must either love or loathe them. Feeling nothing but ambivalence is the worst thing possible. It leaves you cold to the game and barely able to summon the emotional energy to continue.
Sure, we’ll have games like Black where it’s a complete bullet-fest, but real investment of feeling is something the industry is yet to get to grips with – at least with any particular frequency.
colmshan1990
EVERYONE got that feeling in UC2. One horrible, gut-wrenching moment.
Serebii.Net
I remember the very start of Assassin’s Creed II when Ezio and his brother where on top of a building..
That didn’t bring tears or anything, it gave me shivers..
There are more things, I just can’t think of them =P
tobo_56
In COD4 that last part, really made me feel quite sad. I really love it when a game makes you really actually feel as if you had become friends (sort of) with some of the characters.
Raen
Oh I think I know the bit you mean.
jikomanzoku
Agreed, a high point the series never recaptured.
Krugsy
It’s certainly an interesting thing to look at. Some of my most memorable movies and books are memorable because I built up some kind of emotional connection with the characters. While I haven’t really cried in a film, I have certainly felt a stirring within. There are the obvious examples such as Schindlers List and there are the less obvious like Shawshank Redemption and Braveheart. Now, with games, there maybe been 2 or 3 games where I have felt something, Heavy Rain being one, and Ico and MGS3 being 2 others.
One would think games have great potential to be emotionally because of the greater immersion the medium ‘should’ offer. The best games i’ve played have been the ones where i’ve actually cared for the characters and felt their pain/happiness/loss. I think the medium certainly does struggle in terms of storyline because there is too much emphasis on delivering a product aimed at a ADD demographic. Another problem is that too many developers are too busy trying to be ‘Adult’, but in all the wrong ways. Adult doesn’t necessarily translate to mature. I would like to see more ‘mature’ games in the market, games that connect with the adult gamers, games that have strong mature stories that a player can connect with emotionally. Mature doesn’t necessarily mean boobs and blood, but rather themes and stories that are more thoughtfully constructed.
Holy crap, that was too long winded…sorry :P
YOURMUMANDME
“Agrooooo ! ……”
Nuff said ?
gazzagb
The main emotions most games make me feel are happiness and enjoyment. Especially when playing online with mates, and you just got a really good kill in MW2, or you just wiped out your mate in F1 2010, I can find that I spend pretty much a whole evening laughing my head off.
::Possible Spoilers!::
There was a certain point in MW2, where 2 of the characters died, that really got to me. It was the way that you saw it from the point of view of one of the characters, and I just looked to my left to see my favourite character writhing in flames. I didn’t exactly cry; but I still felt really sad and also confused.
Krugsy
I agree with the MW2 moment. It was certainly a sad part of the game. I also agree that most games do bring a sense of enjoyment and fun. But I guess if the industry is to progress they need to develop the weaker parts of gaming, which is storytelling.
NotoriousGTT
2 games stand out for me on this topic. Heavy Rain is the obvious one, helped of course, by an amazing score, one of the best video game soundtracks ever.
The other is The Darkness. They allow you to build a relationship with an NPC and then take it all away from you right infront of your eyes in a scene that was one of the hardest hitting I’ve ever scene in some 20+ years of gaming.
BigCheese
I’ve never really felt any true attachment for a character, except for Rachet and Clank… I don’t know if it’s because of me growing up playing the games or what, but I feel a connection for some reason-
******************SPOILER ALERT*******************
I warn you not read on if you don’t want the story of A Crack in Time ruined. Although you should have played it by now(!!!)
When Ratchet is killed by General Azimuth, I generally felt terrible, and made me think that that really was it for the dynamic duo, but, although looking back it was obvious now, when time is re-wound, the smile was right back on my face. I know it’s not much, but that really is the only time I think I’ve ever felt for a game and/or it’s characters. I apologise for this essay.
Ryan1991
FIFA when I lost a wagered match against my mate. That made me cry.
Seriously though, Lost Odyssey was quite sad when one of the characters dies near the beginning of the game.
SpikeyMikey23
cant believe it hasnt been mentioned yet! lol Aeris dying in final fantasy VII! Noooooooo!
Armonster9000
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was the only game to actually make me feel sad.
Zack is my favorite character ever
Yahavage
I think the ending on FFVIII is sadder – always wells me up that, when Rinoa finds Squall again – I know it’s a happy seen, but ah, it’s so pretty… the music gets me lol
MadBoJangles
When Aeris died, I wasn’t sad as such.
Not in the way that it was intended, I was more gutted that I had just lost a really good healer from my party lol
sesameseed
Easily the best call! You just had to be there…