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.
cc_star
It is said that there are only 4 stories to tell, and all stories ever told are just a re-telling of those themes
– A journey
– A struggle for power
– A love story between 2 people
– A love story between 3 people
Uncharted2 will be held up as a great story but I beg to differ, it was a great story for a game. The story itself was akin to an overly-long hollywood blockbuster, with bits bolted on just to introduce one final piece of peril for Nate & co, and then 2mins later there was yet another final piece of peril. The early & middle parts were great but the fact it was a game & a minimum length was needed it just hung around too long, when the final boss came, not only was he poor but it was frustrating and the ending was relief more than anything. Great game though but IMO the story is vastly over-rated
I think Flower’s telling of the struggle for power was one of the best and most emotional I’ve known in gaming.
So I’m going with Flower as the most emotional I’ve felt in a game all the more remarkable as the story was told not only without any dialogue but also without even any characters.
The joy of the early levels, the outright fun of the middle before the darkness took other, feeling of isolation and the loss of all hope in the later stages before the triumphant last level. Powerful stuff and remarkable story telling.
Other than 1 or 2 examples of the whole history of gaming, the story-telling is of far too poor a standard to gain a feeling of emotion, shocking for an interactive medium.
minerwilly
Interesting post , i will have try Flower again . I got to 3rd level on first day and have never played it since (not because i didnt like it or anything)
Michael
Spot on. The story in Uncharted 2 was, in comparison with many the story in many books I’ve read, not very good at all. But, you know, it was an awesome game though.
Apparently there’s a story in MoH, but I never really notice. I just run around (not) shooting things.
Lorcan
Completely agree with you Chris.
Uncharted 2 does NOT have a good story. It simply has good characters.
Good characters will do wonders for anything and make you feel like you love what’s going on. But as far as plot went, there was nothing majorly interesting going on in Uncharted. Just lots of cool dialogue and lots of cool set pieces.
hazelam
i think i’ve related my expeerience with the dog in fable a couple of times, that was more of a happy moment but it still brings me out in tears every time.
for sad moments though there was also the ending of mgs3, and one of the endings of bioshock 2 had me in tears as well.
there have been games that have made me laugh too, full throttle was one that actually had me in pain.
i’ve had a laugh at others for not so intentional reason though, bugs and glitches can sometimes be funny as hell.
and you better believe i’ve felt anger because of some games.
Daywalker
SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKEEEEEEE!!!!!! Any MGS game has me blubbing at one point or another. especially in 4 with the bit where thingy does that stuff that saves whatsamajig from the big whatchcallit but dies from the the shindig. That bit.
Loxstokk
Ooh, I forgot to mention braid. That had left with that slightly sick feeling of shock. Impressive for a puzzle/platform game. Mario never did that…
nofi
Emotive games: Flower, Braid, LIMBO, Ocarina of Time, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus.