Games that do a good job conveying emotion without being heavy-handed
This is brought over from thoughts prompted after seeing WALL-E. I thought I'd ask, because this is my current frame of mind.
So I saw Wall-E the other day. You can laugh if you wish, but the movie got me thinking. It stuck in my brain. And it made me want more. Sometimes in movies, books, games, etc. a work of art comes along that actually evokes emotion in a way that surprises you. I felt this way about Viva Pinata at times. Get attached to a certain pinata and start to look after their well-being more than other pinatas. I definitely felt this way about the COD4 (especially the airplane mission and walking through the city in Russia as Pierce). And I definitely felt this way during the Half Life 2 SP campaign. It had moments where you would stumble upon something seemingly normal. My favorite example being the drive down the coast where for a while it was quiet. No fighting, no baddies. Just the ocean and you're out for a drive. You could imagine you and your wife taking that drive or a family stopping at a lookout point. And then before you know it you're yanked back into reality.
I'm wondering what are some of the most emotionally "evocative" games. I'd even consider a PS2 or another system. I love the 360, but I'm straining to think if there's something with a sense of wonder, loneliness, just generally emotional that I'm missing.
Oh, and the heavy-handed part comes from not really wanting games to try to make me feel in a way that I can tell I'm being manipulated (I'm looking at you, Lost Odyssey).
In a mood and looking for something different...
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Hm, yes, game writing still has catching up to do in subtlety department. Off the top of my head:
Portal - might seem an odd choice given that there are no other people, but just walking around, encountering signs of previous "test subjects" made me wonder what happened there. It actually made me believe that there is a "there", hoping that I will meet others or probably save them. GlaDOS made me feel uneasy, as I was feeling I'm under total control of a not really sane machine.
Beyond Good and Evil - the oppression was quite palpable and seeing I have a possibility to lift it I was feeling responsible to carry out my "duty" towards the people I met.
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream - quite possibly a pinnacle of emotion-heavy game for me. Playing as five different people who are facing their mortal fears, horrible mistakes in their lives, and are desperately looking for redemption. Combined with great art direction it has some of the most memorable game scenes I remember, but I'm not going to spoil it for you. You'll be crying, frightened, desperate, sad and elated.
You can't take the sky from me.
Bioshock? If you haven't already played it.
I certainly felt like I was being manipulated, especially after the reveal, but I frequently found myself just standing still (invisibility FTW) and listening to the splicers rant. Watching a Big Daddy fight off a group of splicers in defense of a Little Sister also added to the sense of wonder and pity I had for most of the inhabitants of Rapture. I wonder how many of them were forced into the war between Fontaine and Ryan?
Duoae wrote:
merphle wrote:
Stengah's Steam ID
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Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.
Planescape:Torment has its moments, but it more atmospheric than anything else. Same with Bioshock (IMHO).
Some of the Japanese survival horror games, like Fatal Frame and Silent Hill, are truly terrifying in spots.
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I agree with CoD4, for an action FPS it was certainly one of the more emotional games I've played. From the shock in the middle (in the appropriately titled "Shock and Awe" level), to the fury at the bad guy right at the end.
The feeling of desolation in Pripyat is a good example too, as DSGamer brings up. Another game that captures that feeling well is the much-punctuated S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Exploring that world is grim and bleak, and entirely wonderful. The same with HL2 (still one of my favourite games ever).
One more game that evokes emotion really well is Deus Ex. The choices you make are handled in a much more mature way than most games, expecially for a game that old. Those choices in turn involve you in a much more direct way.
I think that the only way to get emotion into a game is through proper characterisation. Each of the games mentioned in the above posts has strong characters that you relate with, or start to care about. in CoD4 you had Gaz and Captain Price. In HL2 you have Alyx. In Deus Ex you had the main character's brother (whose name shamefully escapes me). In Beyond Good & Evil you had Jade. Portal had GlaDOS. All strong characters. The only exception is STALKER, in which the environment is what causes the sense of desolation and loneliness.
If you can't be a good example, at least be a horrible warning.
Paul Denton!
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Paul Denton.
Edit - Beaten by seconds!
Duoae wrote:
merphle wrote:
Stengah's Steam ID
url=http://
That's the guy! I shall now go stand in a corner for an hour or so... Or maybe just go to bed, considering I need to get up for work in 6 hours...
If you can't be a good example, at least be a horrible warning.
Beyond Good and Evil, ico, and Shadow of the Colossus, as previously noted.
I think the 3D Zelda titles also do a wonderful job of conveying emotion, usually without laying it on too thick. There were moments in Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and (to a lesser extent) Twilight Princess that genuinely tugged at my heartstrings.
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Homeworld is a good one. It provides a view of outer space that is colorful and beautiful instead of the sterile vistas of most sci-fi. It puts you into the shoes of a civilization that has just received a huge technological boost and is seeing all of this for the first time, only to find themselves stranded without a home. I don't think any game has successfully evoked a sense of awe and wonder and loneliness like that one was able to.
I'm like a flashing lightning and a rolling thunder, I'm like a stepping razor
Not that I don't think it's possible but I don't think any game has yet truly evoked emotions beyond tension, excitement, and maybe fear beyond a superficial level. You can have a few sappy emotional cutscenes, but that doesn't make the game itself an emotional experience.
Although I admit I haven't played Ico or Shadow of the Colossus, but I heard good things about them. Beyond Good and Evil comes close, but it's a little over the top. Half-Life 2 I found a little too sappy, I don't care as much about Alyx as Valve wants me to.
I felt that the relationship between the Prince and Farra was really well done in Sands of Time in terms of romantic relationships in games. The ending scene was brilliant.
You Have to Burn the Rope
NOTE: This is not a doodle bug.
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Well, I picked up Shadow of the Colossus. Now to hunt down Ico. I'm just in this kind of mood. Not sure if I'll ever get back to GTA IV.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
Ico, without a doubt. You feel an attachment not only to the characters, but to the environment almost in a way that Pixar makes you feel for non-human objects. The game isn't without its flaws, some of them technical limitations and it's hard to avoid the controls getting in the way at times. Overall though it's an incredibly moving experience. Without a doubt it is the most powerful and moving ending in gaming history, at least that I've experienced. It really is an emotional experience.
Shadow of the Colossus is as well. I'm not quite sure that the whole experience is quite as moving but the first few colossi fights and the ending areas are downright incredible. The folks behind these games really are masters of storytelling.
Beware the Gazebo
BGG: Deliverator
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Well, I need to start hunting down a copy of Ico, I guess. This sucks. $95 new on Amazon.com marketplace.
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Playing Assassin's Creed last night I got really pissed off with the guards in Jerusalem. They would attack me at the slightest provocation, in groups of eight or more, and with an intensity that hadn't been there in earlier parts of the game (and me just an decent, hardworking assassin strolling around the streets minding my own business and killing people.) I fought them with burning rage in my heart an got a real visceral satisfaction from taking them all out. Scary.
... herald of Piggledy 'Destroyer of Worlds'
Oh man:
I still get shivers.
That sounds like a pretty heavy handed way to get an emotional response to me.
kuddles wrote:
I actually liked Splinter Cell:Double Agent. It starts off with the main character's daughter dead and he is so cracked to pieces he goes nuts. The only other game that put forth emotional depth without forcing for me would be the original Max Payne.
A specialist in baby poop must be one of the most comically tragic professions I've heard of. ~ Wordsmythe
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Undouptedly
... herald of Piggledy 'Destroyer of Worlds'
Really? That's crazy. I believe a re-edition came out when Shadow of the Colossus was published, try hunting that down. Also, eBay can shave the price down, here are some auctions with prices from 25 bucks up (Buy It Now prices, I mean). And I totally support trying Ico out, you will genuinely care about the poor princess that you will guide around. Actually, you will want to replay the game once finished just to re-experience the attachment and all the emotions again. I did it maybe five times
You can't take the sky from me.
Braid - soon you'll know.
I'm gonna go with Max Payne, both the original and its sequel. Both games made me care about Max and Mona.
The (non-special) ending of two had me in a very somber mood for hours after I shut the computer off.
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
I've seen Ico in my local used record/dvd/games outlet for $10-$20 in the last six months. I would hunt around in places like that.
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Grim Fandango. Lucas Arts created a cast of characters that I not only cared about all those years ago when I first played the game, but that I also think fondly of today. Manny Calavera, Glottis, Mercedes Colomar, Domino Hurley, Salvador Limones...hell even the short angry guy that Manny ships in the coffin filled with chemical foam...are all characters that I'll never forget. A key factor would have to be the brilliant writing and voice acting. Individuals in the game were three dimensional, able to show a range of emotion from sublime humor to wrenching sadness and more.
Each character had unique and plausible motivations, they all felt compelling and authentic to their world. Coupled with the fantastic art-deco visuals and superb soundtrack, the culmination was a realized time and place that is unparalled even to this day.
I fully agree on Grim Fandango; I didn't mention it, though, because I don't think I'd say it isn't heavy handed. It's a very dialog-intensive game and while the dialog is fantastic the story isn't exactly subtle in the way that Ico is, for example.
Amazing story and characters, though. Grim Fandango is hands-down my favorite game ever, with Ico right behind
Everything in Grim Fandango comes together so amazingly and they even worked with the graphical limitations of the times to come up with a highly unique art style that worked.
Beware the Gazebo
BGG: Deliverator
Veteran Gamers' Board: PretzNChz
I second (and third) the nomination for Ico. That's crazy that's its so expensive. The game is so good that I kept it, even after I gave my PS2 to my mom. I didn't have a system to play it on but I kept the game. Now I have a PS3 so I wonder if Ico is backwards compatible with it.
All this talk kind of makes me want to play it again.
Shadow of the Colossus is also incredible. I'm still not sure if I was doing the work of good or evil in that game. The ending left me even more confounded.
And to spin this in a whole nother direction with a slight Shadow of the Colossus twist, check out the movie Riegn Over Me with Adam Sandler. You'll be glad you did.
...they haunt this dusty beach road in the skeletonframes of burned-out chevrolets...
As a matter of fact, the experience for Ico is so good I'm willing to make a deal with you. I will let you borrow it, just send me a PM with your address and I'll send it out right after the Holiday weekend.
You must, must promise to return it after you are finished, though.
Soon you will hold the hand of Yorda. Life will be good.
...they haunt this dusty beach road in the skeletonframes of burned-out chevrolets...