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Emotions are a strange thing aren’t they?
You can’t live with ‘em and can’t live without ‘em
We already have plenty of emotional films, like weepy “chick flicks”, but will we ever see more truly emotional gaming??
There has never really been a genre in the UK market to cater for more emotional gamers. The Japanese, well renowned for their weirdness, have many dating sims with which to relieve their emotional (or perverted) side in a video game.
Perhaps we could one day see an RPG whereby decisions you make during the course of the game have a long lasting emotional effect on the protagonist.
Unlike Shenmue, where it was all too simple to achieve romance in the game, it would be good if a relationship could have an unpredictable edge, due to bad decisions by the player i.e your companion could see you talking to another woman in a town and be upset. This already happens in the Sims, with the idea of jealousy in relationships if you are caught “rubbing another mans rhubarb”.
The Sims is a great example of emotional gaming, as many varying emotions are displayed by the on-screen characters, and if one of your characters dies you may feel slightly sad (or not, as you could just reload from the last time you saved it!). Having a baby or getting that all important promotion gives the player some great feeling.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, though possibly accused of having a clichéd and cheesy plot, had their fair share of emotion, not only in the characters, but also evoking emotions from the player by explaining sad character histories from characters like Raiden or Psycho Mantis. Or in MGS2 when Otacon is revealing his rather strange past, coupled with the death of his sister combine to make some very emotional scenes.
Many games these days are devoid of emotion, especially (and obviously) in RTS games. You control legions of troops who have no character or emotion, to their deaths on the battlefield. Though soldiers could be deemed as expendable assets, they are still individuals. Commandos is good, as it gives each soldier their individual character traits, and the player is upset when they lose a well valued member of their squad.
Operation Flashpoint is different, though not an RTS game, on the surface it may seem like just another war sim, but I like the emotional content it contains. Your character, David Armstrong, sees the harrowing sights of war at first hand, and he shows contempt at many of the orders coming at him. He seems to hate the futility of the war he is fighting.
His friends and colleagues are killed in front of his eyes, leading to many outpourings of emotion.
Many times, he is extremely nervous and scared of his situation, and throughout the game, I really felt for this poor guy.
Long adventure games like Secret of Mana and Shenmue draw you into amazing and enormous stories, with such themes as love, hate, friendship and death and contain bucket loads of emotion, both on screen, and they evoke emotion in the player.
When I first played through Secret of Mana: I didn’t just play it, I lived it.
The characters were fantastic, each having their own deeply emotional backgrounds. As the quest unfolds, they overcome their fears fight with their emotions and win the day as a strongly bonded team.
I defy anyone to play through Secret of Mana, totally immerse yourself in the story, and not shed a small tear at the end sequence and credits.
Although the graphics maybe fairly crude by today’s standards, if I played it again today, I would still enjoy the emotional roller coaster.
Although Shenmue is slightly let down by poor voice acting, it is a very atmospheric adventure, with the hero setting off on an epic quest to avenge the death of his father. On the way, he finds love, death and friendship.
The problem with many horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in. They should be scared!!!
Silent Hill, has pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
Memorable game music can also really add to a player’s enjoyment of a game and many of the best gaming tunes like the Zelda, Mana and Final Fantasy series can stir up real emotion and passion. Hearing some of the Secret of Mana music again made me remember the amazing story and characters, and I can still remember the end sequence music which always reminds me of the great experience Mana provided, which goes to show that good game music can have a great influence on the player’s emotions.
Games developers can make the most amazing looking game, but if it’s not populated with strong characters with lifelike emotions and well told story it could turn out very shallow.
Wow! All this talk about emotions makes me sound like a woman!!:)
You can’t live with ‘em and can’t live without ‘em
We already have plenty of emotional films, like weepy “chick flicks”, but will we ever see more truly emotional gaming??
There has never really been a genre in the UK market to cater for more emotional gamers. The Japanese, well renowned for their weirdness, have many dating sims with which to relieve their emotional (or perverted) side in a video game.
Perhaps we could one day see an RPG whereby decisions you make during the course of the game have a long lasting emotional effect on the protagonist.
Unlike Shenmue, where it was all too simple to achieve romance in the game, it would be good if a relationship could have an unpredictable edge, due to bad decisions by the player i.e your companion could see you talking to another woman in a town and be upset. This already happens in the Sims, with the idea of jealousy in relationships if you are caught “rubbing another mans rhubarb”.
The Sims is a great example of emotional gaming, as many varying emotions are displayed by the on-screen characters, and if one of your characters dies you may feel slightly sad (or not, as you could just reload from the last time you saved it!). Having a baby or getting that all important promotion gives the player some great feeling.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, though possibly accused of having a clichéd and cheesy plot, had their fair share of emotion, not only in the characters, but also evoking emotions from the player by explaining sad character histories from characters like Raiden or Psycho Mantis. Or in MGS2 when Otacon is revealing his rather strange past, coupled with the death of his sister combine to make some very emotional scenes.
Many games these days are devoid of emotion, especially (and obviously) in RTS games. You control legions of troops who have no character or emotion, to their deaths on the battlefield. Though soldiers could be deemed as expendable assets, they are still individuals. Commandos is good, as it gives each soldier their individual character traits, and the player is upset when they lose a well valued member of their squad.
Operation Flashpoint is different, though not an RTS game, on the surface it may seem like just another war sim, but I like the emotional content it contains. Your character, David Armstrong, sees the harrowing sights of war at first hand, and he shows contempt at many of the orders coming at him. He seems to hate the futility of the war he is fighting.
His friends and colleagues are killed in front of his eyes, leading to many outpourings of emotion.
Many times, he is extremely nervous and scared of his situation, and throughout the game, I really felt for this poor guy.
Long adventure games like Secret of Mana and Shenmue draw you into amazing and enormous stories, with such themes as love, hate, friendship and death and contain bucket loads of emotion, both on screen, and they evoke emotion in the player.
When I first played through Secret of Mana: I didn’t just play it, I lived it.
The characters were fantastic, each having their own deeply emotional backgrounds. As the quest unfolds, they overcome their fears fight with their emotions and win the day as a strongly bonded team.
I defy anyone to play through Secret of Mana, totally immerse yourself in the story, and not shed a small tear at the end sequence and credits.
Although the graphics maybe fairly crude by today’s standards, if I played it again today, I would still enjoy the emotional roller coaster.
Although Shenmue is slightly let down by poor voice acting, it is a very atmospheric adventure, with the hero setting off on an epic quest to avenge the death of his father. On the way, he finds love, death and friendship.
The problem with many horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in. They should be scared!!!
Silent Hill, has pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
Memorable game music can also really add to a player’s enjoyment of a game and many of the best gaming tunes like the Zelda, Mana and Final Fantasy series can stir up real emotion and passion. Hearing some of the Secret of Mana music again made me remember the amazing story and characters, and I can still remember the end sequence music which always reminds me of the great experience Mana provided, which goes to show that good game music can have a great influence on the player’s emotions.
Games developers can make the most amazing looking game, but if it’s not populated with strong characters with lifelike emotions and well told story it could turn out very shallow.
Wow! All this talk about emotions makes me sound like a woman!!:)
Games often make me cry.... cry with frustration.
Games don't make you wanna cry, but they can grab you emotionally.
You will feel angered or enraged in some games when descisions go against you in certain games, and I know that from experience. Some people even get so emotional over loosing that they start crying and hit their console or PC, and sometimes even chuck them out of the window!!
You can also feel emotional in games when something in the storyline grabs you - like in some RPG's, like you said. But they don't make you wanna cry or nothing, unless you're a woman.
I feel sad when I think back to my early gaming days, and some of the classic titles and gaming styles of the early '90's. That makes me feel slightly sad, and also makes me wish was younger again, so I could relieve ALL of those games back then, as I don't really have time for them anymore with the great games we have available now.
You will feel angered or enraged in some games when descisions go against you in certain games, and I know that from experience. Some people even get so emotional over loosing that they start crying and hit their console or PC, and sometimes even chuck them out of the window!!
You can also feel emotional in games when something in the storyline grabs you - like in some RPG's, like you said. But they don't make you wanna cry or nothing, unless you're a woman.
I feel sad when I think back to my early gaming days, and some of the classic titles and gaming styles of the early '90's. That makes me feel slightly sad, and also makes me wish was younger again, so I could relieve ALL of those games back then, as I don't really have time for them anymore with the great games we have available now.
Emotions are a strange thing aren’t they?
You can’t live with ‘em and can’t live without ‘em
We already have plenty of emotional films, like weepy “chick flicks”, but will we ever see more truly emotional gaming??
There has never really been a genre in the UK market to cater for more emotional gamers. The Japanese, well renowned for their weirdness, have many dating sims with which to relieve their emotional (or perverted) side in a video game.
Perhaps we could one day see an RPG whereby decisions you make during the course of the game have a long lasting emotional effect on the protagonist.
Unlike Shenmue, where it was all too simple to achieve romance in the game, it would be good if a relationship could have an unpredictable edge, due to bad decisions by the player i.e your companion could see you talking to another woman in a town and be upset. This already happens in the Sims, with the idea of jealousy in relationships if you are caught “rubbing another mans rhubarb”.
The Sims is a great example of emotional gaming, as many varying emotions are displayed by the on-screen characters, and if one of your characters dies you may feel slightly sad (or not, as you could just reload from the last time you saved it!). Having a baby or getting that all important promotion gives the player some great feeling.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, though possibly accused of having a clichéd and cheesy plot, had their fair share of emotion, not only in the characters, but also evoking emotions from the player by explaining sad character histories from characters like Raiden or Psycho Mantis. Or in MGS2 when Otacon is revealing his rather strange past, coupled with the death of his sister combine to make some very emotional scenes.
Many games these days are devoid of emotion, especially (and obviously) in RTS games. You control legions of troops who have no character or emotion, to their deaths on the battlefield. Though soldiers could be deemed as expendable assets, they are still individuals. Commandos is good, as it gives each soldier their individual character traits, and the player is upset when they lose a well valued member of their squad.
Operation Flashpoint is different, though not an RTS game, on the surface it may seem like just another war sim, but I like the emotional content it contains. Your character, David Armstrong, sees the harrowing sights of war at first hand, and he shows contempt at many of the orders coming at him. He seems to hate the futility of the war he is fighting.
His friends and colleagues are killed in front of his eyes, leading to many outpourings of emotion.
Many times, he is extremely nervous and scared of his situation, and throughout the game, I really felt for this poor guy.
Long adventure games like Secret of Mana and Shenmue draw you into amazing and enormous stories, with such themes as love, hate, friendship and death and contain bucket loads of emotion, both on screen, and they evoke emotion in the player.
When I first played through Secret of Mana: I didn’t just play it, I lived it.
The characters were fantastic, each having their own deeply emotional backgrounds. As the quest unfolds, they overcome their fears fight with their emotions and win the day as a strongly bonded team.
I defy anyone to play through Secret of Mana, totally immerse yourself in the story, and not shed a small tear at the end sequence and credits.
Although the graphics maybe fairly crude by today’s standards, if I played it again today, I would still enjoy the emotional roller coaster.
Although Shenmue is slightly let down by poor voice acting, it is a very atmospheric adventure, with the hero setting off on an epic quest to avenge the death of his father. On the way, he finds love, death and friendship.
The problem with many horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in. They should be scared!!!
Silent Hill, has pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
Memorable game music can also really add to a player’s enjoyment of a game and many of the best gaming tunes like the Zelda, Mana and Final Fantasy series can stir up real emotion and passion. Hearing some of the Secret of Mana music again made me remember the amazing story and characters, and I can still remember the end sequence music which always reminds me of the great experience Mana provided, which goes to show that good game music can have a great influence on the player’s emotions.
Games developers can make the most amazing looking game, but if it’s not populated with strong characters with lifelike emotions and well told story it could turn out very shallow.
Wow! All this talk about emotions makes me sound like a woman!!:)
You can’t live with ‘em and can’t live without ‘em
We already have plenty of emotional films, like weepy “chick flicks”, but will we ever see more truly emotional gaming??
There has never really been a genre in the UK market to cater for more emotional gamers. The Japanese, well renowned for their weirdness, have many dating sims with which to relieve their emotional (or perverted) side in a video game.
Perhaps we could one day see an RPG whereby decisions you make during the course of the game have a long lasting emotional effect on the protagonist.
Unlike Shenmue, where it was all too simple to achieve romance in the game, it would be good if a relationship could have an unpredictable edge, due to bad decisions by the player i.e your companion could see you talking to another woman in a town and be upset. This already happens in the Sims, with the idea of jealousy in relationships if you are caught “rubbing another mans rhubarb”.
The Sims is a great example of emotional gaming, as many varying emotions are displayed by the on-screen characters, and if one of your characters dies you may feel slightly sad (or not, as you could just reload from the last time you saved it!). Having a baby or getting that all important promotion gives the player some great feeling.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, though possibly accused of having a clichéd and cheesy plot, had their fair share of emotion, not only in the characters, but also evoking emotions from the player by explaining sad character histories from characters like Raiden or Psycho Mantis. Or in MGS2 when Otacon is revealing his rather strange past, coupled with the death of his sister combine to make some very emotional scenes.
Many games these days are devoid of emotion, especially (and obviously) in RTS games. You control legions of troops who have no character or emotion, to their deaths on the battlefield. Though soldiers could be deemed as expendable assets, they are still individuals. Commandos is good, as it gives each soldier their individual character traits, and the player is upset when they lose a well valued member of their squad.
Operation Flashpoint is different, though not an RTS game, on the surface it may seem like just another war sim, but I like the emotional content it contains. Your character, David Armstrong, sees the harrowing sights of war at first hand, and he shows contempt at many of the orders coming at him. He seems to hate the futility of the war he is fighting.
His friends and colleagues are killed in front of his eyes, leading to many outpourings of emotion.
Many times, he is extremely nervous and scared of his situation, and throughout the game, I really felt for this poor guy.
Long adventure games like Secret of Mana and Shenmue draw you into amazing and enormous stories, with such themes as love, hate, friendship and death and contain bucket loads of emotion, both on screen, and they evoke emotion in the player.
When I first played through Secret of Mana: I didn’t just play it, I lived it.
The characters were fantastic, each having their own deeply emotional backgrounds. As the quest unfolds, they overcome their fears fight with their emotions and win the day as a strongly bonded team.
I defy anyone to play through Secret of Mana, totally immerse yourself in the story, and not shed a small tear at the end sequence and credits.
Although the graphics maybe fairly crude by today’s standards, if I played it again today, I would still enjoy the emotional roller coaster.
Although Shenmue is slightly let down by poor voice acting, it is a very atmospheric adventure, with the hero setting off on an epic quest to avenge the death of his father. On the way, he finds love, death and friendship.
The problem with many horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in. They should be scared!!!
Silent Hill, has pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
Memorable game music can also really add to a player’s enjoyment of a game and many of the best gaming tunes like the Zelda, Mana and Final Fantasy series can stir up real emotion and passion. Hearing some of the Secret of Mana music again made me remember the amazing story and characters, and I can still remember the end sequence music which always reminds me of the great experience Mana provided, which goes to show that good game music can have a great influence on the player’s emotions.
Games developers can make the most amazing looking game, but if it’s not populated with strong characters with lifelike emotions and well told story it could turn out very shallow.
Wow! All this talk about emotions makes me sound like a woman!!:)