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Sympathy you all know what it means. Well you feel it for people BUT do you feel it for game characters? What I mean is, when your blowing a Nazi's head off on Medal of Honour do you feel it? Or even when you run down a policeman on GTA3 do you feel it? Your objective maybe to kill the ‘Boss’ but when you’ve beaten him and he’s dead or injured helplessly on the floor what do you feel then?
As much as people may like killing people, blowing them up ect… do they have the courage to see a real dead body? I bet they don’t. Yes it’s very different from a virtual image of a person to a real living breathing person but I think you should still feel sympathy. Do you see the TV screen as a bunch of pixels put together or do you feel more emotional and drawn in by the gaming experience?
I know that softhearted people are really taken in by it. All the girls give a classic “Awwww poor baby” when Meemee takes a bad turn and falls off in monkey ball. But in this case I can’t stop laughing and do it again. Did I just say I play video games with girls? Cool! But I do feel something for the enemies suffering and whimpering on the field when you hit them with some mustard gas. Well I shouldn’t be playing 18 rated games I guess.
So what goes through your mind when you cut a cave mans head off with that disk thing in turok or you kill the medics in red faction? If not that you kill cops for fun and snipe out old ladies walking home with their shopping in GTA3 (De Ja Vu). Do you feel sympathy and commiserate? Feel evil and continue torturing? Get annoyed by the square faces and turn off your PS1? Feel proud and ponder what else you could do? Whatever you are thinking of there is a little evil and pity in all of us.
And if you are like Snuggly and stay up all night decapitating guards for stoopid dog tags then why do you do it? Well yeah, it’s fun, duhhhh, but why is it fun to kill people? Do you feel a little sympathy or guilt when the guards make those fish noises while struggling for life? Do you enjoy it? Do you feel that you have to do it but don’t want to? Or are you narrow-minded and don’t notice them?
With all the next-gen consoles and constantly improving gaming how far will gaming go in the future? Will it become so realistic that we won’t want to play these games? Well that’s a bit too far but will we feel a lot more sympathy to the people in games? Will they be such good imitations that we will start feeling less for real people? Violence and video gaming is already being linked together these days! The future is full of questions (like this post :P) and we will just how to wait and see how attitude towards gaming changes everyday life.
Personally, I can imagine cut scenes in games like Metal Gear Solid becoming even more like movies. Often, people can leave movies feeling really strange, that tingle at the back of your neck. Games characters could easily begin to gain as much sympathy as the movie star.
However, this is something games developers need to think about. If someone is upset or confused by a cut scene, could this effect their concentration for the game? Nobody wants to be thinking about a previous encounter with the bad guy, while they’re fighting the next character. In movies, there is time for sympathy, but in games there just doesn’t seem like there can be. Maybe in the cut scenes for a short time, but it would be important for it not to have a lasting impression on you.
But most importantly, what do *you* think? Would sympathy for games characters effect how you view them? If you did have sympathy for those little old women in GTA3, could you still kill them and complete the game? Do you think we have time for sympathy in games?
Cheers
- BS (never won gad)
As much as people may like killing people, blowing them up ect… do they have the courage to see a real dead body? I bet they don’t. Yes it’s very different from a virtual image of a person to a real living breathing person but I think you should still feel sympathy. Do you see the TV screen as a bunch of pixels put together or do you feel more emotional and drawn in by the gaming experience?
I know that softhearted people are really taken in by it. All the girls give a classic “Awwww poor baby” when Meemee takes a bad turn and falls off in monkey ball. But in this case I can’t stop laughing and do it again. Did I just say I play video games with girls? Cool! But I do feel something for the enemies suffering and whimpering on the field when you hit them with some mustard gas. Well I shouldn’t be playing 18 rated games I guess.
So what goes through your mind when you cut a cave mans head off with that disk thing in turok or you kill the medics in red faction? If not that you kill cops for fun and snipe out old ladies walking home with their shopping in GTA3 (De Ja Vu). Do you feel sympathy and commiserate? Feel evil and continue torturing? Get annoyed by the square faces and turn off your PS1? Feel proud and ponder what else you could do? Whatever you are thinking of there is a little evil and pity in all of us.
And if you are like Snuggly and stay up all night decapitating guards for stoopid dog tags then why do you do it? Well yeah, it’s fun, duhhhh, but why is it fun to kill people? Do you feel a little sympathy or guilt when the guards make those fish noises while struggling for life? Do you enjoy it? Do you feel that you have to do it but don’t want to? Or are you narrow-minded and don’t notice them?
With all the next-gen consoles and constantly improving gaming how far will gaming go in the future? Will it become so realistic that we won’t want to play these games? Well that’s a bit too far but will we feel a lot more sympathy to the people in games? Will they be such good imitations that we will start feeling less for real people? Violence and video gaming is already being linked together these days! The future is full of questions (like this post :P) and we will just how to wait and see how attitude towards gaming changes everyday life.
Personally, I can imagine cut scenes in games like Metal Gear Solid becoming even more like movies. Often, people can leave movies feeling really strange, that tingle at the back of your neck. Games characters could easily begin to gain as much sympathy as the movie star.
However, this is something games developers need to think about. If someone is upset or confused by a cut scene, could this effect their concentration for the game? Nobody wants to be thinking about a previous encounter with the bad guy, while they’re fighting the next character. In movies, there is time for sympathy, but in games there just doesn’t seem like there can be. Maybe in the cut scenes for a short time, but it would be important for it not to have a lasting impression on you.
But most importantly, what do *you* think? Would sympathy for games characters effect how you view them? If you did have sympathy for those little old women in GTA3, could you still kill them and complete the game? Do you think we have time for sympathy in games?
Cheers
- BS (never won gad)
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Well, Big Slow, I thought that post was brilliant! A great subject.
And SR mods, I can give you my word that this post isn't copied. This is because BS sent ME, a word file containing his post on Friday night. BS has also mentioned many times in other posts that he will be submitting his GAD attempt today.
Can I just say one thing, if he has a copy of this on his hard drive, but it isn't on any websites, and he won't show us any websites, how, exactly did Big Slow get this work?
SR Mods, please don't let this effect Big Slows chances of winning a GAD (if he has any ;-)) He did work hard on this, asking all our oppinions, I even personally corrected some of the mistakes, and made up the title for this post. So it IS NOT copied!
We all know Big Slow has more morals than that.
And SR mods, I can give you my word that this post isn't copied. This is because BS sent ME, a word file containing his post on Friday night. BS has also mentioned many times in other posts that he will be submitting his GAD attempt today.
Can I just say one thing, if he has a copy of this on his hard drive, but it isn't on any websites, and he won't show us any websites, how, exactly did Big Slow get this work?
SR Mods, please don't let this effect Big Slows chances of winning a GAD (if he has any ;-)) He did work hard on this, asking all our oppinions, I even personally corrected some of the mistakes, and made up the title for this post. So it IS NOT copied!
We all know Big Slow has more morals than that.
big_slow copied it from *me* actually....... I have got a copy saved in word right now and I showed it to him to see what he thought but just found my post on here!
You have a right cheek to post my topic on here big_slow!
Darn you!
-------
Now..... to be honest...... I dont think he has copied it. He was talking to me on MSN saying that he would post his topic each day but id warn him that a really good post is already up.
I still find it a very good post so well done and everything.
:)
You have a right cheek to post my topic on here big_slow!
Darn you!
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Now..... to be honest...... I dont think he has copied it. He was talking to me on MSN saying that he would post his topic each day but id warn him that a really good post is already up.
I still find it a very good post so well done and everything.
:)
Just to re-iterate what everyone else has said, that was a very good post indeed big_slow. Now isn't that better than talking to yourself in the wlt?
:D
In response to the actual post, I don't really have feelings towards the character because there is always a palpable detachment from what you are playing. However, I felt that certain games do have thought provoking elements to do with the characters. For instance, you made reference to MOH, and the nature of the opening sequence made me feel about the people that actually partook in the landing sequence for real - the realism of the game and the tension of playing made me feel about what it was like for the people actually there.
V. good post, big_slow.
:)
:D
In response to the actual post, I don't really have feelings towards the character because there is always a palpable detachment from what you are playing. However, I felt that certain games do have thought provoking elements to do with the characters. For instance, you made reference to MOH, and the nature of the opening sequence made me feel about the people that actually partook in the landing sequence for real - the realism of the game and the tension of playing made me feel about what it was like for the people actually there.
V. good post, big_slow.
:)
I enjoyed reading that big_slow!
Sometimes I do find myself empathising with certain characters in a game, mainly those I control. A good example of this is Snake from MGS. He's placed in a very tense environment, and somehow the game makes me responsible for whatever happens to him. This is probably the reason why most people feel for game characters.
Sports games are a totally different issue. You don't really empathise with the players because your main aim is to score in a goal. This aim doesn't leave room for any sympathy!
Once again, great post "biggy"!
;-D
Sometimes I do find myself empathising with certain characters in a game, mainly those I control. A good example of this is Snake from MGS. He's placed in a very tense environment, and somehow the game makes me responsible for whatever happens to him. This is probably the reason why most people feel for game characters.
Sports games are a totally different issue. You don't really empathise with the players because your main aim is to score in a goal. This aim doesn't leave room for any sympathy!
Once again, great post "biggy"!
;-D
Good Post
Well, big_slow, you'll have to change your tag-line now!
Well done on the GAD :-)
Well done on the GAD :-)
well done mate. now change your tag :D
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