myhrik

The ending of TLJ is the closest I ever got to shedding a tear, with Grim probably as a second. Oh, and let's not forget the ending of Full Throttle, either. Although it hardly made me cry, it made me feel really... I don't know, it was just a sort of "amvibalence" (is that even a word?) to that ending, I just didn't know how to feel about the way it ended! Until I finally decided that it was brilliant.

Oh... I'm ashamed! I still haven't completed Syberia... And I haven't even PLAYED GK3... And Silent Hill, I don't even know what kind of game it is!!

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wilco

Electronic Arts almost made me cry when I finally played Lord of the rings : the two towers and saw how they could mess a fantastic story into a stupid mindless action game.... I HATE THEM!!!!
But that's what they to every franchise they get their claws on... I just hoped that one would be different.

As for really dramatic moments in-game, i would have to say the FF VII moment that was already talked about was the most intense. Syberia also has its moments, but the most dramatic... i would have to say the ending of starcraft!! Its epic and dramatic and tha characters are just great!

Dervish

I can only remember one instance where a computer game put me on the verge of tears. The game was "Shannara" (published by Legend, designed by the Coles), the scene was when Shella died in Jak's arms.

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redhotray

Final Fantasy X, which I have only recently completed, brought tears to my eyes. The ending was just so beautiful. You become so attached to the characters in the story, the game makes you feel like you're part of the group, taking part in their expedition, discovering what they discover. You start the game out, knowing that the success rate is nigh on impossible, yet you fight on, because you believe in a small amount of hope.

When I felt a tear roll down my cheek, I smiled, because I believed in a game that much, allowing it to overule my emotions. It was worth the price of purchase alone!

Full Throttles ending was nicely done as well I thought, as was Grims.

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Simo Sakari Aaltonen

About twenty minutes after I'd posted the premier message in this thread, feeling peeved about the comment I quoted, I started having an odd sense of déjà vu... About ten minutes further I was totally convinced there had been a thread with a very similar theme not so long ago - on whether games can actually produce feelings other than laughter. And soon I was pretty darn certain it may even had had this very same title.

I even followed that thread at the time because it is a topic that interests me... But I had no desire to rip off someone else's thread - title and all! Nor did I do so consciously, but the earlier thread did no doubt play some part in the creation of this new one, even if only by lingering in my subconsious memory.

Mind you, I did consider other titles, notably "Has a computer game made you cry?" and "You'll believe a computer game can make you cry!" - but "Can a computer game make you cry?" felt the most right, all things considered.

Better late than never: Credit and acknowledgment for the topic of this thread to Intrepid Homoludens, who definitely got there first!

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Ninja Dodo

I thought Starcraft was very moving... the combination of excellent atmospheric cutscenes that set the tone and the briefings and in-game dialog that carried the story made for a very involving narrative.

In answer to the question... moreso than films or literature. Those two can invoke great empathy in their audience but nowhere near as much as you could potentially invoke when the player is actively involved. This is why non-linear games are more powerful than linear ones... or at least have the potential to be. It's not even about the replay value, it's about player involvement.

To illustrate, when I shoot the marines in Half Life, it's simply me or them. If I don't want to die, I have to kill them. But in Deus Ex, because you have means of merely temporarily disabling your opponents, you are given the choice. This choice then gives the act of killing much more significance. In other games your enemies are just cannon fodder, but in Deus Ex I actually felt guilty for killing my enemies.

I'm not entirely sure, cause for fear of spoilers I didn't read this entire thread closely, but from what I can tell all the emotional moments mentioned here are cutscenes. Now what does that say about games?

Simo Sakari Aaltonen

I agree with your points. I was just thinking yesterday how the dialogue in most adventure games, even really good ones, is to such a large extent chit chat and information gathering - it's like you're just shooting the breeze with these other people in the game, even in situations where you'd expect the protagonist to be emotionally involved.

A dialogue scene still hasn't made me cry. (Unless the ending of Grim Fandango had something in this regard - I'll definitely have to replay it again. It's shameful that I only remember that the ending was moving, not what parts of it - dialogue, cinematics, or both?) Dialogue scenes have made me feel excited, on the edge, bored, amused, giddy, frustrated, relaxed, and intrigued. But not moved to tears.

It's also noteworthy that the truly moving moments I have seen in games so far have all been in cutscenes or cinematics, not during active gameplay. But then, aren't cinematics as much part of a game as anything else? What's "active gameplay", anyway? Where does the line go between passive viewing and active involvement in situations where you are emotionally involved, regardless of whether or not you're in active control at that exact moment?

Trying to make a distinction in this regard is only useful up to a certain point - since at some point all the elements of the game should meld together to form one encompassing whole - but it is a distinction worth considering, if we want to find ways to make more emotionally involving games.

Consider a hypothetical situation in an alternate-universe version of Gabriel Knight 3. You as Gabriel have seen your friend from the N.O.P.D. digging around in the valley at night earlier on in the game. You have reminisced and done some catching up, and you feel for him as you would for a real-life friend.

It is now the following night. You have gotten up at 2 A.M. to sneak around the village and drive around the valley in hopes of seeing something someone else might not want you to see. You come across Mosely's purple moped - a sight that still makes you smile along with the character you're controlling. You also note that the moped is lying on the ground, not properly parked. You proceed further into the location - say, L'homme mort.

There are several tracks of footprints on the ground - not surprising considering Mosely has been here before. There's that hole he's been digging. And, drawing closer, you see he's there too. The top of his balding head, shining in the moonlight, is showing over the edge of the hole - it looks like he's taking a break, leaning against the wall of the hole. How still he is, though, has he fallen asleep?

You figure it out. Move the camera closer and see for yourself. Click on him and choose "Look".

This and what follows - all with you in continuous control of the main character - is an example of a potentially profoundly moving segment of "active gameplay". It certainly can be done.

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Simo Sakari Aaltonen

I feel it doesn't say anything about games, but rather about game designers so far - mainly that they have wanted to make certain the most emotionally important moments in the game will have the desired impact. Taking complete control of the camera, music, dialogue, etc. is the surest way to achieve that - but not the ideal one, I agree.

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James

i cried at the end of grim fandango. but then again, it is me.

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WontonGoodsoup

I think computer games for sure can make you cry just like a movie or a book can. I personally havn't. But i read someone mention FFX, and yes, that is kind of a sad one, but also hopeful. GF was sad too. It's always sad when you see your character leaves at the end.

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Jake

It doesn't matter if the emotional moments are in cutscenes or not. People wouldn't have the same attachment to the characters in Grim Fandango for instance, if it was simply a movie. The emotions in that game come straight out of the gameplay.

A less tearful moment that serves this point well is when Glottis rips out his heart. If you saw him do that in a movie, you might be thinking "stupid git," but you wouldn't be actively frustred with Glottis himself like many people are when they see him do that in the game -- they know that they've gotta go and spend time getting this idiots heart back for him instead of just watching the guy on screen do it.


A better example of this is apparently in Ico, but I haven't played it for more than a few minutes in a store so I couldn't tell you.

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Phantom

Some games have made me cry just because of the sheer genius displayed.

Most notably: the ending movie of the Terran campaign in Starcraft (and several other points in the brilliant storyline) and somewhere near the end of KOTOR (I'm not going to get into detail on this, as I would be spoiling the game for others).


And it makes perfect sense to take over control of the game for the most emotional moments. I really don't think there's really an alternative... The only way to get to a real emotional climax is by making sure the music, graphics, characters etc are all in sync.

myhrik

Ah, brilliant. I'm playing KotOR now, and love it. But I really suck at RPGs, so I guess it'll take a long time...

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Marek

Jake: yeah, I think the most powerful moments are when gameplay and story intersect.

Like in Prince of Persia when the prince takes a jab at the princess ("it will be hard for you but try to keep up" or whatever) and then the princess runs off extremely fast and you, as a player, are like ... "wait a minute?! you're supposed to help me in battle, I don't want to lose you!" and so you rush after her. I thought that was a nice little moment.

And yeah ICO has a ton of examples. You really start to care for ... whatever the girl's name was. I only played ICO for like 2 hours

I think Tim Schafer says some stuff about this in his gamestudies.org interview.

Ninja Dodo

It's arguable whether emotional moments happening mid-gameplay are better than in cutscenes or not... but what's more important is the point that Jake makes. Something can be in a cutscene, but if it directly relates to the gameplay it becomes all the more powerful. This again brings us to non-linearity... if the main character makes a foolish decision and as a result something sad happens, you sympathize... but if you are the one that made the decision you feel not just sadness, but guilt, regret... empathy.

I think there's a lot to learn from the way Broken Sword 3 uses cinematography. There's some really clever camera angles going on and it's all interactive. Granted, the cutscenes are even more cinematic but it clearly shows how camera angles and such can be used to heighten the emotional impact in-game.

Zygomaticus

Dude, do you know Remixor?!

Moron Lite

No, why? Does he make use of ellipses a lot?

Oh, by the way: who wants to help me punch each of the EA execs that show up at GDC? We'll do it every time they open their mouths to speak.

Zygomaticus

(He goes to Berkeley too!)

Moron Lite

Whoa! Hey! *checks his AG bio* Wonder if he'd want to do music for an indie game?

Zack

Before, I go on here, please be aware that I am going to divulge some spoilers for games with sad scenes that everybody may or may not have played. Here we go:

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: There's a scene where Junior Wilkes, one of Sam Fisher's allies dies from gunshot wounds. I cried when I watched that scene because I felt sorry for him.

Also, In Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon, something tragic happens to a man who is George's partner and friend. I found myself liking that character as I played that game, and I was very sad when that tragedy happened.

Other than that, I haven't played any of my old adventure games for a while, so I can't really say if they had some sad scenes or not. I still do remember the ending for Grim Fandango, though.