[this piece will have spoilers so be aware]
When have you become so emotionally involved in a title or a series, that it has got the best of you.
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Sure, it happens more in a long running TV series and movies, but increasingly over the last five years, storytelling have got more important in the experience, that the emotional connection we have is inevitable. Sure, stories past haven’t all been bad, some have been amazing, but it was rare. Now, along with HD visuals, the experience is more visceral.
The problem with myself, among other things, is my lack of emotions, in a desperate attempt to act like a real man, but it wasn’t until Gears of War 3, where EPIC seemed to truly rap a series up like one should.
[spoiler] If there is one moment more remembered than any other in a Video Game was Dom meeting his end. The way he spoke and the way the character physically acted made me well-up. [/spoiler]
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In the days of brilliant voice actors, full body motion capture, and top notch visuals, its fully along side movies as an experience. Which means when a team can put a meaningful story and characters into a series, we can show to the critics that video games are an art form that can display some form of emotion.
Obviously emotion isn’t just grabbing the first thing you can and wiping your eyes with it, its also throwing a pad across a room, or screaming at the top of your voice, to the distain, or bafflement of others around you.
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It seems that frustration in some developers eyes, is seen as a replacement for what should be a challenge. Many times my pad has met its end or has become severely deformed, is due to frustration coming from, in my opinion, laziness to a solution, from a dev stand point.
Whether it be infinite spawning enemies, out of position checkpoints, or poorly thought out boss fights, these things can be game killers at times, if the rest of the title isn’t up to scratch. Most developers seem to think that boss fights are necessary, when i believe they are a dated idea which some can’t let go of, or can’t accept that you can finish a game off without one.
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A great recent example which had been covered extensively so i wont say much about is Deus Ex: Human Revolution. A game that has some of the best RPG/FPS gameplay, allowing you the ability to construct your augmentations around the way you want to play. For me, and i’m assuming for at least 51% of others, than stealth was the way to go, but once you get to a boss battle, you realize that a stun gun is pretty useless against a burly brainless brute.
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Deus Ex's boss battles were game breaking for some
Boss battles do get it right though. Nemesis in Resident Evil 3 for me was emotional in a frightening way, from the moment he jumped through the brick wall, to the final fight.
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Fear is an ill-touched subject when it comes to video games, as for a game to produce fear, it has to be entirely set around the premise of knowing whats going to happen, but not when. This can’t be confused with being shocked, when something jumps out of nowhere when your not expecting it. Titles, or should I say, early titles in the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series created these moments brilliantly.
Both franchises have kept to eachs own way to frighten the crap out of you
Both are survival horror, with Resident Evil focusing on conservation and diligence with weapons and how you approach fights, and Silent Hill sides more on full blown paranormal, psychological atmosphere which creates the tension.
When games force you to pause for a moment, not because you need to answer the phone, or to finish some chores, but because something has happened in game that has shot you so full of adrenaline that you do need to take a break, that makes for a great experience in my opinion, almost like hiding behind the back of the sofa.
Although my opinion is people also like to play survival horror games with the knowledge that they will be on the edge of their seat, or, deep in you sofa, ready for the scares. Also I think they should be played with the lights dimmed with no-one else in the house…
Like the market of survival horror titles, sports titles create a entirely different emotional connection. Everyone has there attachment, their team, whether it be the National Football League, National Hockey League, Association Football, Tennis, or even Handball.
For me, its all about playing against another opponent sitting next to you. Sure it can be done online against friends or randoms, but its not the same, its not the direct level of competition you get from dropping your controller and standing up next to your fallen adversary next to you and say… “you wanna rematch”.
What are your stand out “emotional” moments from your gaming past?