racketboy.com

For a long time now I have been interested in games that can hit us on an emotional level. I think games have proven to be very good at generating fear, excitement, and rage; but it's a little less common for them to elicit sadness or melancholy. So I'm curious, are there any games that have made you feel sad, and especially are there any that made you so sad that you got a bit misty eyed? What happened in the game that was so sad? Also, did the interactivity of the gameplay add to the emotional experience?

SPOILER WARNING: This thread will talk about characters that die and other losses. It's only natural, given the topic. Be forewarned.

Ico, I think that says enough right there

Also, when Agro dies on Shadow of the Colossus was another moment.

Yeah. There'd be list involved, but it'd just be a bunch of spoilers for Mother 3.

I didn't personally cry at this scene, but I've heard some people say that they cried at the part of MGS3 where you have to kill The Boss. And the interactivity of the scene added to that, since the player has to pull the trigger himself.

Bradtemple87 wrote:Also, when Agro dies on Shadow of the Colossus was another moment.

I don't think I realized how much I cared about that horse until he was gone. When he fell I realized that he had been my sole companion through the entire lonely journey. I felt bad not only because he was gone, but I'd taken him for granted. I was a little surprised by that.

One of the things that I think was brilliiant about Agro as a game character was that he didn't control like a gaming vehicle. Agro was an artificial intelligence. He could be stubborn and fight you a little bit. If you needed to focus on archery, he could take care of galloping just fine on his own. The controls were designed to make him feel like an entity separate from the player rather than an extension of the players will, like a typical video game mount. Ironically, I think it was by separating Agro from the players control that they actually made us feel closer to him. Thus, once he was gone, it felt like you really had lost someone who had been there for you in the past, and not simply just misplaced your bicycle.

BoringSupreez wrote:\the part of MGS3 where you have to kill The Boss. And the interactivity of the scene added to that, since the player has to pull the trigger himself.

I've never felt the urge to cry from playing a game, but this is definitely one of the most profound scenes I've ever seen in a video game. The entire thing was crafted so incredibly well. The fight, the dialogue, the sequence of it all, just wow.

I don't remember a time when a game made me cry in sadness. I do remember crying in rage, but only once.

J T wrote:Thus, once he was gone, it felt like you really had lost someone who had been there for you in the past, and not simply just misplaced your bicycle.

I thought they kind of stomped on any feelings we might've had for Agro after (spoilers) he just came back alive at the ending. Not to mention the unlikelihood that a horse would survive a fall like that. As much as I liked Agro, I don't feel he should've come back.

J T wrote:

Bradtemple87 wrote:Also, when Agro dies on Shadow of the Colossus was another moment.

I don't think I realized how much I cared about that horse until he was gone. When he fell I realized that he had been my sole companion through the entire lonely journey. I felt bad not only because he was gone, but I'd taken him for granted. I was a little surprised by that.

One of the things that I think was brilliiant about Agro as a game character was that he didn't control like a gaming vehicle. Agro was an artificial intelligence. He could be stubborn and fight you a little bit. If you needed to focus on archery, he could take care of galloping just fine on his own. The controls were designed to make him feel like an entity separate from the player rather than an extension of the players will, like a typical video game mount. Ironically, I think it was by separating Agro from the players control that they actually made us feel closer to him. Thus, once he was gone, it felt like you really had lost someone who had been there for you in the past, and not simply just misplaced your bicycle.

I think a lot of people took him for granted. I know I definitely did the first time I played through the game

DinnerX wrote:I don't remember a time when a game made me cry in sadness. I do remember crying in rage, but only once.

I've done that more than once, sadly. In my defense, I was younger than 10. And the crying replaced the controller throwing other people sometimes do, so really it was the better alternative.

And by the way, guys, I haven't finished playing through Shadow of the Colossus. Thanks for spoiling it for me.