Games that have.moved You?

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matmico399
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Games that have.moved You?

Postby matmico399 » March 17th, 2018, 8:44 pm

I am currently reading a book on gaming call “Extra Lives” by Tom Bissell.

In the book he interviews and game expert who is often disappointed in the gaming industry. His reason is simple. With very rare exception games don’t tend to emotionally move you such as films or books. Sure they are fun, but he thinks that as an art forms, gaming in some sorts should be as compelling as the other two mediums. Has there been a game with a storyline that had you emotionally involved. I can’t think of many but one for me would be Snatcher.

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Retro STrife
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby Retro STrife » March 17th, 2018, 9:55 pm

I seek out games like this often. They do exist, if you're consciously looking for them. And there's a lot more nowadays than there used to be, as storytelling has improved, and the characters have become more realistic and "human" (both graphically and with how they are written).

The first game that popped in my head was The Last of Us. In a similar vein, Uncharted 4 has its moments too. A number of indie games try to go this route.. What Remains of Edith Finch is a recent one that comes to mind. It's definitely harder trying to think of older games that fit the bill, but Final Fantasy VII was one that did it for me at a few parts.

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SpaceGuitarist
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby SpaceGuitarist » March 18th, 2018, 7:06 am

Mh, when I was 14 the idea that videogames could be a legitimate art form was really exciting, but I eventually lost all interest for it. With age, I've come to realise that what I seek in videogames couldn't be further from "art", or at least from the idea of art that most people in the videogame industry seem to have: art as writing, narrative and direction, like in films and books. I don't really care for it and I think videogames shouldn't necessarily try to be that kind of thing. As a matter of fact, I tend to get bored when videogames try too hard to have the same artistic relevance of films or books because it either comes at the expense of what makes a videogame "a videogame" (the ludic qualities, so to speak) or it simply ends up being abysmal art.

However, I think games can be artistic in many ways. One example I like is Pikmin 3, a wonderful game that has no narrative and almost no plot, very basic in its writing, but manages to be incredibly poetic through little non-verbal snippets, like showing the flowers bending, or the water flowing, or by having the Pikmin move in a clumsy way like little ants. Something that certainly won't make you question life and death like Guernica or The Brothers Karamazov, but still something that can move you in its own way - you know, a bit like those "moments of being" used by modernist writers, little impressions that hit you here and there, and then it's up to you to use them in your own life. There are other examples too: finding an elegant solution to a problem can be artistic - I think of Space Giraffe and how it took a holy cow (Tempest), changed one single element and actually turned the whole game inside-out. That's the kind of sophistication videogames need, and that what makes them not movies, not novels, not music etc.

Instead, I see a lot of people with no taste and no sensibility trying to make the next Citizen Kane, or the next Waiting for Godot...and failing miserably.

Herschie
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby Herschie » March 19th, 2018, 11:38 am

Even sports games should take this note. One thing that comes to mind is this moment I had playing MLB: The Show. Played all 162 games, but came up short in the playoffs. It's disappointing. You sort of sit there for awhile, watching the other team celebrate as you wonder what could have been, thinking about the hours you put into the game.

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Things like that make me wish that sports games did a better job showing emotion. Even when you win it feels underwhelming.

But yeah, they can be more moving. Like plenty of moments in Zelda.

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ptdebate
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby ptdebate » March 19th, 2018, 3:08 pm

I find this perspective very odd. Usually these critics ignore entire genres when they make their assessments - for example, the virtual novel genre is devoted entirely to storytelling. But for a few examples of games I have played (or replayed) recently that feature very moving stories (or at least stories with emotionally impactful moments):

In no particular order...

Florence
Lost Odyssey
The Walking Dead
Final Fantasy X
Nier: Automata (and other games by Yoko Taro, such as the original Nier)
Shadow of the Colossus
To the Moon
MGS3
The Witcher 3
Life is Strange
Persona 4
Persona 5

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Matchstick
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby Matchstick » March 19th, 2018, 3:31 pm

Herschie wrote:tmp_17956-rsz_tmp_17956-20180319_103015140512258246628158.jpg


Oh, geez, Herschie! As a lifelong Cubs fan, the last thing I needed was yet another shot of Mark Grace sulking on the bench after a wasted season. Loved that guy to death, but man, he hardly ever had a team around him in Chicago. Glad he got traded to Arizona at the end of his career and won a World Series with the Diamondbacks.

I feel like I'll have some more to add to this conversation at some point, but my train of thought got seriously derailed by the photo log there. Great series of shots!

matmico399
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby matmico399 » March 19th, 2018, 4:54 pm

Pt agree on Life is Strange. Emotionally so gripping and a very unique game. I give it an A-

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Stalvern
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby Stalvern » March 19th, 2018, 6:48 pm

Earthbound and Mother 3, of course. (Maybe even Mother, but good luck getting me to play through that relic.) The typical earnest indie game wishes it could be half as authentic.

The Neverhood starts out very silly but gets real near the end. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't played the game, but the stakes go from the level of Looney Tunes to something more like The Iron Giant.

Knytt Underground is loaded with different people living out individual lives, all put together in a coherent overall picture. There's a novel's worth of text in the game, but it's consistently engaging (if occasionally heavy-handed), and the brilliant platform gameplay is always front-and-center. Anyone reading this should buy the game right now on Steam or their system of choice (PS3/Wii U/Vita); it's dirt-cheap.

Knytt Stories (which is free!) was designed from the beginning to be played with user-created levels, and Fubaka's "Cosmic Meltdown" puts most stand-alone games to shame. On the surface, it's a fairly short and straightforward adventure about escaping a melting planet, but if you find all the secrets, you get an "ending" that turns it into something much more. I don't want to say too much, but the game's contrast between the godlike and pathetic can only be meaningful in a game that is itself godlike, and Fubaka manages it perfectly, right up to the closing words. Both depressing and lingeringly hopeful.

Gleebergloben123
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby Gleebergloben123 » March 19th, 2018, 7:37 pm

Chrono Trigger, SNES. Great music, memorable characters, cute story, and of course an epic game.

Herschie
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Re: Games that have.moved You?

Postby Herschie » March 21st, 2018, 1:59 pm

Matchstick wrote:
Herschie wrote:tmp_17956-rsz_tmp_17956-20180319_103015140512258246628158.jpg


Oh, geez, Herschie! As a lifelong Cubs fan, the last thing I needed was yet another shot of Mark Grace sulking on the bench after a wasted season. Loved that guy to death, but man, he hardly ever had a team around him in Chicago. Glad he got traded to Arizona at the end of his career and won a World Series with the Diamondbacks.

I feel like I'll have some more to add to this conversation at some point, but my train of thought got seriously derailed by the photo log there. Great series of shots!


Thanks. That shot was after Game 5 of the 1989 NLCS. The Cubs lost 3-2, and the Giants had wrapped up the series. Grace was unbelievable in those 5 games, hitting .647. Unfortunately, Will Clark hit .650.

I do like how people made the 1989 rosters that I can download.

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