Survey What situations have you encountered in single-player games that have struck you emotionally ? Even if it was only in your head, ie. you misinterpreted the signs and thought that you were being tricked .. This doesn''t include "meaningless" gameplay based ones.. ie. when your friend beat you to the rocket launcher in Quake ("meaningless" as in there is no game-world CONTEXT for this action to matter, beyond the matter of winning-losing-drawing.). But instead is about feeling for characters in games, thinking that the meeting that has been arranged in the pub is a trap set because they have found out that you helped the outlaw get to the healer, helping an old lady across the road or what have you.

Ok, I''m going to get tarred and feathered here, but. . .

When Aeris died in FFVII, I thought it was a really great moment. I can''t say I was emotionally attached to any of the characters in that game, but just the anime sequence, taken by itself, was outstanding.

[offtopic]
Does anyone know a way to extract the FMV''s from FFVII and VIII? They''re the only reason I suffered through that dreck, and I''d like to see them again w/out subjecting my mind (and thumbs!) to such obscene punishment.
[/offtopic]

The only games that have really elicited an emotional reaction from me through the gameplay (and no, adrenaline does not count) have been ones that played up the suspense & horror. Thief, Metal Gear Solid, and the second Resident Evil come to mind. What set these apart was the AI tho'', combined w/ great atmosphere. In Thief, the fact that the gaurds gossiped, got spooked by noises, cursed my mother, etc. made me think twice about offing them! The AI in Resident Evil was perfect for its place. The zombies were freakin'' relentless!!! Hiding in a locked office, three bullets left in the chamber, rummaging through the desks for spare ammo, zombies scratching at the door. . . if you haven''t, play it in the dark sometime. . .alone. . .(BTW, horror movies don''t affect me in the slightest. But when you have a personal stake in the outcome, its a different story altogether)

If you see the Buddha on the road, Kill Him. -apocryphal

Hell, I HATE Squaresoft games, but cinematically, that was a great moment. The most excellent choice they made was for there to be no music throughout the entire scene, inluding the battle. It got me, even, and I hated the character.

For me that most incredible moment came at the end of Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Sega saturn. The game left me in a haze for three days when I beat it. It''s not something I can explain....

Walking into (Fall?''s) tattoo-parlour''s backroom in Plansecape: Torment and thinking that I had walked into a serial-killer''s room and was about to be killed. I RAN out of there pretty quick. This is an example of something just being in the player''s mind.

(All the skin with tattoos on)

In Baldur''s Gate, helping the sick (guard deserter/ outlaw) by taking him to the healer, and then later on having a kid try to take me to a meeting in the pub.. only to find out that it was like the national guard and I thought that they had found out about me and were setting me up.

(Long-term consequence of a player action, even though again this was only in the player''s head if they thought like that.).

Offtopic --Anonymous Poster, you can certainly watch the FMV (avi / mov?) in Final Fantasy 7, just find the folder with it in and double click on it. Enough talk of FMV please.

Mmm, I know this is not exactly what you want, but I HAVE to say it.
The cinematics made by Blizzard, in Starcraft, Diablo II and the incoming Warcraft III give me thrills all over the place every single time I see them (the Ork stampede for WIII, the nuclear device dropping in Starcraft, the 7 min movie for Diablo II ... I couldnt be bothered playing this thing).
I played only a few hours of Final Fantasy VIII but loved every minute of it. Especially the fact that, not knowing the game, and believing that I could kill the Massive Spider Robot in the communication Tower, I lost a lot of time. so much in fact, that when the time comes for me to leave the island in a dramatic cinematic, my timer was running a 10 seconds countdown, and I was starting to worry that I'd have to restart from the last save point. THAT was absolutely unbelievable. When suddenly the game started playing the cinematic and the countdown faded out on a 01 second ... I was just SO relieved Hadn't had that in ages !

Those erotic manga games also have curious effects on my anatomy... uhh ... no, that's not what I wanted to say. I like the involvement they require. You can't get ALL the girls, you habe to make choices and stick with them, or you get naught (Seasons of Sakura, especially). Am I gonna go for the artsy shy girl, or for the swimming champion bitch? mmmm, hard choice indeed.
OK, you could take that paragraph as a joke, but I am not joking that much really

Some great moments have to be when you meet old known faces. I played Ultima VII. And meeting with my old friends again in the castle in Ultima Underworld II was a blast. Much more than a "oh I can play with my 30th level character again".

If adrenaline levels count I have to talk about FPS. Sometimes, they just kick major ass. I worried once or twice in HalfLife, loved the atmosphere, but it wasn't that scary. Doom was cool with all the lighting tricks, I got my share of adrenaline rushes ...
But I still remember the *PH3AR* I felt when I played the first world in Quake and this awful beast jumped at my face and ripped me apart in two shots That was great.
Same with the cyberdogs in Quake II. I got attacked and ripped apart in seconds. And for the rest of the game, I was just totally scared anytime I would hear their little noise. I would look all around the place, check my health, check my gun, get totally paranoid, and shoot until I'll gib them just to be sure ... all this while screaming and yelling at the screen "DIE you Bitch, BLAM BLAM yaaah take that !! who's barking now ?! BLAM BLAM".
Yeah, gotta love that
Sometimes, fear is good. But only if there is a chance to get out of it. If it becomes a Reload until you suceed, it sucks. I want emotion, not humiliation (I still wonder how I managed to play the whole Prince of Persia without getting a nervous breakdown ... oh yeah, the excellent sword fights ! )

youpla :-P

Edited by - ahw on October 21, 2000 4:30:48 PM

The only one that comes to mind is the guards in Thief. As you''ve already mentioned it''s because of the attention to detail in the AI. The guard''s random singing to themselves, joking w/ one another, and so on made the player feel like they were more than "the terrible enemy that must be killed".


""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

"All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be." -Pink Floyd

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

Alys'' death in PS4. At the risk of being called a pussy (or worse), I''ll just say that this was one of the most emotional moments in gaming... and this was during the 8-bit era when FMV was unheard of.

Btw, go get an emu and play that series.. you won''t regret it.

Pretty much all of xenogears elicited emotion from me, mostly a what-the-hell/whoa thing... anyway...

Also, the "erotic manga games" have an uncanny ability to create atmosphere/mood... (the good ones anyway). In the end of nocturnal illusion, when you had to choose who you would take with you out of the psuedo-universe made me feel a bit melancholy/sad/whatever.

This is pretty much unique to FPSs'', but any situation where there is an eerie calm, then you''re suddenly thrown into a situation with no escape other than to fight your way out through lotsa enemies always make me panic.

I know you said to avoid this but... in TFC, I constantly jump out of my seat when shot by snipers... this happens in CS too, when I''m shot by anybody. Its just the ''waiting... waiting... waiting.. AGGUGHH!!! BAM BAM'' scenario I guess..

There were moments while I was playing Sanitarium when I completely forgot the real world existed. There was a moment of utter horor and sickening amusement when a little kid wheeled his friend''s corpse by in a little red wagon... .

So anyway, is there a list of these "erotic manga games" anywhere? And are there any where you have to get guys? Fun fun fun...

Back when I played X-Com, I had a great squad that had been together for over 50 missions. One day while responding to a terror mission a single alien took out my entire team in one turn. Boom, just like that I was kicked back into the world screen with no transport plane and no soldiers. It took a few for the realization to come over me that I was screwed.

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How you like them apples?

I have to agree about the Aeris thing, and most anything that relates to is. I have no idea why this creates just a dramatic response, it just does =P

Also, in Theif II (I assume there are things like this in Thief I, but I never played it) when the large Mechanist Machines came walking in to the room when you were doing something... Anyway, that seriously put me on edge, I''d only play the game in the dark to see the screen better and I bought a better set of headphones just to hear people walking better .

The eleventh hour did some good (or bad, depends on your personality I guess) things to your head. Nothing ever jumps out at you, but walking into a kitchen with fingers on the counter really gives you that death will soon follow by something jumping out of the dark corner feeling .


Null and Void
At least I don't know COBOL...