Are games sadder if they try to be?

[Tom_green_day]

I guess the title is explanatory. I was having a debate with someone who said that games are sadder when they set us up to fall and the whole game is around the emotions around that.
My opinion is that games are sadder when your emotions are naturally occurring due to a gameplay mechanic. For example in XCOM when you train a soldier forever and they die, I found that sadder than any story arc as it was just part of the game.
Opinions?
This post is in memory Cpt. Lauren 'Deadbolt' Thomas. Died 4/30/2015. My finest sniper ever.

 

[Rawne1980]

My opinion is that games are sadder when your emotions are naturally occurring due to a gameplay mechanic. For example in XCOM when you train a soldier forever and they die, I found that sadder than any story arc as it was just part of the game.

This I agree with.

I don't get emotional over a games actual story. They are just characters the game tells me I should care about when I just don't. I like some characters but don't get attached.

It's when I have a certain character or group of characters with me for a good length of time I get attached.

I remember raging at Skyrim when I started playing it after having Lydia with me for ages and then she died. I didn't notice and fast travelled and then saved y game so couldn't go back to before she died.

I was gutted.

Had to start again and console command her to be invincible.

 

[Rumpsteak]

I think it comes down to the competence of the writing as to whether or not "trying to be sad" comes off as emotional or ham fisted. In the hands of people who really know what they're doing I believe "intentionally sad" games will have more impact on the player than the other scenario described.

 

[Savo]

Sure, it can be sad when you lose your favorite unit or something, but for me it can't compare to well-written sad or emotional moments.

 

[AD-Stu]

It's one of those things where it really depends, both on the skill of the developer and the player's mileage.

A well-written intentional / story-driven sad moment can have a huge impact - I had a couple of them during the course of the Mass Effect 3 campaign, for example. If the story hasn't succeeded in building up a relationship with the relevant character though, then it can fall flat. Pretty much anyone in The Witcher could have been killed and I wouldn't have cared, for example.

By the same token, some people get a lot more invested in stuff like their characters or friendly NPCs dying than others.

So it really does depend, both on the player and the game. There's never going to be one right answer.

 

[Frission]

It really depends. If the whole is doom and gloom then it's not sad. Sadness that is purely through game mechanics is very difficult to share with others.

I'll leave this:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6281-Crying-Through-The-Laughs