What games - if any - have moved you?

[Rossiar]

This was born from an argument with my friend were he believed that gaming was not as "productive" or "meaningful" as reading a book. Granted he conceded that film, TV and gaming are all on the same level, but the concept of a book - more specifically a work of fiction - and a game being the same thing was an alien to him. We argued back and forth and finally he comes out with the line "but has a game ever moved you?"

This got me thinking. I'm only 19 but I have played quite a lot of games. Across the genres and the consoles and from indie to AAA. What bothered me was that I could only think of a handful of games that had evoked a meaningful feeling in me. I'm not talking about the brief joy of bagging a head shot or solving that really difficult puzzle, or even the joy from moulding a character to your play style. Real emotions. The kind that - as I was acutely aware of when it was said - are found at the end of a really good book, or in a film, or even sometimes in a TV program.

My handful were:

-Portal (Deep feeling of pure joy as Still Alive played)
-Portal 2 (Broad grin spreads across my face as the end credits roll)
-Grim Fandango (Sat back in my chair, dazed wonder at the completion of this masterpiece)

Now that doesn't seem right to me. I enjoy gaming, I love it. Why then, can I not find a deeper connection with my medium? I am overjoyed to hear news of gaming being excepted as an art form and taking great strides out of obscurity and into the limelight. But it hasn't quite reached me yet. So I was wondering - what games moved you guys? I'd like to think that I've missed out on a wealth of great experiences in gaming and this place is always a good one to come to for advice.

In the lull before the Autumn releases I don't have much to play so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I want something more than just enjoyment. I want to be moved.

 

[siffty]

Heavy rain; it was just the amount of diffent storys and just all of the little thinga that made me just go wow.

 

[darth.pixie]

Planescape:Torment. I was just leaning back, contemplating and smiling.

I was also screaming in pure bloody rage at the end of Neverwinter Nights 2, if that counts. It should. That ending completely ruined my week.

 

[Jake|Ranger]

I've never been moved by a game that I can think of other than the enjoyment factor and the satification at winning. But that doesn't make books any better. I've read plenty of books and I've never really felt that moved by any.

I've been moved by movies before though. If anyone didn't get upset when Mufasa died or Bambi's mum died, you're heartless.

 

[zorration]

Bioshock
I just love the story so much ^^

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. If these games do not move you, then gaming just isn't for you.

 

[L3W15 M]

Metal gear solid. Halo reach (because you go through the game denying the fact you know everyone dies, and then you go out like a hero) Red dead redemption due to John dying to stop Jack follow in his footsteps and then Jack does anyway.
I think also half life deserves a mention.

 

[Justice4L]

Team Fortress 2... it moved me away from my pc because it is so bad

OT: Fallout 3. The whole world and atmosphere is vey moving and engaging.

Oh and one that failed to move me but tried SO hard was Halo Reach. Some of the deaths (especially Kat's) were laughable.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Nier. That got me thinking. A few instances in Dragon Age 2. The Arrival DLC for Mass Effect 2. Bioshock 2. I'm sure there are more, but I can't for the life of me remember what they are.

 

[SammiYin]

The trailer for Skyrim.
Also Conker's Bad Fur Day, poor guy.

 

[Justice4L]

The trailer for Skyrim.
Also Conker's Bad Fur Day, poor guy.

poor berry D:

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

There's a particular moment in Gears of War 2 that's quite moving.

Both endings to Red Dead Redemption.

The ending to Mafia 2.

Those are the current generation games that I can say moved me. How many books have moved you though?

 

[Ickorus]

Plenty of games have moved me, most recently of which Bastion.

 

[Richardplex]

First of all I'm insulted that gaming and Tv series have been grouped together with films. As for the topic at hand, both MEs had very satisfying conclusions, and well... Mordin Solus. Aeris' death was very moving too, despite everything else being fairly overrated. I wouldn't say games are necessarily moving, from the ones I've played, but definately evoke emotions. U think the Bioware games I've played have all made me feel every emotion.

I've never been moved by a game that I can think of other than the enjoyment factor and the satification at winning. But that doesn't make books any better. I've read plenty of books and I've never really felt that moved by any.

I've been moved by movies before though. If anyone didn't get upset when Mufasa died or Bambi's mum died, you're heartless.

Guess I'm heartless, films don't have enough time for me to be emotionally connected. I was upset with various deaths in The Wire, and circumstances in Puella Magi Madoka Magica though, so maybe I just think films aren't that good a medium *shrugs*. Oh, and I also didn't get moved by Littlefoot's mothers death either, despite loving those films as a child, bar the songs.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

Red Dead Redmption is probably gonna turn up around here a fair bit, but i can get behind that. Both soundtracks that played after the major scenes i.e. Dutch and John just fit so well i can't quite describe that feeling.

Also i was actually pretty moved by Professor Layton and Pandora's Box(that's the Diabolical Box to all you yanks). The story that was unveiled at the end was just so sad(though maybe a bit cliched). It was just so damn well done i can't get it out of my head.

 

[Archangel768]

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy X
The Secret of Monkey Island
Uncharted 2
Max Payne 1
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Persona 3: FES
Klonoa 2
Half Life 2
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Eternal Sonata

 

[Smertnik]

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. If these games do not move you, then gaming just isn't for you.

These two. Pretty much the only games that made me cry so far.

 

[sumanoskae]

Heavy Rain(Went through the entire emotional spectrum with Ethan)
Mass Effect 2(Love, regret, melancholy, pain, determination)
Dragon Age: Origins(Companionship, laughter, love, sympathy, bitter sweetness)
Dragon Age II(Only once, sadness(Not in the ironic sense))
Persona 4(Friendship, love, laughter, sympathy, bitter sweetness(Just because it ended))
Grand Theft Auto IV(Sympathy, melancholy, anger)
Red Dead: Redemption(Sadness, sympathy, melancholy, freedom)
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time(Love, regret, bitter sweetness)
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within(Regret, gloom, sympathy, melancholy)
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones(Relief. Again, only once)
Fallout 3(Melancholy)
The Darkness(Pain, rage, serene sadness)
Fable(Rage, hatred, pride, glory)
KoTOR II(Regret, epiphany, unresolved connection, melancholy)
God of War(Sympathy, rage, disgust, sadness, melancholy(A lot of that, here))
Demon's Souls(Disgust, fear, gloom, grim determination)

And that's just the emotional side of things, there's also the intellectual side. The deep themes and messages that games can convey.

Mass Effects commentary on the cycles of life and human nature.

Dragon Ages exploration of the pursuit of happiness versus the upholding of responsibly, as well as it's comments on the limits of control, and at times the very nature of happiness.

Personas reflections on hope, growing up, truth and the need for acceptance versus the need for identity.

Heavy Rain uses it's visceral emotion to question your morals in regards to loyalty and love in opposition to integrity and self preservation.

Prince of Persia paints a bitter sweet portrait of what people walk away from, what they think they need, and how often they'll repeat the same mistake, over and over, in the pursuit of a fantasy that's ruined them time and time again. Life is a cycle of constantly trying to close old wounds by opening new ones, and maturity is about being able to accept that. That's the point of the PoP trilogy(This is getting long, you get the point and you can stop here, if you wish).

Fallout 3's world meditates on humanities deterioration, and questions the inevitability of doom. "War never changes"

KoTOR II subverts every Star Wars trope there is, and subverts a great deal many other things, the meaning of power, the meaning of wisdom, the purpose of peace and war, and the very idea of moral dichotomy. It goes so far as to suggest that the standards of such things are nothing more then childish fantasy, and I'd actually be inclined to agree with it. KoTOR II remains one of the only pieces of fiction to have ever changed the way I thought abut life

GTA IV somberly parodies American culture and the American dream. At the same time, it parodies ambition, and walks the fine line of tragedy and comedy, it achieves both simultaneously. There aren't that many films or books that can do that

Red Dead: Redemption's themes are somewhat of a combination of GTA IV's and Fallout 3's. It subverts western tropes, explores survival against virtue, and the cycles and futilitys of life.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Paste and print it if you want, show it to your friend and ask him to prove me wrong.

 

[brunothepig]

Absolutely. Most recently Bastion. That was an amazing game. And there's your recommendation. Apart from that, Klonoa, and COD4 actually made me feel quite emotional at the end. Morrowind never fails to fill me with awe. There's more, those just immediately came to mind.

Guess I'm heartless, films don't have enough time for me to be emotionally connected.

I'm the same. Rare films do move me, but mostly I stick to shows because there's far more time for characterisation and to set up a plot.

 

[Captain Booyah]

God, I hate people like that. It is so, so ignorant. I probably read more than I game, and just because a couple hundred pages are bound together and stuck on the inside of a cover does not, repeat DOES NOT, give it the same literary value as Hamlet. Period. If only I could claim back the amount of time I've wasted reading shitty books that have been about as enjoyable and educational as staring at a wall.

The first game that springs to mind is Silent Hill 2. Not only do I subconsciously judge everything else based on the standards of storytelling SH2 set, but I was sobbing my little eyes out at the end of it; and I *never* cry, let alone at a piece of fiction. I don't think anything from any medium has ever moved me so much as that game.

Also, I thought that BioShock's characters were a hell of a lot more well-drawn than most others, and had a humanity in them that elicited a lot of sympathy in me. (Which isn't even including the sadness or wonder of a fallen utopia itself.) Fallout 3 is also extremely moving, just from the depressing landscape in itself to the little things, like the skeleton couple holding each other on the bed.

And need I mention the end of Half-Life 2's second episode?