The game that made you cry
Some games have good stories. I love the crazy Metal Gear universe, I like some of the Zelda stories, and Resident Evil 4 is an awesome action movie in video game form. But I had never really cared about the story of a game. It was always supplemental to the game itself, and not the key ingredient. I might say to someone "the gameplay is great and the story is pretty cool!", but I would never say "play this game because it has a good story!"
I believe a truly exceptional piece of art is something that can bring you to tears. For a fictional story to do that, it means it had the power to transport us to another world and make us believe everything unfolding before us is really happening. We believe the motivation of the characters, and sympathise with their situation. When I was a child I'd cry at any story. Since becoming an adolescent there are a very small amount of movies that have had this affect on me, and because of this they earn a special place in my heart. If a movie makes me cry, it's a perfect movie in my opinion. Some examples that spring to mind:
- About Schmidt
- One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Toy Story 3
- Up (particularly impressive considering the particular scene in mind is right at start of the movie)
- Bruno (ok, this one's a joke, I was just crying of laughter)
No game had ever done this to me. Why would it? They're games! They aren't trying to tell stories. They don't want to tug at our heart strings, they just want to make us feel awesome for reaching level 59, or whatever. I always wanted to play a game that made me feel emotions I'd never felt before when playing, but I never saw it happening.
I remember Heavy Rain director David Cage said that his game would make everyone cry. I understand my opinion on this one may be controversial, but when I played it and found the experience unintentionally funny. The drama was so forced and none of it felt real. The plot and characters made no sense, and the performances were dull. The visual style had no personality. It's a pretty lifeless game in my opinion. I didn't care for the choices I made in the story, because the game fell so flat in making me care about what was going on. People cited Heavy Rain as one of the greatest examples of interactive storytelling, and I thought, if this is as good as it's gonna get, they're never going to have a profound effect on me.
When the first season of The Walking Dead concluded, it was getting GOTY awards from many publications, the unanimous verdict being it tells an amazing story with characters you care about. Really? I'm not gonna fall for that one again. Give up, games!
Well, as you can probably guess, I gave it a shot. It changed my opinion on games forever. Wow. I was a total wreck when I got to the end. This was the game I have always wanted to play. The visual style gave life to the characters. The performances were outstanding. The script was incredible. Telltale effortlessly manipulated my emotions in ways no game (or even movie) had ever achieved. For the first time ever, I felt like the choices I made in a game really mattered. The Walking Dead is a masterpiece, and demonstrated to me that the Point & Click genre is the perfect genre for a story-centric game. I don't think any game has come close since, though I do need to check out The Last of Us.
Now season two has finished... and it somehow bettered the first one for me! I believe both seasons are perfection but I was always on edge in the second. Everything felt more emotionally impactful due to playing as the innocent young girl we grew to love in the first game. And the first game is very emotional! I can't give it enough praise. Maybe I'm alone on this, but I love it more than any movie I've ever seen because I've never cared about any story as much as I have with TWD. Clementine is my all-time favourite video game character. Lee is my 2nd.
Here are my questions to you all
What movies / games have made you cry? Did anyone else doubt that The Walking Dead was gonna be as good as everyone said it was? Did you find season two more emotional than the first?
Comments
I didn't cry at the end of season one, someone already spoiled it for me. I hope the second season won't be spoiled for me
I kind of saw the end of season one would end. It was the execution of it that made it so special, I think.
I hope people mark their own spoilers because I'm sure some will want to discuss specific parts of season 2. You'll wanna be careful on this forum as lots of thread titles give stuff away!
Games (i put them in order from the most sad):
MW3 is an odd choice, I respect your opinion though
I did, I got nothing out of the story though. Though I gotta say MW1 had a pretty badass ending, that helicopter shot was awesome
If you played MW1, MW2 and MW3 you'd understand why xD
I did, I got nothing out of the story. MW1 had a pretty badass ending though, that helicopter shot was awesome
No films have really made me cry, because in my opinion, they don't come close to the emotional impact of games. That said, there aren't a lot of games that have made me cry either. I kind of have a heart of stone. But those games up there have managed to break through that stone.
It's interesting that you feel the exact opposite to how I felt before. MGS3 did have a very good ending. MGS4 was also great but could have done with a bit of cutting down.
Games (aside from TWD):
-Mass Effect 3
-Rule of Rose
-Final Fantasy X and X-2
The only movie that's made me cry is A. I. Artificial Intelligence.
-Heavy Rain
-The Walking Dead Season 1 & 2
-Mass Effect
-Metal Gear Solid 4
Dark Souls
Final Fantasy VI
Mass Effect 3
Mega Man X5
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Walking Dead: Season One
The Walking Dead: Season Two
I'm weird
I've cried in The Walking Dead both Seasons, The Last Of Us, The Hunger Games both movies and Guardians Of The Galaxy
It's weird cause I laugh in horror movies x.x
Most horror movies are funny, unless they do everything right they just end up looking really corny
Lol Scary Movie... xd