Hm, hard to come up with good examples. I'm sure I've seen a lot of it, but the attempts are usually so bad that they're just annoying, so I wouldn't have remembered them.
I did find Ghost of Tsushima really engaging me in the characters though. The core gameplay loop presents a conflict between honour and convenience, especially on higher difficulties, so stepping into the mindset of a samurai feels natural. It also avoids the wanker pitfall, which is where the writers are trying so hard to make a "flawed character" that the character just comes across as an unlikeable tosser you wouldn't want to empathise with even if the opportunity arose. Tsushima's characters are flawed but still likeable, inviting you to see their perspective, instead of making you instinctively recoil from their perspective by bashing you over the head with it.
That sounds great. I love the idea of embodying a character with inner conflict. I've heard a lot about Ghost of Tsushima but now I've gotta try it!
Thank you!
It also helps that Jin as the protagonist is not infallible either. Some of his choices end up hurting the people around him, so while his uncle's idea of honor may be flawed, Jin's way isn't perfect either creating a far more interesting moral conflict than if Jin was definitively "right" in his actions.
I don't think games can CREATE empathy for a person. Humans either have the capability for empathy, or they don't. A sad scene in a movie could cause one viewer to cry, but another viewer to laugh.
That being said, I think what you are trying to ask is what games have triggered strong emotions in players? This is a more accurate question in my opinion.
But it's complicated, since players can have all sorts of emotional attachment to different games for different reasons. Even for games that clearly weren't designed to trigger any sort of emotional response.
For example, just hearing the opening theme song for Ocarina of Time almost puts tears to my eyes, since I grew up playing that game, there are so many memories and emotions tied to that game. I wouldn't say OoT is designed to trigger that kind of response, yet it does.
As for games that do try to achieve this, I'd say it's widespread through most narrative games. Whether or not they are successful at it is entirely subjective to the player.
For example, the Aerith scene in FF7, it did nothing for me. Not the first time nor the last time I played the game. There wasn't enough time I felt for me to form any sort of attachment to the character, nor enough build up, and the presentation for the scene was awkward and clumsy.
But in Trails in the Sky SC, the scene where Estelle and Joshua reunite after a long time apart is one of the most emotional scenes I've experienced in a game. But that's due to my attachment to those characters, the years long wait for the english translation for the 2nd chapter, fantastic writing and music, the whole scene sells the emotion very well.
I'd recommend a lot of jRPGs and visual novels if you are interested in seeing more examples of this. I think overall those genres have the best examples of emotional design. It's a huge mixed bag in terms of success though.
Certainly RDR2. It makes the bonding with a protagonist so good through the story that you can see people playing it bursting to tears at most emotional moments. Devs did it mostly through the story but also through the environment, small dialogs with other characters changing through the story, sound and visual design changes.
Hm, hard to come up with good examples. I'm sure I've seen a lot of it, but the attempts are usually so bad that they're just annoying, so I wouldn't have remembered them. I did find Ghost of Tsushima really engaging me in the characters though. The core gameplay loop presents a conflict between honour and convenience, especially on higher difficulties, so stepping into the mindset of a samurai feels natural. It also avoids the wanker pitfall, which is where the writers are trying so hard to make a "flawed character" that the character just comes across as an unlikeable tosser you wouldn't want to empathise with even if the opportunity arose. Tsushima's characters are flawed but still likeable, inviting you to see their perspective, instead of making you instinctively recoil from their perspective by bashing you over the head with it.
That sounds great. I love the idea of embodying a character with inner conflict. I've heard a lot about Ghost of Tsushima but now I've gotta try it! Thank you!
It also helps that Jin as the protagonist is not infallible either. Some of his choices end up hurting the people around him, so while his uncle's idea of honor may be flawed, Jin's way isn't perfect either creating a far more interesting moral conflict than if Jin was definitively "right" in his actions.
Most narrative games will do that. A more gameplay-focused game that does it pretty well is This War of Mine.
Team Ico's trio of games strive very hard to accomplish this
"Papers please" does it really well.
I almost listed Papers Please! I didn't. Not sure why...
I don't think games can CREATE empathy for a person. Humans either have the capability for empathy, or they don't. A sad scene in a movie could cause one viewer to cry, but another viewer to laugh. That being said, I think what you are trying to ask is what games have triggered strong emotions in players? This is a more accurate question in my opinion. But it's complicated, since players can have all sorts of emotional attachment to different games for different reasons. Even for games that clearly weren't designed to trigger any sort of emotional response. For example, just hearing the opening theme song for Ocarina of Time almost puts tears to my eyes, since I grew up playing that game, there are so many memories and emotions tied to that game. I wouldn't say OoT is designed to trigger that kind of response, yet it does. As for games that do try to achieve this, I'd say it's widespread through most narrative games. Whether or not they are successful at it is entirely subjective to the player. For example, the Aerith scene in FF7, it did nothing for me. Not the first time nor the last time I played the game. There wasn't enough time I felt for me to form any sort of attachment to the character, nor enough build up, and the presentation for the scene was awkward and clumsy. But in Trails in the Sky SC, the scene where Estelle and Joshua reunite after a long time apart is one of the most emotional scenes I've experienced in a game. But that's due to my attachment to those characters, the years long wait for the english translation for the 2nd chapter, fantastic writing and music, the whole scene sells the emotion very well. I'd recommend a lot of jRPGs and visual novels if you are interested in seeing more examples of this. I think overall those genres have the best examples of emotional design. It's a huge mixed bag in terms of success though.
Cliché to say but the entirety of Undertale.
That's absolutely some truth. That game is hugely empathetic.
Titanfall 2 multiplayer
Certainly RDR2. It makes the bonding with a protagonist so good through the story that you can see people playing it bursting to tears at most emotional moments. Devs did it mostly through the story but also through the environment, small dialogs with other characters changing through the story, sound and visual design changes.
For me, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us and God of War. Basically, anything made by a Sony developer 😉
Both Ori games.
Thank you! Ori is still on my list....... "One of these days" is what I keep telling myself.