Emotions Part 1: Anger

August 9th, 2010 at 12:13 pm -

As the controller sails across the room, few choices are left before me: vow to never play the game again, swear until I run out of breath, or burn the disk into ashes. Every gamer at one time or another has this feeling of frustration. When someone mentions anger with video games, this is what we picture first. A good example for me would be Bionic Commando. Every time I went into a radiated area and died INSTANTLY I wanted to rip my own eyes out! But anger does not have to always mean a bad thing.

Sometimes, a game designer will design a game with the intention of making you angry. Not to make you hate the game, but to make you become more emotionally attached to the story. Fable 2 is a good example. In the beginning of the game, your sister gets murdered. Each person may have their own reaction to this but I was pissed! Especially because at the time there seemed to be no reason for her death. I felt angry, but not out of hate for the game. I actually felt a stronger connection to the story and wanted to kill the bastard that took my sister from me! I had an even stronger feeling near the end of the game, but I will not spoil it for others. If you’ve played it, you can probably guess what I’m talking about.

Another example would be Assassin’s Creed 2. I’m not sure if this is a spoiler or not because it happens in the beginning of the game, but advert your eyes if you wish not to know. Ezio Auditore’s family consists of his mother, father, and 3 siblings: 2 brothers and a sister. One day without warning, men come to your home while you are away and imprison your 2 brothers and your father. The very next day, the man that said he would help clear your family’s name goes back on his word and confirms that the Auditore have committed treason. Your father, your older brother, and your younger brother (at only 13) get publicly hanged, right in front of you. Ezio never had a reason to kill, until now. It was at this point in which I was really pulled into the story. The death of my brothers and father really tugged at my emotional string and the game designer had me hook, line, and sinker.

This form of storytelling is very strong, using a very strong emotion to connect you with the characters and putting you into their shoes. When was the last time you felt so angry, but more in love with a game?

Speaking of love/hate relationships, I’ve got 2 words; Demon’s Souls. This game makes me so angry, but I can’t stop playing it! This feeling is different from Bionic Commando, which was pure frustration for crappy level restrictions. Demon’s Souls is infamous for being extremely hard. Souls are your only currency, and if you die you lose all the souls you’ve collected. So whenever I died I wanted to scream! But I wasn’t mad at the game, only myself. Even though Demon’s Souls is hard, it is fair. When you fail it is from your own mistakes and you have to learn from them. So when you finally defeat a boss, the satisfaction that you learned and adapted and conquered is great! It would be very confusing to watch me play a game in which I’m swearing at it most of the time but still insist that I am having fun.

Which games make you angry? Have you ever smashed a controller? Have you ever vowed to never play a game again only to return to it hours later? Stay tuned for part 2 of Emotions!