Raise your hand if a game has ever made you bawl like a little baby. Anyone? While catching up on summer reading, Omni ponders the question and decides developers need to concentrate on perfecting other aspect of gaming before trying to make us weep openly.

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Take These Tears and Shove Them!

Almost midway through summer and I’m finally catching up on my reading. Though strangely, it’s not books I’m catching up on – it’s the plethora of free gaming mags I picked up at E3. One topic in particularly caught my attention.

In the June 2006 issue of EGM, an article headlined by statements from Cliff Bleszinski (lead on the upcoming Gears of War for Xbox 360) posited that some developers out there want to make games that make us cry. As usual, the full content of the article didn’t sink in until days later as I was playing The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.

I’ll ask the obvious question first, why the hell should a developer want to make gamers cry? Would it elevate their game somehow – elevate it all the way to art? The last thing I want to do is start caring about the characters in a game.

crying crying

If I broke down in a blubbering mess of tears every time I lost a squadmate in Call of Duty 2, I would have dehydrated long before the end of the game. If you’re unfamiliar with Call of Duty 2, you have an inexhaustible supply of cannon fodd– fellow soldiers that are added for realism and to shout the obvious. “An MG42!” After which they are cut down by the same MG42 they were just shouting about. How can a gamer care about such morons?

To make someone cry, there has to be an emotional attachment that is developed gradually. This requires a complete history for each and every character so they’re fleshed out enough to make any actions of self sacrifice or random chance lead to an emotional payoff (i.e. salty gamer tears). This requires top-notch writing, something that most games are not overburdened with – most games shout, “Aliens are invading! Start shooting!” or “Save the magical kingdom of Boringashell !” But even in games where the story and writing comes together like Half-Life 2 and its recently released Episode One, I didn’t get all bleary-eyed

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when Alyx got killed (yes, it can happen), I cursed. Loudly. Then I hit the quickload key to get right back into the game.

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Laughs are far easier to come by. Setup and punchline are much easier to deliver in a game. I think back to Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive which featured a whole lot of humor, but my favorite joke actually makes me smile to this day (even if the line itself is a bit hazy) and it’s a throwaway that I’m sure not everyone found. Tex is sleuthing in a science lab and clicking on a certain item, Tex says something along the lines of “when Frito-Lay and Intel cornered the chip market.”

Everyone remembers funny moments or game sequences that rattle your nerves or inspire just a bit of awe. So, quick, try to remember how many times a game has made you cry at an emotional moment (and not for other reasons, like the control is awful or you’re bored to tears).

I can count on no hands the number of times that a game has made me cry.

Come to think of it, no game has ever brought me close, with the exception of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. (I almost wanted to cry but then I wanted to start shooting things again.)

The article in EGM also reminds the reader of EA’s desire to make gamers cry. Quoted directly from the press release dated October 14, 2005:

“It’s incredibly exciting to be collaborating with Steven Spielberg,” noted Neil Young, VP and Studio Head at EALA. “He shares our vision for the potential of the medium and has the passion and creativity to help us finally deliver on the promise that a game can not only engage and compel you with its interactivity, but can also move you emotionally.”

This makes no sense to me at all. I cry enough about real world events that I don’t need to cry during a game.

Games are a time to escape – to fray the harsh reality that surrounds us. For that hour I’m playing Viewtiful Joe, I don’t want to think about the Middle East or cancer or whatever kind of senseless violence being shown on the news. I want to have fun – blow things up, solve puzzles, etc. And while I’m at it maybe find a good story.

Besides which, developers should attempt to master other aspects of game development first, like solid controls, a 3D camera that always works to satisfaction, and better artificial intelligence. Do that first, before you take a crack at trying to get gamers all veclemped!

- Omni

(July 20, 2006)


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