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Game Design Theory / How do you make a game sad?

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FoeHammer 777
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Posted: 6th Apr 2009 03:46
How do you make a game that actually makes people sad?

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Herakles
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Posted: 6th Apr 2009 04:44 Edited at: 6th Apr 2009 04:46
I can't be made any of the following emotions by a game (but hey, that's just me):

Sad
Scared
Romantic (i'm not like all those guys in Star Trek who fall in love with their hollographic fantasies)

and pretty much most other human emotions.

But if I were trying to make someone sad while playing one of my games, I'd make the plot be something like this:

The player's character meets this married couple, and the three of them go on lots of adventures together and become friends. At the end of the game, after the player has grown fond of these two characters, you have one of them die and try to make the player sad through this feeling of loss. The sorrow will be further conveyed by the other character who didn't die, because he/she will also be sad. It is a fact that human beings get sad when they see someone else who is sad, that's part of why people cry during sad parts of movies.

Sounds a bit cliche, but movies have made people sad over stuff like this before. Games are merely another medium of story telling, just like books, movies, plays, comic books, etc. Game shouldn't be much different.

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Zdrok
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Posted: 6th Apr 2009 17:23
Here's how I think of it.

You would need the actual feeling of emotion in the game; take a look at Brothers in Arms, that game is a great example of emotion. Soldiers who actually care about each other in a video game. Then look at Red Orchestra. Extremely powerful ingame music (if enabled) that makes me shed a single tear whilst playing.

It's all in the characters, the story, the sound. Get creative.

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ToffeeGerbil
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Posted: 6th Apr 2009 19:36
The final stand, your charecters have to fight for a (righteous or otherwise honourable) cause - they know they will all die. but fight anyway. Couple that with some epic inspiring music, make the deaths of the individual charecters slow, powerful and meaningful.

Then fade to credits and slap on something that will close the deal - e.g Teardrops by massive attack.
Cash Curtis II
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Posted: 6th Apr 2009 21:22
Create an important character that adds personality and assistance to the game. 3/4 of the way through kill them off and don't resurrect them or anything silly. If you do it right then it will be sad.


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Darth Kiwi
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Posted: 7th Apr 2009 03:00
You have to create a character who the player becomes emotionally attached to. You can do this by having them as something superior/greater than the player: they can be his source of hope (maybe a girlfriend who he sees as a way out of the killing) or as a mentor, or as a loyal friend, preferably one who is more selfless than the player. Witty and very human dialogue, along with stirring, emotional music, should make the player feel attached to them. I also suggest you provide some kind of hope, or promise: if the character is the love of the player's life, then have them promise that once the game is over, they will go away and live together on a farm or something. If the character is a mentor, have the mentor say he wants to retire after the game so he can keep bees and look after his grandchildren. If the character is a loyal friend, have him say how much he wants to go back home and see all the lovely grassy hills of his home where he was born and so on. And have the player promise that this is going to happen. Then, kill the character, with a fair bit of emotional music and maybe even a final death scene where the player tells them they will get married/retire/go back home, even though it's obvious that they're just going to die and make us feel sad. Some crying would also help.

This kind of technique worked very well in Of Mice and Men. There's no guarantee it'd work for everyone, and you'd have to be careful not to make the character annoying, but it would probably work if done well. You could also extend this emotion to ideals: for example, let's say your character believes in the nobility of the Freedom of Americans, and then discovers that this freedom has in fact led to the downfall of such-and-such and has all gone horribly wrong. Like in, for example, Bioshock.

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Dared1111
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Posted: 7th Apr 2009 20:59
You should probally work on making the game world feel real by giving silence sound (water dripping, wind blowing, important object making a minor sound).

You could then place game mechanic importance on the character or object (ie. He/She heals you/ "This is the source of power X") but maintaining a character, so the entity does not feel like a button press slave to the player (so they'd need to multi-task/have conditions for giving help (threats not attacking her/him/ short recharge needed).

You'd also need to keep environmental responsiveness (blood splatters on walls, decals of bullets in the wall etc).
Roxas
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Posted: 8th Apr 2009 01:08
Take a look into Final Fantasy X. Even the main char is pretty annyoining he gets better into end and then....

Van B
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Posted: 8th Apr 2009 18:42
I think the best way to make the player sad, is to harm or kill a likable character, preferably someone you've had to save previously.

One game that used this to great effect was Alundra on the Playstation. The story revolves around helping save these kids, helping the nice folk who live in the town, it was kinda like Zelda. About 3/4 through, they start dying left and right, and it is really sad, because of the way it's done. They used a kinda coma plot line, kids would end up in a coma and you'd enter the dream with them - and have a lot of fun saving them. The buggers made the kid characters playful and funny, then killed them off. I'm sure it all worked out well in the end, I never finished the last boss so don't know .

If you take an innocent, and put them through hell, you'll get the response you want - trouble is that most designers put their characters into solid brackets. If it's a main character then they're too tough to die, if it's a sub-character your there to save them pretty much. There's never the chance to interact with a sub-character long enough to get to know them - most of the time they are too annoying and I usually feel the urge to kill them myself.

Add in a hysterical young woman, save her, get to know her character as she calms down, then kill her off - brutally if you can, then watch the players well up. Getting the interaction going properly is key I think. If they killed off Ashley in Res Evil 4 for instance, then the plot would have a much darker theme towards the end. Not saying that would be better, but it depends on where you want to go with it.

Some of the side missions in Oblivion have quite sad parts, having to kill mentally ill people, drug addicts, unicorns (might not have been a side-quest that one). It's a welcome break from bandits and goblins, but sad nonetheless when it's not obvious that they have to die.


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flashing snall
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Posted: 17th Apr 2009 04:34
You guys every play Beyond Good and Evil? I dont want to give it away if you havnt, but at one point, I felt somthing wanting to come out of my eyes.

The player has a close friend, who may or may not get captured. You work to save him / her through the ENTIRE game, and at the end, you see him / her being help captive. You cant tell if theyre dead or alive, because your too far away. As you get closer, it becomes more obvious that theyre dead. You also have a buddy working with you, and when you find out that your loved one is dead, your other buddy has to usher you away, so you dont get a good enough good bye.

As you try and rescue the loved one through out the game, drop signs of hope, or more reasons to HATE the evil guys.


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bergice
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Posted: 17th Apr 2009 11:57
Loved the scene where Alyx gets stabbed by that creature thingie in HL2. That was sad.
And also in the end of episode 2 where things doesnt end so good...

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Punk13
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Posted: 18th Apr 2009 10:45
I believe music and setting is key.

RichMan
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Posted: 18th Apr 2009 22:30
get the player really attatched to two or more characters then make the player choose which one to keep alive.

another good idea (although very story specific)would be to have the player get an ally early in the game and develop the ally's character alot through out the game, then near the end, make the ally and player fight becasue of contrasting moral/ethical views. Neither will back down, a a reluctant fight to the death... whip in some epic music and bam! you got yourself one depressed player right there.

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feiting shadow
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Posted: 19th Apr 2009 00:20
Psychology, the effect of "hitting home", combined with proven formulas, such as above, are method I believe will work. (and I'm very good at manipulation, but rather not use it.. ever played your friends like a violin? it's not nice to do...)

Ok dark side aside, here's the icy cold stuff I can show you where to find: Air, the anime. Look for Air Episode 1, 2, 3 etc on youtube. In particular episodes 7 through 12, then the subsequent shows following the same "girl" afaik (wind, clannad, and anything with that type of artwork, recognized by the opening).

While those will probably drive you to tears, I have some horror for you too: School Days. The show is gruesome, but the game endings (like half life 2, watchable on YouTube), are progressively worse.

Van B's game, I haven't played, but it sounds awesome! (morbid, I know), but what about FFVII, didn't we all cry shortly before fighting in the Cave of the Ancients? That pretty much follows the formula stated by you guys.

However what I would do, is present a logical arguement, like "There is only limited supply of happiness in the world" and prove the main character progressivly can't obtain his/her happiness. (which is basically Air) but make it food or something everyone can relate to. And even if it's BS, make it look believable. And present facts to try to make everyone believe it. Like Florida's voting system! lol. (commenting on recent poll discounts, not taking a partisan side on that, to keep it nonbiased and friendly)

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kuljot
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Posted: 19th Apr 2009 05:39
IN call of duty 4 at the end when captain price and the soldiers get shot that made a rea sad scene.

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flashing snall
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Posted: 20th Apr 2009 04:25
I think what helped to add to the sadness of CoD4 was that they died for you. And then on the news, they sum up everything in 1 sentance, and dont even mention the fallen names. It puts everything into perspective.


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Guardian 120
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Posted: 27th Apr 2009 03:16
Instead of focusing on killing other players to make the player sad, focus on character depth. Before you do anything, the character has to feel real, real enough for the player to want to be the character. Want to feel the characters emotions, his hurt, his pain (not in getting shot pain), his sadness, and also his joy and triumph. Give the character a good backstory, explain it in gameplay and flashbacks, and then focus on the agony he feels, and then loss of a close friend.

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JLMoondog
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Posted: 27th Apr 2009 04:28
You don't always have to kill or hurt someone to make someone sad. I remember playing Kingdom Hearts 2. I spent the first part of the game playing one character. Then I switch to the main character after the plot unfolds. He's about to leave when he's confronted by the first character's friends...not to give much away, but when they were saying goodbye I shed a tear along with the main character...sad moment.

Basically I'm saying, good story development, and character depth is what you need to get the player drawn in and emotional attached to it.

Libervurto
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Posted: 28th Apr 2009 01:47 Edited at: 28th Apr 2009 01:50
People wont just empathise at the drop of a hat, first you have to "load" your characters with emotion and then trigger an event that causes them to "unload" emotion. The more time you spend loading emotion, the bigger effect you'll get.

So how do we "load" a character?
First we must decide what will cause their sadness and work back from there. We can try to categorise the causes of sadness as:
* Loss - of someone/something cherished/desired, or abstractly a loss of youth/ability or hope for the future.
* Sacrifice - similar to loss but by choice of the character, usually for some greater good.
* Regret - for past action/inaction.
* Trial of Circumstance - the character is unable to achieve or has difficulty achieving their goals because of circumstances beyond their control, i.e. disability or poverty.

I'm sure there are more causes but that is a good base.
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Libervurto
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Posted: 28th Apr 2009 02:06 Edited at: 28th Apr 2009 02:21
The kiwi's circumstances meant he was born flightless, but that alone is not cause for sadness: no kiwis can fly. The fact that he dreams of flying - and especially the effort he puts into building a false forest - makes you feel sorry for him. Finally, he sacrifices his own life to achieve his dream of flying. This sacrifice causes a mixed reaction; we are sad because he will die but also happy because in his mind he is flying and he is happy.

So the kiwi has been loaded with emotion through a trial of circumstance amplified by his effort. Then this emotion is unloaded when he sacrifices his life.

It is important to note the use of music in Kiwi; there is a version that someone dubbed "Mad World" over, a very sad song but it actually removes some of the emotion. The use of jaunty, happy music in the original reflects the kiwis emotion; he is happy, and happy to trade his life for one flight. This exploits our innate high valuation of our own lives, causing us to raise the significance of the kiwi's flight.

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hmm
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Posted: 30th Apr 2009 12:25
It may be my childhood fondness of Disney films, but I always find killing an animal to be sad. Especially dogs or other blindly loyal creatures.

Killing a dog sidekick for example. Its easy to create a believeable dog character, they don't say anything and they're 100% loyal, and get excited when rewarded and cower when shouted at. Simple. Having such a reactive animal present throughout a whole game, aiding your player character at every turn would develop a hugely strong bond between player and dog. Killing it would definately make you sad.

Imagine if Epona died... I dont even want to think about it.
Dark Caliber FS
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Posted: 2nd Jun 2009 01:09
Sadness can be only be acheived once the tragedy is happening to a likable character, no one cares what happens to a character they don't care about. Then you have to make players LIKE that character, through actions and dialouge. If you plan on killing off that character or having something happen to them, at least make it live in the moment.

If you play down the scene with humor or something unrelated, the angst of the moment is lost. Play the right music, convey the right emotions on the characters involved within the scene and give it a hopeless tone.

E.G;

Saints row: Lin, what made Lin's death a sad moment was the fact that the protagonist tried so hard to save her, secondly, Lin finally understood her love for another character after it was too late.

Saints row 2:

1. Aisha: Aisha returns from the original game, still dating Johnny Gat, Aisha is tied to a chair in her home by Junichii, right hand man of the Ronin. Junichii says he will not kill her if she cooperates, however she yells out that it is a trap to Johnny and the protagonist to save them, she is then killed with a slice to the neck in an excellent cut scene. In a later scene at her funeral, it is shown how great Johnny's passion for her was.

2. Carlos: Carlos is the first character you meet at the beginning of the game, he's likable in a comic way. 'getting himself shanked just to meet you' Later in the game, the brotherhood capture him and attach him to the back of their car. By the time you rescue him, he is in so much pain that the protagonist kills him, to relieve the pain.

Gears of War 2:

1. Tai: Tai is a pretty cool character when you meet him in the beginning and you grow to like him pretty fast, however he gets captured and when you finally find him he has been tortured, when handed a shotgun he ends up killing himself.

2. Maria: After Dom has looked ten years for Maria, when he finds her, she is screwed up beyond help and he is forced to shoot her.


These are all examples I would personally take a look at, they could be helpful.

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DestroyerHive
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Posted: 14th Jun 2009 23:03
life is sad. if no one dies in the game, then it is very sad, but that's just an emo's point of view

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Bizar Guy
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Posted: 14th Jun 2009 23:50
People are talking about characters here, but really it's any object, person or area that the player gets attached to the can cause sadness.

Lonnehart
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Posted: 14th Jun 2009 23:51
One other example was Robotech Battlecry. You played Jack Archer, fight through all these missions, only to meet your end at the end....

In the beginning there was nothing. There'll be nothing in the end...
Wolf
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Posted: 14th Jun 2009 23:55
Think about Aerith and Final Fantasy 7

Darth Kiwi
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Posted: 15th Jun 2009 02:42
Quote: "People are talking about characters here, but really it's any object, person or area that the player gets attached to the can cause sadness."


That's true. If, for example, Earth has been destroyed and the human race have been put in cold-storage in a great big freighter until a small group of scientists can figure out what to do with them, and if they then try to adapt a new planet's atmosphere to make it habitable but then fail and burn out their apparatus so they can't try again, I think that could potentially be even sadder than a character dying. It's less specific sadness, but has a wider reach.

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n008
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Posted: 16th Jun 2009 01:21
Well, one way would be creating a character that was with the player the entire time, that had a believable personality, etc etc And have them save the player from death in battle or something, only to die themselves moments later in an in-your-face kind of way so that you are forced to see it. That might work.

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Inspire
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Posted: 16th Jun 2009 20:41
Failure.

Just make the player work the entire game for one thing, and then right at the end, make the player fail, and kill of his friends.

boom.

=P
Sid Sinister
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Posted: 17th Jun 2009 08:02
I see a lot of you touching on some really good points, but I think you're all missing the target slightly. Players get attached to a world and a story by being allowed to create their own. You can't elicit (to draw forth or bring out) an emotional response out of someone who doesn't care. I know this was mentioned above, and I think it danced around the problem, but the root of it is really the player trailblazing their own story in the game. This doesn't mean a game has to be more open than a normal RPG, it just means that they need to take charge of the story (or have it seem like they are in charge) and call it their own.

Discuss.

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Libervurto
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Posted: 18th Jun 2009 22:32
I wonder if you could make people get attached to anything, I felt sorry for the mickey mouse's mop in fantasia lol.

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Herakles
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Posted: 19th Jun 2009 03:16
Since games can't really make me sad, it's merely annoying when they try to. I think making the characters in the game sad (thus giving the plot more directions in which it can develop the character) is much more productive than futiley trying to make the player sad.

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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 20th Jun 2009 23:22
Nooooooooo not the weighted Companion Cube!

Burning Feet Man
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Posted: 23rd Jun 2009 03:41
Cute animal characters that die. The cuter the animal, the more painful it's death.

That'd be sure to jerk the tears.
tha_rami
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Posted: 28th Jun 2009 21:16
Anything can cause sadness. Try playing The Graveyard (or The Gutter by jwaap for that matter), both examples how barely anything can be made sad.


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Hobgoblin Lord
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Posted: 29th Jun 2009 06:09
Charge them 49.99 for the game and give them something like Rise of Robots or ET for the 2600. That should make anyone cry.

I think everyone here has driven home that character development and a crisis to said character is the key to this emotion.

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Brick Break
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Posted: 29th Jun 2009 06:37 Edited at: 29th Jun 2009 06:41
To sum it all up, make the player attached to a character, human or not, then kill them off in the end, along with any hope of ending the game on a high note.

An example:
Player has a goal. Player meets character with same goal, who's trying harder than the player to get there. Near the end, have the character sacrifice themself in an effort to protect the player so the player can save the world, only to have the player fail in the end, and every good character dies besides the player and the player is left alone. Roll credits.

Make the player feel responsible for their failure. Make them feel bad about themself.

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Bizar Guy
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Posted: 29th Jun 2009 07:08
Quote: "Make the player feel responsible for their failure. Make them feel bad about themself."


No. That's NOT how to do it. That's not making a game sad, that's making the player feel bad about themselves. Quite different, and you don't want to make the player feel like a failure because they beat the game.

Coldfire
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Posted: 29th Jun 2009 16:57
Quote: "but what about FFVII, didn't we all cry shortly before fighting in the Cave of the Ancients?"


I did the movie also jerked some emotion, but that was mostly because i had played the game and it just brought back memories...

Quote: "Charge them 49.99 for the game and give them something like Rise of Robots or ET for the 2600. That should make anyone cry."


I still cry myself to sleep from time to time thinking about the waste that was RotR. The sad part was i think it was only 20-30 dollars, lol.

Of course, you could kill off the main character at the end of the game, but that would probably upset the player, lol... maybe if it were for the greater good such as saving the world by sacrifice... You have to maintain the feeling of accomplishment somehow tho... I mean, this isn't a Stephen King book/movie, lol

Come to think of it, any game that has triggered that kinda emotion with me usually involves one of the beloved characters being sacrificed in some way.

Interesting topic.
Bizar Guy
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Posted: 29th Jun 2009 19:26
Dreamfall has a very sad, well thought out ending ending.

Ortu
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Posted: 30th Jun 2009 04:51
keep in mind... the loss of a character companion doesn't necessarily need to be through death to make it sad.

death is too often an easy out, a quick splash of emotion that has become almost cliche for games and movies to try and pull up sadness. It seems like death is the first thing everyone always goes to when thinking of how to make things sad just because it's supposed to be sad.

some death scenes do indeed make me sad, but even the ones that do are an annoyance because -everything- has them, most are far too lengthy and drawn out and the emotion rarely lasts beyond the scene itself.

The important thing is the severing of a meaningful connection that brings out sad emotion. This can also include separations of many sorts:

distance: spatial, temporal and yes death, anytime the player gets irrevocably cut off from home and loved ones can bring a feeling of loss and sadness.

duty: being unable to do the things you want to do or to be who you want to be because of things you -need- to do etc. having things turn out not quite how you want them to, but understanding that it is the way it has to be. Even the acceptance of such a situation is in itself sad.

emotion: like the song says "...love hurts" if the whole way through the storyline you are building a relationship with someone, but in the end it just isn't to be- and remember you don't need to kill them to lose them. The loss can be just as heartfelt however it is accomplished. It need not be romantic either. Emotional bonds with parents, siblings, friends, something you have created or built... anything meaningful can be tweaked to pull emotion.


wickedly kick it
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Posted: 30th Jun 2009 07:44
Here's a scenario for you

You are dropped off for a first day at school, you get picked on by one of the biggest baddest kids in school. From day one another kid defends you and helps you out through thick and thin, then one day he has to move off to po'dunk Kentucky and you are all alone again. Suddenly you find your character spiraling down-ward and later in the game the "savior" comes back, you approach him, but while he was in po'dunk Kentucky he suddenly thinks he's too cool for you, blows you off, even pushes you into a locker...

that would make me sad if you added more depth.

djmaster
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Posted: 30th Jun 2009 20:41 Edited at: 30th Jun 2009 20:41
Choosing the either final deal in GTA4 gets either your girlfriend or your cousin dead,thats sad.Or Max Payne 2 ending was sad too.

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ETCG
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Posted: 1st Jul 2009 09:08
I am good at this, but sadly I just don't become sad in media. Even in real life sometimes, if someone cries or I'm in pain I laugh. I don't necessarily laugh at them, but become ignorant to emotions. I don't know why I do that. I just do...

But anyway, when I used to get emotional I thought KoTOR had a good storyline. You grew attached to some chick I forgot the name of, and the head bad guy captures her and makes her believe he is good. He makes her change sides, or so you think. You get to their base and she attacks you, but in the end you go to kill the head bad guy and figure out she is still good and loves you. So instead just flat out killing the character, turn them against you.
TheComet
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Posted: 1st Aug 2009 21:25
I found it very sad in Conker's bad fur Day on the N64 when Conker sacrificed the baby dinosaur...

What makes a game sad is when you get the player to like a character in the game, and then you kill that character and add sad music.


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Inspire
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Posted: 6th Aug 2009 05:49
Gears of War 2. Maria. Insanity.



Herakles
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Posted: 7th Aug 2009 02:35 Edited at: 7th Aug 2009 02:37
It should be noted, however, that if a character is too innocent (i.e. annoying), killing him/her off could actually make the player happy. Like in Neverwinter Nights 2: I don't know about anyone else, but I felt a great sense of relief when Ammon Jerro killed Shandra. She always annoyed me.

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Dared1111
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Posted: 9th Aug 2009 19:10
I never felt involved in the Prince's angsting about other characters as I found they were obnoxious whether they were good or bad. I suppose I agree with Herakles, but the character shouldn't obviously be too imperfect. I think it's all about getting the correct position above the uncanny valley.

Game$ino
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Posted: 11th Aug 2009 10:00
Well, put the player in a casino to play...and than you can make him happy or sad. More/less happy or sad depends on how lucky he is. Casino is just an example, the place can be anywhere and if you are a player, you know very well what's sad from the players point of view. So there is a lot of possibilities how to make a game sad/happy...But first you must be a player, if a sick one - better results and other players will be tuched too.
All other things as characters, places, sounds&music and so on are just details that bring to player the feelings you want to bring. IMHO

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zeroSlave
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Posted: 18th Aug 2009 20:11
Put the music in D minor. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why. But in all seriousness, music has a great way of combining an emotional reaction with elements of a game. It doesn't even have to be sad. It can be a character's theme song (probably want it to be somewhat peaceful and slow) that plays when she/he is being happy, then it is played when he/she dies/leaves.

When it is composed well and played during a sad part it can have a dramatic effect. Later, the same theme can be played in reference to the original time it was played and can make the player have an emotional response. (e.g. Player wakes up in the morning, hears a familiar laugh, and sees a silhouette out a window against the sunrise. The music starts playing as he/she is running out of the bedroom, down the stairs, out into the garden, and it was only a child playing with a huge smile on his/her face that oddly resembles the lost character.)

Then perhaps, near the end, there is a remembrance of the original scene of loss but in a triumphant way.("You did not die in vain.", "you were avenged", "Thank you for redeeming my soul", "I can rest in peace", etc.) Introduce the same theme song, and you can get a state of ambivalence from the player!

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