There is a reason we play video games. There is a reason that we devote so much of our time into these digital experiences. It could be for social reasons, playing a multiplayer game with a friend. It could be for solitary reasons, escaping into the story of a long RPG. What ever the reason, there is no doubt that video games have an emotional Impact on us. In this essay I would like to explore why that is by examining some research and surveys conducted on the emotional impact of video games. I will also play and summarize a few different games that are credited to have a huge emotional impact.
The emotional impact of video games is a field of study within the gaming world that is becoming increasingly popular. Bowen Research produced a very informative article about this topic. In this article the author Hugh Bowen, a former producer at activision conducts a national online survey with 535 gamers. The task of this survey is to find out how important the range of emotions is to the success of any particular video game. In the survey one-third of gamers felt that games are quite an emotional experience. 8% found them tremendously emotional and 29% found them quite a bit emotional (Bowen). The author then asked the gamers to rank what types of games then found emotionally powerful. RPGs came in first with 78% with first person shooters coming in second with 52%. MMOs which the author thought would have the most impact came in seventh trailing behind fighting and sports games (Bowen). As for individual titles the Final Fantasy series easily dominates all other games with 104 votes followed by the Resident Evil series with 27.
In the study gamers shared the reasons why they get caught up emotionally in video games and it seems to vary with each genre. One gamer states "action games can lead to a state of frustration, panic, exhaustion, exuberance and suspense. Then anger, spitefulness, relief and worry kick in" (Bowen). When gamers were asked about RPGs a whole different range of emotions were noted. One gamer states "You see life and death and magical things occur. Players get involved with the characters due to the depth of the story (that "rival novels"), cut scenes, sweeping musical scores and of course dozens and dozens of hours of play" (Bowen). First person shooters have there own set of emotions as one gamer describes it as "violent, get your rage and blood pumping. You feel the ruthlessness of being the hunter and the fear of being the hunted" (Bowen).
So with all of these different emotions the real question is how important is this to the gamer. According to Bowen Research it is very important with "Half of all gamers (saying that) emotion in games is extremely or somewhat important" (Bowen). The most startling fact that the author found was that "two -thirds of all gamers think that games exceed, could exceed or could equal the emotional richness of other major forms of art and entertainment" (Bowen).
In his article "Bringing emotions to video games the author Tom Loftus asks a simple question "Can games inspire feelings as well as fun" (Loftus). Loftus article begins with a comparison of the game industry to the film industry. He states that "before film became an art it was a spectacle." Loftus goes on to explain that it took decades for the film industry to begin utilizing techniques that would evoke emotion such as good story telling, camera angles editing and acting to the camera (Loftus). Neil Young, vice president at EA, states "When you think about where our medium is and if you could apply it to film, then games are still in the pre-'Citizen Kane' era" (Loftus). Statements such as these really give you a sense of how far games could go in evoking emotional responses. Loftus continues in his article that the gaming industry has had its "Birth of a Nation" moments with titles like the "Final Fantasy series and "The Sims" (Loftus).
In order to begin making games that have the emotional impact of mediums such as film and literature there needs to be a change in the game industry. Game Consultant David Freeman states "Most game designers started as programmers, testers and sometimes visual artist, so none of these people have a background in sophisticated story telling" (Loftus). Freeman continues "It's not just a matter of having a compelling story, it's a matter of having characters that you can identify with. It's a matter of having the player go on the emotional journey" (Loftus).
In Loftus article he explains some methods that game developers are using to bring more emotion into there games. Jon Sykes, a lecturer in Computer Game Design and Human-Computer Interaction asks the question "What if the emotions some of his test subjects felt could be channeled back into the simulation" (Loftus). He goes on to use the example of a haunted house game in which based on how the player feels about a certain situation could trigger the appearance of a ghost. Another experiment that they have attempted is a fighting game called "Zen Warrior." In order to preform a finishing move in this game you have to take on a "zen like" state. This is ultimately measured by the pressure you apply to the key pad (Loftus). The possibilities for emotional interaction with video games are endless and techniques like the ones stated are only beginning to scratch the surface of what can be accomplished.
Now that we have a better understanding of what types of games stimulate emotions, it is important to try and understand why. Author Aki Jarvinen attempts to explain this in the essay "Understanding Video Games as Emotional Experiences." The author goes on to explain that video games evoke such an emotional response because you are a participant. This along with imposed goals creates a sense of attachment to the game which naturally brings out emotion (Jarvinen). Jarvinen goes in depth with explaining the different types of emotions that are experienced through game-play. These could be prospect based emotions, basically action and outcomes. Fortune-of-Others Emotions which is based of of feelings towards someone. Also, Attraction emotions which mostly deal with the physical aspects of the game including graphics and design (Jarvinen).
Jarvinen also goes into detail about the different variables that affect intensities of emotions. These include, sense of reality which deals with if one believes the emotional event is real. Unexpectedness, which is how surprised the player is to an event. Arousal which deals with the players readiness to an emotional experience (Jarvinen). These among many other variables create the emotional responses that a player feels while playing a video game.
Video games are emotional to different users for different reasons. After reading many blogs and sources there are a few games that stand out as having a huge emotional impact. The first game I will be examining is Final Fantasy 7. This RPG from the Final Fantasy series is not just noted as being an emotional game with a deep story line, but is said by many gamers to have the most emotional moment in game history.
The story of Final Fantasy 7 centers on a mercenary named Cloud Strife, who joins with other mercenaries to stop the corporation Shinra from draining the planet of its life energy and ultimately destroying it (Final Fantasy). Each of the 9 playable characters are given rich and in depth back stories that could almost be read as a novel. The deep story combined with amazing graphics and game-play created a seamless experience that is still regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time and is still the best selling in the Final Fantasy series. There is one moment in particular that has a deep emotional impact on gamers. About halfway through the game one of the main characters, Aerith, is killed by the main antagonist Sephiroth (above image). Until this point Aerith is one of, if not, the main character in the game that is fully playable. Her death comes very unexpectedly and not only do you lose a character in the game but a character that the gamer has spent time upgrading and using in battle. After re-watching the death scene on you tube you can see how the game developers carefully used camera angles and music to really create a dramatic movie-like scene.
In Hugh Bowen survey he asked gamers about their most emotional gaming experience and here is what they said about Aerith's death scene in Final Fantasy 7. "The death of Aeries in Final Fantasy VII, where she's thrust through with a sword, appears to be a defining moment for our industry. It was mentioned in the study time and time again. Many cried, and couldn't forget it. People spent months trying to revive her, appealing to Square Enix for a reprieve" (Bowen). Other gamers wrote: "I couldn't play the game for like a week after that, because I was so depressed." "Friends still talk about their surprise, shock and denial when they reached that point in the game." A father was playing the game with his two young sons, and apparently Aeries' death was too much for them: "For months, we couldn't even listen to the musical theme … without one of the boys bursting into tears" (Bowen). To these gamers this moment represented something to them that is similar to a movie experience. It seems to go even further than that, gamers describe it almost like the death of a loved one. This example really shows how deep of an emotional impact a game can have.
The next game I want to examine is one that evokes emotions in a gamer but for entirely different reasons than a story driven RPG game. The Resident Evil series is a survival horror genre that really preys on the gamers fear emotions. In the series you are given limited amounts of ammo and have to solve tough puzzles while mutated zombies are strategically coming after you. After searching the web I found that most gamers had an emotional response to the first resident evil and more specifically the remake of it on Gamecube. In the game you play as a law enforcement task member that finds himself trapped in a mansion located deep in the woods which is filled with mutated zombies. Your only mission in the game is yo uncover the mysteries of the mansion and escape alive (Resident Evil). Resident evil is a game that thrives on atmosphere and you find yourself actually being shocked and scarred in many areas of the game. The remake expands on this by incorporating photo-realistic environments (above image). There is a real sense of danger throughout the entire game where zombies will suddenly break through windows or doors and you may or may not have the ammo to kill them.
In conclusion I feel that video games are just beginning to show the potential for the emotional impact that they can provide. I believe that video games will continue to advance not just graphically but also in the type of emotional experience that they can provide. This is a field worth looking into and it will be interesting to see how games will progress in the coming years.
Work Cited
Bowen, Hugh. Emotions in Videogames: Surprising Results from the New Bowen Research Survey. "about.com" 2009. Web.
Final Fantasy Online. 2009. Web. http://www.ffonline.com/ff7/
Jarvinen, Aki. Understanding Video Games as Emotional Experiences. "The Video Game Theory Reader 2". Routledge. New York. 2009. 85-108. Print.
Loftus, Tom. Bringing Emotions to Video Games. "MSNBC.com" 2009. Web.
Resident Evil Fan. 2009. Web. http://www.residentevilfan.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment