Emotional Impact and Its Evolution in Games

[CamoBadger]

Everyone, I request aid.
For my sociology class about games and their cultural impact I am required to write an in-depth research paper about a topic in gaming that is either controversial, historical or understudied. I chose to do mine on the evolution of game story lines and how game developers have taken the effort to not only make a game entertaining, but also to make them more in-depth and engaging mentally and emotionally than the start of video games (has anyone ever cried over Pong before?). I will also be taking it further and studying how developers seek to encourage gamers to have an emotional and personal bond with the characters or game itself to make the game more engaging and important to a gamer.

While this is more obvious in dating-sims, I want to expand and focus more on other games such as Mass Effect and anything else that has gotten a strong emotional response from gamers, from simply hating the villain to intense sadness and crying when a beloved character dies. (Yeah, Mass Effect is a pretty obvious answer because it was designed that way. Leave me alone I can't think right now XD)
As part of the sources we are allowed to use for this paper, my teacher has encouraged us to visit message boards about gaming to get personal experiences and opinions from gamers themselves, something that seems particularly good for my topic, so here's my question:
What games have drawn an emotional connection from you and how? Was it a character you cared about deeply, complete joy at the death of the villain (does not include 'oh thank the goddess I finished the game', I'm asking more for finally defeating an adversary who you hated because of their ideals or actions), or something else? This is not only limited to one kind of game, any game can fit this and help me (but please be serious about it).

Because of the question, I expect absolutely no criticism of others for their experiences, no demeaning, no talking down to anyone else at all from their responses. If I see anyone doing anything to demean another member because of something they say here, you will not be welcome in this community anymore. This is your warning, I will have no patience in this thread. Please feel free to discuss with others why you had the responses you did to a game, but keep it civil.

That being said, if you don't feel comfortable sharing your experience here (if you even feel comfortable telling me at all), feel free to PM me if you wish. If you just don't want to share, I understand that. I will not use names in my paper directly, but be aware that I will be citing this thread as a source so if my teacher chooses to make sure I'm not pulling this out of my ass he'll be able to see who said what. If you want to post your experiences here for discussion purposes but don't wish for me to use it in my paper, please state it clearly at the beginning of your post. I won't use it if you don't want me to.
This thread can continue long after my paper if you all wish, but it will always adhere to the same rules.

I thank everyone ahead of time for your help!

[Frost]

Weird as it sounds, at the end of Halo 4, when

Spoiler:

I felt something like camaraderie with him. Just wanted to put my hand on his shoulder and tell him that there are people that care about him, and all that squishy stuff.

[Ketchup]

I'm not very good at remembering my past experiences with games creating an emotional response.
I do remember a lot of thought, planning and time being poured into my first few DayZ characters, only to be taken away by someone who plays the game for the sole purpose of killing people instead of repairing helicopters(It's an absolutely awesome feeling, having the freedom of flight after slogging around on foot for hours and driving around paranoid) and the like. The game gives a sense of urgency and danger almost every other game I've played lacks, since you lose everything upon death and it comes quickly. Being under fire is terrifying. The enemy(or ally) being other players sweetens the deal.

I don't think that's what you're looking for, though. The best example I can think of right now would probably be a rather profound dislike for Pinnacle, actually. He's pretty despicable.

[jacky2734]

That's a very good question, and it's one I can relate to very well. I, for one, actually try to find games that have a great and compelling story line.

Spoiler:

[CamoBadger]

@swicked: I actually don't know if I could do that very well. Personally, I've gotten the strongest emotional response from Medal of Honor, which I doubt many other people even cared much for.
Really it could be just about anything. Different people have different things that are emotionally impactful to them, so I don't know if I could list off stuff that might be emotional to people other than myself.

[Guest]

I played one of them for the PS1. One of my first gaming experiences however was resident evil so not being able to see the character seemed like a really big deal at the time.

I wish I had stuck with it now though.

[Frost]

I've yet to play it, but if you asked around, a lot of players of Spec Ops: The Line kind of got gut-punched a few times throughout the character arc, same as Far Cry 3

[Ametros]

I agree with the consensus on KotOR. When I first played I went evil, but afterwards replayed most of it as light side, and was somewhat amazed at the story I was missing. KotOR 2 continued the excellent storytelling, mainly through the character of Kreia, who for the most part just left me perpetually confused as to who she was and what she wanted (due to her extensive knowledge, mysterious past and primarily the almost-contradictory favor gains/losses with her).

Another game of definite note is the original Starcraft followed up by Starcraft 2: Wings Of Liberty (and Heart of the Swarm). Unlike the other games that tend to have brilliant stories, Starcraft is different in that from a gameplay persepctive it's far less personal. You don't have an avatar in the game, and unlike Bioware games you don't have any 'major' decisions to make. Granted there are still some decisions to make in WoL that have ramifications (such as deciding whether to help Nova or Tosh) but they don't impact the outcome of the story. Starcraft has quite the impact, going from Raynor having to abandon Mar Sara when it got overrun by zerg, to Kerrigan being left for dead by Mengsk and subsequently turned into the Queen Of Blades. The protoss get forced off of their ancestral homeworld of Aiur, the proud race being shamed.

Then in Starcraft 2 it only gets better, as Raynor strives to stop (and then save) Kerrigan from obliterating the terrans and protoss of the Koprulu Sector, while being presented with whispers of the terrors to come by Zeratul. The whole series is just heart-wrenching, mixed in with some desperation, glory and dread of things to come.

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Basically, video games are proving themselves to be as valid a media and medium for the telling of great stories of many types. The stories of some games are better and more engaging in all aspects (including emotional) than many books and movies.

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