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I've always been a crusader for Gaming as an Artform and I've always felt the more thought provoking games are the ones that stay with you the longest because they stir more than just the need to level up and collect more digital items. So what do you feel are some of the most thought provoking games you've played?
I've played probably thousands of games in my life, and I can't really say that any of them have been meaningfully thought-provoking.
It depends on what you mean by thought-provoking.
I mean there have been games where I've liked the lore enough to go read about it outside of the game in wikis or whatever. I've looked up fanart. Does that count as thought-provoking?
The lore is pretty close to what I'm getting at but I'm thinking of games that changed your mind about gaming or even life. Games that may have made you think about the "greater picture".Quote:
Originally Posted by Pike
Most recently The Last of Us. I just didn't know what to make of what exactly happened at the end and how I felt about it. I thought about it for a while after beating it.
Geez if you hadn't been so specific about what you're looking for I'd have just left you with a few visual novels(more than anything, Umineko no Naku Koro ni) and been out of here.
Thought Provoking Games that really use the GAME aspect, huh. Can't say I can think of much that satisfies that criterium. Some Final Fantasy titles are probably the closest I could come up with.
Wow, I'm really disappointed in the lack of responses but perhaps this is my fault and I'm not being clear enough.
Think about a game like Ico, which tells a beautiful narrative story with minimal dialogue and instead weaves a narrative through it's gameplay. The Boy has to escort Yorda through the castle in order to get past the barricades only she can get through while the boy is physically capable of creating paths for the physically inept Yorda to pass. In doing so the game begins to forge a bond the player feels for the two, not just in its main game mechanic but also in the subtle elements throughout the game like the fact the player has to have them hold hands to get any traction. In fact the subtle physical intimacy the game creates between the two is one of it's most endearing elements as the boy holds Yorda's hand to keep her close, hoist her up, and even to simply show he cares. The save point itself is not some glowing light or a simply screen with text. It's a couch the two sit on and finally get rest, leaning into each other for comfort and support.
The game is constantly using body language and minimalist design to manipulate the player into feeling something for the two characters who rarely speak and have little tangible backstory to flesh them out and it's absolutely magnificent at doing this. It shows that players can feel a deep bond without resorting to stuffy dialogue and over-the-top cutscenes. It's designed to strike at our core as empathetic beings to get the player invested. I wish more games did this, not only does it introduce a better way to use game design as a story telling medium but it involves learning more about ourselves and how our brains work in this crazy world.
This is what I mean about a thought-provoking game.
The Walking Dead game season 1. It made question the ethics of things, the decisions I had made, and how they reflected on my as a person.
Your clarification does not change my answer. I have felt emotions as a result of games, but feeling emotions does not automatically teach me anything about myself or the world. No game has ever caused me to change or even expand my beliefs about anything.
Tetris made me rethink how I pack my car for vacations.
That's why you should probably wait more than two hours for responses :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno
I have loved many games. And many games have helped me through difficult times. A small handful of games have made me cry.
And a few games have significantly changed my life, although this is not because of the game but because the game led me to a community and that community is what changed my life. For example, I am a writer now because I had a World of Warcraft blog that got popular and the readers encouraged me to do more writing. Did World of Warcraft, the game, change my life? No, but the community did.
I found Mister Adequate because I was searching for information on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and I offhandedly decided to join a forum he was posting at. I never did play Twilight Princess.
Ultimately I'm having a tough time thinking of any games that have been significantly thought-provoking in the way you describe. And frankly that's fine with me.
Metal Gear Solid is the first game to come to mind. That game taught me about war, various firearms, DNA, nuclear weapons, the consequences of those things, and even made me feel for one of the bosses that wanted to kill me. The first one was probably the most realistic in that I could believe everything that was going on. America involvement, their reaction to things, all of it. The only other game that comes close to changing my view of the world is Telltale's The Walking Dead.
Ico was definitely one for me, even before calling it art was a thing and people started scoffing at how overrated it is. Not to sound like a hipster, but I don't think I even had internet when I played that game. And the composition and execution of both its music and narrative and game mechanics stayed with me for a long time after I was done. It was the closest thing to living/playing through one of Miyazaki's masterpieces. So I can totally agree with that one. Shadow of the Colossus didn't quite do the same for me, but I felt it had the potential, and these days I know it had that effect on others. There's actually a really good video out there about a community of fans obsessed with secrets and lore from the world who hacked the hell out of it to find every little lost piece of anything in that game. It's pretty dedicated and mesmerising
If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, I legitimately categorize those games differently in my collection from other games. The ones that aren't just "played". They are "experienced". I consider them a life experience. And generally a fantastic one. Xenogears falls in that category. KoTOR 2 falls in that category. I think Out of this World/Another World fell into that category in my early life of gaming. Hell I'd even say FF6 and 7 did that for me. The impression and obsession they left or triggered was undeniable and unavoidable. Some games just strike that chord. It doesn't happen so much these days, but I'm constantly on the lookout for those games. And I think the non-Vita Persona 4 was about to become one of them before our PS2 died. And now they've gone and mucked it up with Golden. Adding a bland and contrasting character like Marie, and giving Chie a shrieky voice, its no longer all that close to a perfect experience as a game. Now it's merely just a great game
But just like the movies Brick, or Donnie Darko, or even Dark City or The Matrix have done to me and others; there are definitely games out there that illicit the same psychological overstimulation. And I love and miss it. Can't wait for the next game to strike that chord with me
Also, weirdly enough, Cave Story was one of those games when I first came across a hack that let me play it on my PSP. PC controls were wonky to me back then, and still kind of are. The PSP made it much more accessible to me, and I got to thoroughly enjoy it for what it was, long before the remakes made it gamepad compatible. And it was a fantastic experience
And looking through my library, I have To The Moon, which I know is one of those games to some people. Sadly I haven't gotten around to playing it myself. But it probably should be on this list all the same. Edit: Same with Journey. I'll get around to these games someday~
Edit x2: Also have Planescape Torment, which I'm pretty positive was one of these games for a LOT of people
Also Papers Please had that response from a lot of people in the indie circuit. And somehow that reminds me that Braid was definitely one of those games for me. Holy crap I need to play that game again someday