Meaningful games

[ElPoco]

Hi all,

The thread about the Pathologic remake made me think about something I've been thinking about from time to time: the fact that there have been very few video games that really felt meaningful to me.

There are many entertaining games, many games that I'll remember for a long time, but not so many that made me think, moved me deeply, that really had an impact on me the way some movies or books have done.

So I'd like to know: is it the same for you? What are the games that you found really "meaningful", and why?

My list:

- Dreamfall: Deep story with great characters. Even in a book I've rarely read a story that complex and well written. I guess the gorgeous graphics and environments and wonderful music also helped.

- Pathologic: Even with the horrible English tranlsation, the game is filled with subtexts, touches many themes and conveys this not only with the story/graphics but also with the gameplay itself. A feat that few games are able to achieve.

- The Void: A bit like Pathologic, but the more abstract environment lessened the impact.

- To The Moon: Great story,very moving.

I'm probably forgetting one or two, I'll edit this post if I remember them.

 

[sebt3]

I expect games to relax myself. If the story or the game itself is too deep, I'll probably stop playing it.

imho, If you've a message to pass, choose a different media.

 

[LEOXD]

Democracy 3 is meaningful in a sense that you get to understand why politicians act like they do. 

 

[Fzero]

Can't think of any which I've played and would say are particularly meaningful.


A Song For Vigo is coming soon, backed on KS, that is set to be one though

 

[Askarus]

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

(And Radiant Dawn)

 

[rygD]

Papers, Please  

It seems to take stuff from different periods in my life and combines them all into one lovely dystopian story/simulation.  You get rules changing every day, almost no time to do anything other than work, and when you aren't at work you are worrying about what to do with your money to keep everyone alive.  Maybe things will get better when I suck less.  The best part is I can just stop playing and everything is ok.  The one thing from this game I wish I could apply to my life is getting paid based on productivity.

There are many games I enjoy for the story and themes.  One that I really liked, but never completed, and probably haven't played in a decade, is Omikron.  There are probably better examples, but that one stands out in my mind, and I would really like to complete it.  Xenoblade is a more recent one with a story I like, and I should probably seek out others in the series.

 

[ekianjo]

So I'd like to know: is it the same for you? What are the games that you found really "meaningful", and why?

Very few games rely on providing a "meaning" to be interesting.

Most of the time, it stands on its mechanics/action and the progressive level of challenge. Of course a number of games have stories attached to them, albeit in a very linear way which feels mostly artificial if not done right.

As video games are a medium based on Interactivity, i'm not sure it's the best place to look for meaning, honestly. Unless its mechanics intrinsically tell you something about the world you live in.  

 

[thatgui]

As video games are a medium based on Interactivity, i'm not sure it's the best place to look for meaning, honestly. Unless its mechanics intrinsically tell you something about the world you live in.

Why ?

 

[sswam]

I played through Among the Sleep the other day.  Not sure how meaningful it is but it certainly had an impact.  Great game.

 

[ekianjo]

As video games are a medium based on Interactivity, i'm not sure it's the best place to look for meaning, honestly. Unless its mechanics intrinsically tell you something about the world you live in.

Why ?

Because "meaning" is usually derived from different narrative structures. I guess it all depends what you want to put in "meaning" in the end. But I find that books are usually much better suited to having "meaning" than games. 

 

[Nintendo]

Minna no Golf


Fallout 3


Tetris DX

 

[Tenka]

Shadow of the Colossus.  The player's drive in the game is to save someone they care for, but as they grow closer and closer to their goal it seems less and less like they are going to really be rewarded with this outcome in the end, and the monsters they were told to destroy in order to achieve this seem less and less deserving of their fates, their deaths feel painfully tragic, but the player wants to save that someone so much and this is the only thing they can do.  They subtly grows visibly tired, darker, and less righteous looking throughout the game while they carry out nearly impossible and terrible tasks, until it's finally finished.  Their loved one of course isn't saved, but the player becomes a colossi themself, and then has to defend themself from a stranger who literally picks up the same sword they used to kill the others.

Video games are my favorite medium to observe and absorb meaningful stories from.  They can actually react to personal input from the player, so we can each personally relate to the situations shown in these games in our own ways.

 

[Null]

Persona 4


I developed a real connection with the characters + the scene you get with Yumi when you max out her social link featured one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/CBbM63Pf1Sw?feature=oembed

I chose to walk away in the end because I preferred Yukiko.

 

[Nintendo]

Fallout: New Vegas is also very meaningful to me.

 

[ElPoco]

@Tenka: It seems that The Void has a lot in common with Shadow of the Colossus. You're playing a lost soul, trapped between death and after-life. You discover that you can use "the color" which is the only resource there. You can use it to bring the world to life, and you're guided in your task by "the sisters", girls who feed on the color you bring them. But the "brothers", a group of twisted-looking men, don't see it in a very good way. Some oppose you, some give you the benefit of doubt, but they all seem to say that growing and using color is bad.

So after following the instructions of the first "sister" you meet, as if it was some kind of tutorial, you suddenly realize that maybe she just lied to you in order to feed. But at the same time, you don't really have the choice, since without color you'll die. And the more you progress the more hidden facts you discover about the true nature and power of color. Color is something that you can find everywhere in the world, but in small quantities. But when you retrieve it and process in your heart, you can then use it to create more color in the world or to feed "sisters" or fight enemies. When sisters trust you, they give you their hearts, and you can process even more color...

The fact that you don't exactly know what you should be doing, and that you need to understand the way color works to stay alive, and achieve something forces you to think deeply about what it represents, and the multiple interpretations you can make of all this. It's fascinating and completely different from most other games.

 

[Nintendo]

P.T. is also awesome and I can't wait till Silent Hills come out in 2016.

 

[klapse]

Nobody so far has mentioned text adventures. A Mind Forever Voyaging is extremely meaningful. (Infocom)

Just try it!

 

[ekianjo]

Shadow of the Colossus.  The player's drive in the game is to save someone they care for, but as they grow closer and closer to their goal it seems less and less like they are going to really be rewarded with this outcome in the end, and the monsters they were told to destroy in order to achieve this seem less and less deserving of their fates, their deaths feel painfully tragic, but the player wants to save that someone so much and this is the only thing they can do.  They subtly grows visibly tired, darker, and less righteous looking throughout the game while they carry out nearly impossible and terrible tasks, until it's finally finished.  Their loved one of course isn't saved, but the player becomes a colossi themself, and then has to defend themself from a stranger who literally picks up the same sword they used to kill the others.

You might consider putting a spoiler tag in your comment if you tell the whole story of the game. Some people may not have played it.


Plus, I feel you are not really focusing on the "meaning", rather on a game whose story you happen to relate to. What's the actual meaning of Shadow of the Colossus for you ? ie. the end, purpose, or significance of something or the idea that a person wants to express by using words, signs, etc. 

From your comment I don't really see where is the significance of Shadow of the Colossus (while I like this game very much as well).

Fallout: New Vegas is also very meaningful to me.

Care to elaborate? 

 

[rygD]

Nobody so far has mentioned text adventures. A Mind Forever Voyaging is extremely meaningful. (Infocom)

Just try it!

Thanks for reminding me about this one.  I hope to eventually get around to it.

 

[Michoko]

I recently finished Ultima IV, and I found it quite meaningful to me (because your goal is actually to become a better person who people of Britannia can take as a model). There are many dialogs along the game about the 8 Ultima virtues, and also love, courage and "truth". When you play the game, you have many opportunities to reflect on those philosophical questions, and I found it quite inspiring (much more than monster bashing).