What Games Have Actually Affected You?

FortKnox asks: "What games have affected you simply by playing them? What games immersed you so well into its environment that you actually felt different after playing it? For me, I'd have to go with System Shock 2. Basically the predecessor to Deus Ex, it was the only game that made me so afraid that the minute I heard a matron mother, I turned the other way and ran. What game scared you to death, or made you think after playing it?"

The Final Fantasy series...

[Second_Derivative]

...has always been a favourite of mine. I mean, the series has gone through 12 iterations now and it's still going strong; maybe not the most cutting-edge graphics, but the attention to storyline and soundtrack has certainly made it very popular (Square games seem to have by far the most fanfics written for them, if that's any metric of the storyline).

On an unrelated note... AAARGH!! MY EYES!! MY FRIGGIN EYES!!!!!! (if you can't tell I'm really not a fan of this colour scheme)

Tetris' lingering side effects

[friedegg]

After I played Tetris for a while, I just couldn't stop thinking about the block shapes and the combinations I could use to create complete lines. I haven't played in a while, but I can still clearly picture a game in my head.

for me

[GoatPigSheep]

Quake would be one. It was one of the first real 3d first person shooters. The lighting, combined with Trent Reznor's twisted soundtrack, made this a real experience. While games like doom or wolfenstein were great, they still had that "video-game" feel to it. Quake was the first game that really gave me that sense of claustophobia and panic.

Another notable example would be Starcraft, which affected me greatly as I lost my tan and my social life because I spent so many years playing it online!

Re:Doom

[telstar]

Yeah, I used to turn off the lights, crank up the sound and scare the crap out of myself with that one...

X-Wing

[tuxlove]

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted my own X-Wing. Apparently the makers of Lucas Arts' X-Wing did too. They made me my very own X-Wing, and I couldn't stop flying it. When I first sat down to play the game, I had butterflies in my stomach, because I didn't believe they'd get it right. When I realized they did, I couldn't stop laughing with joy. It was a true nerd experience. All of the subsequent games, like Tie Fighter and so on, were even better.

Games nowadays are vastly superior from a technical standpoint, but none of them approach the inspiration behind this game. Though I have to say, Jedi Outcast is a close second. An incredibly cool game. I've also wanted a light saber since I was a kid, and JO is a good substitute.

Morrowind

[dupper]

Prior to Morrowind, I had serious contempt for anything and everything involved with RPGs or RPG elements. But I fucking loved Morrowind, I wasted my whole winter break playing it non-stop (to the rather severe detriment of my health). I still don't understand the appeal of pencil and paper RPGs, but they don't seem to understand the appeal of NetHack (my next, after Morrowind, and current RPG indulgence), either. Still, it did significantly shange my worldview, though.

Clive Barker's Undying...

[sudog]

...superior horror experience, scary enough that I only know a single individual who managed to play the whole thing through.

EQ

[Broodje]

I don't play it anymore, but I distinctly remember the day my friend convinced me to buy the game a few weeks after it first came out. I was convinced the game was for girls and I would have no fun.

I haven't played the game for a while now, but I still have yet to find a game that feels like running the long way through the Karanas on a rainy evening.

Believe it or not, Space Invaders

[karmawarrior]

I think in some way all the computer games I've ever played have affected me in some way. It was Space Invaders that got me into programming, I wanted to know how it worked. Ironically, I never did.

Computer games can affect people on many different levels. There's the meta-effect, where a person sees something occur in a computer programmer and thinks "What the blazes?" and is inspired to work out how it works, how it can be replicated, how the technique can be used in other applications. There's the deliberate effect, where a game can promote a point of view or a a view of the world that makes someone's mind click and say "I understand that". The great strategy games, with Sid Meyer standing proudly in the center, have influenced me there, but other, more ordinary games, can often influence in much the same way. Games can also mentally challenge - Lemmings taught us to solve puzzles in real time, adventures did similarly, and the games that have followed Doom and forerunners like Hired Guns have provided us with a new level of real time problem solving.

The mind is exercised by those flashes of light on screen. Like a lightbulb appearing over one's head, computer games can illuminate the dark crevises of the mind, putting them to work for all of us. Unfortunately, not everyone sees the world that way. Efforts are often made to discredit computer gamery as a mind device. Attacks from procensorship groups are common, and while the games industry is not yet as heavily regulated (voluntarily or otherwise) as, say, the movie industry, it's merely a matter of time. Already computer games are typically more regulated than the music industry, and without an RIAA like organization to defend computer game manufacturers, that trend is likely to get worse. Indeed, whereas the RIAA, and Hilary Rosen, has done an astronishingly successful job of countering lobbying to censor music through a combination of token solutions ("Parental Advisory" labels and such) and aggressive pro-speech counter lobbying, the ASPA and ESPA and other similar groups have gone far beyond even the MPAA on self-labelling and have done little to promote the notion that games, like music, films, and literature, are a form of speech; indeed that you cannot "censor" without there being speech to censor.

The games industry lacks an affective defender, and without one, attacks on "violence" and sex in computer games will continue until a legislative disnification of games becomes inevitable. The choice between Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will become a fight where only the names are different.

This quagmire of games becoming censored in the absense of an affective lobbying organization which becomes more unlikely to be effective as games become more and more censored will not disappear by itself. Unless people are prepared to act, not just talk about it on Slashdot, nothing will ever get done. Apathy is not an option.

You can help by getting off your rear and writing to your congressman [house.gov] or senator [senate.gov]. Tell them that computer games are a form of speech, that they impart ideas and ways of thinking, and that they inspire people to do things they'd otherwise never do. Tell them that you appreciate the work of groups like the ASPA and ESPA to combat attempts at censorship by the imposition of voluntary ratings but that if groups like these continue to fail to focus on the speech aspects inherent in computer games, and as such games merely become more and more neutered, you will be forced to use less and less secure and intelligently designed alternatives. Tell them that you believe the world would be a better place with more groups following the lead of successful free speech lobbyests like the RIAA. Let them know that SMP may make or break whether you can efficiently deploy OpenBSD on your workstations and servers. Explain the concerns you have about freedom, openness, and choice, and how censorship everywhere, in computer games a

The Ultima Series

[RyanFenton]

From it's loose concept of "virtues" to it's world simulation, most of the Ultimas have been worlds apart from the fictions most games take place in.

Ultima IV was an amazing concept for it's time, and remains revolutionary as far as a game plot goes. There is no big "Foozle" to kill, you just have the archtypical midieval land to fight through... but the goal is to make a respectable character out of yourself. Sure, you could cheat the system like anything else (See Doug the Eagles page for many examples in the Ultima series [it-he.org]), but it actually offered a somewhat meaningful system of judgements about your actions in the game. Sure, you could steal and cheat others in deals, but you would not be walking the path to Avatarhood... it was a pretty large impact in an age when games were so private an experience on home computers.

The later games left a VERY minor aspect of such karma in the game, but the effect lingered, as gamers continued to think of themselves as the Avatar. In a sense, the lack of judgement improved later games. Having concepts like Humility being important, not for religious reasons, but because you are role-playing a character who went to such pains to represend himself one way... 'tis a very unique thing.

Of course, beyond Virtues, the Ultime series is as historic as a game series can get. Ultima Underworld was pretty much the first fully-fleshed out first person simulation game out there - from the deep interaction of objects in the world, to many factions of creatures in the Underworld... when it all came into existence BEFORE Wolfenstein 3d... it was truly an awesome thing to behold. And still to this day, the mixture of plot and characters (after you get past the kidnapped-princess thing) makes the game worth re-playing just for the entertainment of the writing.

And of course, on the same lines, Ultima 5 through 7 revolutionized games in ways that have yet to be matched even in other RPGs. The deeply pervasive NPC schedules, the complex mixture of dialogues and plots, the wide variety of dynamic object interactions, and of course the humor and the unique technicalities that come from exploring the absolutely huge acts of creation that went into these games... it's truly amazing. ...Just a ending note: If you're thinking of playing the Ultima Series though, I'd definetly suggest you ignore 1-3, and 8 and ESPECIALLY 9. Each of them, while not absolutely bad games (alright, 9 is just bad), are pretty much just average games, dramatically separate in quality from the others. Other than that, find them where you can, check them out, and have fun!

Ryan Fenton

Negative effects...

[ashitaka]

Read all the comments.

Scared, confused, upset. Only one that had a positive effect.

Maybe the question should have been phrased to specifically include positive affects.

Granted, most games are designed to appeal to the basest human instincts.

Humans are Easily Scared but Hard to Please.(tm)

Who can design the game that makes people say "Wow, after playing I wanted to go out and make the world a better place!"

Let the sarcasm begin.

Outlaws and Descent

[mfos.org]

I threw up once after playing descent, from motion sickness.

Outlaws I got vertigo on one of the levels. It is strange that none of the newer games affect me quite like the old 2.5d games did.

Re:Games don't affect people

[SpanishInquisition]

I don't have to give the quote because he never said that, it's an urban legend.

Sam 'n Max

[horcy]

Man that Lucas Arts game was so cool, so funny.
And the places you had to go... I dont even know
where to start.

SCUMM was the best engine ever :)

Re:for me

[Virus1984]

Quake was the first game that really gave me that sense of claustophobia and panic.

Amen to that, Quake is all about fear and rage. And the music...just put your Quake CD-ROM in your home stereo and feel your brain twisting itself.

Re:FF7

[wumarkus420]

FF7 was definitely good, but Xenogears was also released by Square around that time, and it was without a doubt the best storyline of any RPG I've ever played. It had the guts to discuss real issues like the existence of god, creationism, the morality of genetic experimentation, and all sorts of other good stuff. It presented it in a way that was thoughtful and mature - more than I can say for the last handful of FF games. It made the annoyances of the game completely ignorable with it's perfect storyline. If only people would realize that the story is everything!

How can you forget Zelda: Ocarina of Time?

[BTWR]

Zelda: Ocarina of Time is probably the most flawless game ever created.

I have a theory. When motion pictures first came out, they were dismissed as gimicky and for entertainment only. Only years later did they become recognized as a legitimate ART form.

I truly believe that this will one day happen to videogames, like movies. Most will still be just entertainment (which, like many movies, is perfectly fine), but some, like Zelda, with it's mixture of gorgeous visuals, enchanting music, wonderful storyline, fantastic gameplay and engulfing characters will one day get the recognition it deserves as a work of Art.

Re:Jedi Outcast

[JackMonkey]

Yeah, Jedi Outcast is one of the most well-rounded and fun games I've ever played.

I've never wanted to be a Jedi more than the first time I Force Pushed a bad guy off a cliff. :-)
The bullet-time lightsaber duels were uber-sweet, too.

Marathon and FFVII

[RadRafe]

The game that scared me the most was, surprisingly, Marathon, the Mac-only shooter from Bungie. Though it didn't have as much guts as other games I've played, I was always scared stiff that a s'pht - a creepy hovering red cloak - would sneak up behind me in those intersecting hallways.

Marathon and Marathon II: Durandal were my favourite first-person story shooters. I can't play them anymore, sadly. Newer games have made me dependent on mouselook, which Marathon does crappily. Heigh ho.

The only game that has stirred me emotionally is Final Fantasy VII. It was the only PS game I actually bought for our G3 with Connectix Virtual Game Station. I actually cried when Cloud laid Aeris to rest in the city of the Ancients. My dad told me to grow up, but it was so sad. The only movie I ever cried for was Life is Beautiful, and I felt in that scene in FFVII nearly the same loss as when Roberto Benigni is led around the corner by the guard...

Re:GTA3, for one...

[fbg111]

Second that. GTA3 & VC have trained my subconscious to hit pedestrians, sucker-punch policemen with brass knuckles, and ram cars that cut me off till they burst into flames and explode. If only they made games that trained me how to invest like Warren Buffet, instead of behave like a fucking maniac, I'd be set.

Re:Deus Ex, by far...

[djward]

... or when you excape from the secret MJ12 lab and realize where you are... chilling...

Trade Wars 2002

[RobRancho]

I'm not sure if anyone else remembers this game. I played it religously via BBS for about a year. I have never been so involved in a game. I bought the helper progs. and planned my next day's turns for hours. I think that fact that you had only so many turns per day is what made it so addictive. You could never "overdo" it!

Need For Speed - Porsche Unleashed

[Derf_X]

Need For Speed - Porsche Unleashed is the game which affected me the most because the physics and sound of the cars are so realistic compared to any other racing game. Other Need For Speed versions aren't as good as this one. The only downside I see is that you can only drive Porsches, which isn't necessarely bad by itself.It's pretty much the only game I play, I don't have any interest in adventure on first person shooter games.

Dungeon Keeper & Planetarion

[haedesch]

Although Half Life was more immersive, and there are many better games out there, those little squares with info you had to click kept on appearing a long time in real life.
Being a big bully and member of the biggest alliance in the online browsergame Planetarion [planetarion.com] messed up my life for about a year. At it highest point there were about 200k players, and organizing the alliance and galaxy so you'd stay on top was a full time job. For a year it was normal for me and my friends who also played, to never sleep for about more then 5 hours, unless somebody you could trust and had your cell phone number was online.

Re:FF7

[drinkypoo]

What I think really made FF7 was the breadth of what they were doing, and the fact that they pulled it off. The only people I can think of that could have pulled off the game engine so smoothly would be Sonic Team, on the saturn, but that platform had no transparency so certain visual effects would have had to have been altered. I guess most of the time when they use transparency there's not much going on, so you could do it in software; Sonic Team has actually done this, as have other saturn developers. I am of course talking about Final Fantasy VII's Playstation launch. The PC release was pretty sloppy, which I guess is to be expected. PC Gaming was in a pretty fragmentary state at the time and the game made heavy use of Microsoft technologies.

So, back to the engine, since I scarcely think I need to mention the plot. Anyone who's played it all the way through can attest to its quality. Think of all the neat little touches in the game, the chocobos (and chocobo racing), the various hidden characters, the chase scenes (motorcycle and truck)... The game is amazing! How many games have that much going on in them now?

FFVII's plot was fantastic, but older final fantasy games had great plot, they were just really damned annoying to play. You suffered through the use of this complicated interface and pathetically featureless and ugly engine (Even final fantasy games on SNES look like crap compared to the legend of zelda, which of course is a completely different kind of game) in order to experience the fantastic plot. FFVII really has the experience as well as the plot.

Balance of Power

[podperson]

This (Macintosh, at least originally) game affected me by making me very, very angry.

Here's a typical review:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/p,24/ gameId,25 9/

One of the most over-rated game designs ever (there was absolutely no sense to it, but reviewers all seemed to think it was amazingly deep), the fundamental idea was that whenever one superpower did something another didn't like (establish an embassy in Bangkok, for example) they would play a game of chicken with nuclear weapons. Truly, the only way to win this game was not to play (and not to have bought it).

Marathon.

[Have Blue]

For showing that a game can have a more complex plot than "There are 5 billion demons trying to kill you". There's more going on in those games than a lot of novels.

The 7th Guest

[JustRNR500]

I remember playing this game at my friends house on his philips cd-i. It was a dark and stormy October night (naturally), and I remember seeing those hands pop out of the painting the first time, and not being able to sleep that night for hours upon hours. This wasn't helped by the fact that my parents have a still life painting very similar to the one in the game. Still creeps me out

Re:Myst

[Galvatron]

Yeah, when I first made it off the initial island, I was in, what was that one with the ship stuck in a rock? Yeah, anyway, I made it there at around 11 pm (I was probably about 12 years old, so it was fairly late already), and spent the next 2 hours scared shitless exploring the brothers' bedrooms for the first time. Even though I knew it was hypercard based, and nothing could jump out at me, I was still convinced that if I clicked the wrong part, I'd die.

Man, that was an unbelievable game.

Not YET

[SharpFang]

There was no game that would really AFFECT me yet. There were ones that scared the shit out of me (Behind Jaggi Lines in the "Boo!" way and Feud in the "Creepy" way), there were ones that impressed me deeply (FF7, Amberstar), there were some I had emotional relationship with (AvP, Space Hulk) - but none really changed me.

Morrowind is NOT YET it. But if there is ever a game that would affect me, it will be along these lines. What's needed:

1) Complete freedom.
2) Detailed world
3) Amazing plotline
4) Original, pretty, impressive art design
5) Beautiful music, quality audio.
6) Realistic feeling
7) Flawless engine.

Morrowind lacks the last two. Nobody sits. There's no children. People stand or walk around all day and night. Dialogues repeat. There are gfx glitches. The gfx is very pretty but "not there yet". And damn thing crashes for no reason, you get stuck in walls, you scroll through miles of inventory, etc, etc. This game came short of being perfect - but it has a bit too many small glitches to get there.

And I'm still waiting for computers to get good enough to run smoothly games that would look like the "Mother Nature" part from 3DMark.

The 'anecdote' test.

[vjzuylen]

I believe true classics are usually the games that leave you with great anecdotes once you've finished playing them. Things that you enthusiastically tell to your friends, even though they probably have no idea what you're talking about.

Having said that, one of the most intense moments I ever experienced wasn't with an 'officially' sanctioned classic - it was the PC version of Aliens Versus Predator. I remember it like it was yesterday...

[cue harp music/wavy video effect]

I'd gotten really far in that level where you encounter the Predator in the hangar bay. The savegame patch hadn't come out yet and I was down to my last 40 bullets, plus two grenades. It had taken me five tries to get this far, so needless to say I was a little on edge. As I rounded the corner into another half-lit corridor, I spotted two xenomorphs clinging to the ceiling. I was about to dispatch them with my autorifle when suddenly, an enormous Praetorian appeared at the end of the corridor, racing towards me. Almost simultaneously my motion detector went haywire, and I heard a cacophony of screeching, snarling noises coming from behind me. I was trapped! Desperation crept over me as I dashed towards the oncoming Praetorian, emptying the remaining rounds into its head while firing a grenade at the xenomorphs on the ceiling. The explosion splattered their acidic remains all over me as I ran past the dazed Praetorian, but I couldn't afford to slow down - the pursuing xenomorphs were almost on top of me! I raced towards the end of the corridor and into the hangar bay, frantically hitting the door switch to the right in the hope that it might contain the xenomorphs. Through the combined miracles of technology and reinforced steel, it did. I was safe--

But that's when I saw it.

Just above the door switch, and moving towards my head, was something that made my skin crawl: a triangle of little red dots. Laser guidance dots. There was a bright flash as I jumped away from the switch, and in that instant I could see the hangar bay very clearly: test rockets everywhere, the ghostly silhouette of a predator moving among them, and in the back... two deactivated sentry guns. My only chance! I fired my last grenade into the rocket closest to the predator, causing a huge explosion that short-circuited his optic camouflage. At the same time, I ran for the sentry guns at the other side of the hangar, hoping the predator would be too disoriented to respond. As it turned out, he had other things on his mind - like the seemingly endless flood of xenomorphs pouring through the ceiling hatches and bay doors. I could hear the clicking, scratching sound of their nails on the metal floors, I heard the Predator scream with rage, I reached the first sentrygun, hit the activation switch, ran towards the other--

And then it was all over.

As the first sentry gun roared to life, it started firing indiscriminately into the writhing mass of xenomorphs on top of the predator. Bullets struck the remaining rockets, causing a chain of explosions that seemed to last an eternity. The surviving xenomorphs lunged at my hiding place behind the sentry gun, but they were caught in mid-air by a hail of bulletfire so intense it almost seemed to keep them suspended as it ripped them apart. Then everything fell silent.

I looked around, looked at my motion detector. Nothing. Shrapnel and alien remains were all that was left of the hangar bay. My heart was racing and my ears were ringing, but I had survived. With three percent health and no ammo left, I prepared for the second half of the mission...

[cue harp music/wavy video effect again]

See what I mean? My memory may have colored in some details here and there, but even so, you still have no idea what I'm talking about!

MUD

[Kingpin]

Oh man.. I wish I'd never tried. I managed to get my degree, but I've also seen multiple friends drop out because of simple text based MUDs.

Oh yeah, and Nurse Edna in Maniac Mansion literally made me yell out loud in panic the very first time I encountered her in the kitchen. What a great game :)

True Final Fantasy Nerd

[Chief Engineer]

I have always been a huge fan of the Final Fantasy games. When a new one comes out it usually completely consumes my life until I beat it. The best one, in my opinion, is Final Fantasy 7. The story line is amazing, and at one point I actually jumped off the couch and screamed "NOO!!" Anyone who hasn't played a Final Fantasy game doesn't know what their missing.

Re:Games don't affect people

[Anonymous Coward]

i guess the more pressing issue would be "who give a fuck?".Some of you ppl are way to aggressive and eager to prove you know something or are better than someone.Its not like the guy said"here is my totally original super clever post" so my advice would be for anyone offended buy this to relax and remember that none of this shit is important anyway.the purpose of the internet should be the free dissemination of USEFUL infomation and also a place to have fun, not some juvenile pissing contest.hey i worked fuck shit and piss in there!hooray!

Re:GTA3, for one...

[gad_zuki!]

Definately driving games. Afterall driving is mostly a sub-conscious effort (who's driving when you're playing with your radio or cell phone?) and suspectible to influence.

Everytime I bring this up, most people agree. No, this isn't some lame "outlaw violent games now," argument but a reminder that media affects us in powerful ways. Like every male who walked out of a Rocky movie, he's sure he can beat up the guy next to him. At least until the post-coital media glow wears off. Political rallys, pep rallys, etc do the same thing. Best to know what you're getting into and how psychologically tricky these situations really are.

MUDs get me, probably because the combo of lack of sleep and losing equipment/points I worked for months to get is a real downer. I don't even bother with games that want a huge part of my life anymore (even if I had the time). Good games are played in a few hours at most, with the option to play with real-life opponents.

Planescape Torment

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe because it can't be considered just a game.

The deepness of characters (even the most "useless" ones), the philosophical questions raised (and philosophical ideas present on different points of view along the game), *everything* in Torment is awesome. You can greatly identify with the protagonist as you are creating him by playing, though you still can't change a past you can't even recall; a past that arises to strike you down. Stop, and think. A past full of responsability, a past where maybe your thoughts where different than what you now think, but for which acts you can still be held responsible. A quest for freedom on an unbearable prison.

I've been playing games since the 8-bit era, and Planescape Torment is IMHO by a long distance the best game ever created. Gets you inside, plays with your emotions, plays with your ideas. It is some kind of... everything

Re:The Ultima Series

[lanclos]

Couldn't agree more. Though I've played a few games that I would call "better" than the Ultima series (by "Ultima series" I mean the time window in which the games were "good"-- Ultima 5 though 7, including the Underworlds, and yes, even the Worlds of Ultima), there are few other games that had as much of an impact on my personal morals. Part of it was the timing in my life, of course, but still... no other game ever acted as such a strong catalyst for my personal development.

Ultima 6, I think, was the one that really hit it home for me.

At risk of a "flamebait/troll/redundant" mod

[cyranoVR]

COUNTER-STRIKE

F*ck that f*cking "game" (cheat-fest is more like it). No game has ever made me so angry. Deleting it from my drive was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

And yah, not everyone cheats - but nobody follows the "spirit" of the game (team-based? HAH!) What a joke.

Everquest

[Muhammed Absol]

Everquest cost me my wife, my kids, my career. I now am recovering from spending the last 3 years of my life immersed in that game. I don't know what it is about that game, but it really pulls you into the virtual world and affects real life priorities in a way no other game ever has, and possibly ever will.

Re:Blah, blah, blah.

[Dissonant]

I don't want minors to receive the message that violence is trivial and even fun.

I don't want minors to get the message that sex is explotiation and gratification without knowing about the responsibilities it entails.

See, here's the thing that nobody seems to get. You don't get to decide what minors do or don't see. You don't have the right, ethically or legally, to impose your views on an entire segment of the population. At the very most, it is a parent's decision. In some cases, even that may not be just. They are younger than you, yes - but they are still people. Not your toys, or science experiments, or however it is you regard them. Take your asshole opinions and shove them. Freedom of speech is freedom of speech.

And for the record - no, I'm not a minor, and I haven't been for a good while now.

Air Traffic Controller

[coyotl]

I swear to god, ATC on the Radio Shack TRS-80 shortened my life through sheer stress. I remember so many times feeling really horrible when there was a an impending mid-air collision. I wish someone would implement this game for Unix.

Re:Thief

[Anonymous Coward]

One of the great things about Thief/Thief II is that there is now a lage number of fan missions, i.e. created by 'plain' gamers, not LG or Eidos. Some of these are fully up to the original missions, some definitely surpass them.

Robotron 2084 and Stargate Defender

[scum-o]

Still a very cool game and still very challenging! Dual-joysticks and smart bombs, what else do I have to say? 8)

Get yourself a HotRod joystick and the mame emulator and it'll be like you never left the 80's!