Cutscenes are great, I love em, you love em, no one is arguing that fact.
However, this medium's greatest strength is interaction, and while games get more emotional I was thinking back on those moments where interaction struck me emotionally:
Uncharted 3: walking in the desert. The single moment I knew I wanted to be a developer. I hate the term "walking simulator" because it is so dismissive of engagement. The second night Drake is in the desert you have to keep pushing on the stick or he collapses; you the player becomes a manifestation of willpower. THAT'S FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. It will always be my favorite moment in my favorite videogame.
The Last of Us: carrying Ellie so beautifully calls back to the opening. It is a great example of plant and payoff and I can't imagine the game ending originally with just a cutscene of the sequence.
Mass Effect 3: running to the beam. There is something about that moment that made the stakes feel so high and desperate.
Brother: A Tale of Two Sons: the ending in the water and the controller configuration was brilliant.
And last but not least, the entirety of Journey. I do not think we will ever have a game that hits in exactly the same way, that's both beautiful and sad. I remember having the same partner throughout the entire game, they got a little ahead of me, but they waited for me and we walked into the mountain together.
What about you, Era? What moments "on the stick" moved you?
However, this medium's greatest strength is interaction, and while games get more emotional I was thinking back on those moments where interaction struck me emotionally:
Uncharted 3: walking in the desert. The single moment I knew I wanted to be a developer. I hate the term "walking simulator" because it is so dismissive of engagement. The second night Drake is in the desert you have to keep pushing on the stick or he collapses; you the player becomes a manifestation of willpower. THAT'S FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. It will always be my favorite moment in my favorite videogame.
The Last of Us: carrying Ellie so beautifully calls back to the opening. It is a great example of plant and payoff and I can't imagine the game ending originally with just a cutscene of the sequence.
Mass Effect 3: running to the beam. There is something about that moment that made the stakes feel so high and desperate.
Brother: A Tale of Two Sons: the ending in the water and the controller configuration was brilliant.
And last but not least, the entirety of Journey. I do not think we will ever have a game that hits in exactly the same way, that's both beautiful and sad. I remember having the same partner throughout the entire game, they got a little ahead of me, but they waited for me and we walked into the mountain together.
What about you, Era? What moments "on the stick" moved you?
