Early next year I will have the opportunity to teach a course in Psychology that will be laden with game content, and I’d like my students to get a chance to play some games and talk about them. My goal in the course is to show that games, like books, movies, plays, and other creative art forms, can sometimes elucidate deep psychological changes in the player. By deep, I mean the kinds of significant non-transient insights we have when something really grabs us and shows us how to picture the world in a different way. My goal for the course is to show students that games play an active role in our psychological lives, even though we may not notice it. To achieve that, undergraduate students (minimum 2nd-year) will be playing what you consider to be psychologically transforming games, participating in lectures and discussions that interpret the psychological meaning these games have, and by the end of the course writing a paper that discusses their particular experience with a game.
With that in mind, I’d like to defer to the community’s expertise in identifying some of the games that had a deep influence for you, and perhaps why/how these games were so influential. I’m hoping that with a large enough list of games and ideas, I can start identifying themes that will make up the bulk of my psychology course. I’m hoping that some day the particular games and psychological themes that you contribute will become more commonplace in the academy, and subsequently more commonplace in our daily public lives.
In return for your gracious guidance, I’m committed to doing a couple of things. First, I’ll post all of my lecture materials and information publicly, so the entire community has the opportunity to remotely take their first ‘Psychology of Games’ course. With the University’s approval, perhaps I can even post recordings of my lectures in podcast form. Second, I’m committed to posting my experience with teaching the course and hopefully encouraging my students to contribute their opinions on the course, the instructor (me!), and their experiences in playing and reflecting upon the games they play.
So if you’ve had a game that has changed you in some way, no matter how seemingly insignificant or good or bad, I’d like to hear about it. Any genre/platform/experience is fair game – I’m not going to exclude any. I’m going to keep this post alive for as long as possible to give enough people a chance to contribute their experiences/stories.
THANK YOU!
- Chris
-
I say! It sounds too good to be true! Not only a course about computer games, but your commitment to making it as ‘open’ as possible. It’s jolly exciting, to say the least.
“to picture the world in a different way” – This idea speaks to me, because I tend to view art forms as interpretations of the world; in fact, they are stories which have power over our interpretation of the world. And I think that changing our thinking about the world is very important.
Well, I’m playing Final Fantasy X at the moment, so I might as well talk about it while it’s fresh in my mind. As I interpret it, FFX is very much inspired by Buddhist philosophy – though not completely. The world of the game is plagued by Sin, a beast who keeps coming back and destroying the settlements and killing the people. Sin is the embodiment of suffering (dukkha), and its rebirth is the cycle of suffering that Buddhism calls samsara. But the characters of the game become progressively convinced that there is a way out of this cycle – a way to end suffering forever.
Spoilers coming up. One of the ways it influenced me was the way it introduced the concept of sacrifice. Summoners, including the one with whom the player character travels, sacrifice themselves to bring the world temporary respite from Sin. At the end of their journey, one of their guardians must also sacrifice themselves to *become* the next Sin. Ultimately, though, it is the player character himself who ends up needing to sacrifice himself. This influenced me because it made me wonder whether sacrifice is a necessary part of the process of ending suffering. What do we sacrifice to be happy? And what would we sacrifice so that our family, friends and the rest of the world can be happy? Buddhist thought is also subverted by Seymour, who thinks that suffering will end if the world is completely destroyed, and he wants to become the next Sin so that he can do this. Although the radical world-destroying policies of most video game (and TV) antagonists are best ignored, the fact that Seymour had the same goal as the protagonists (of ending suffering for good) was an interesting one – and there is also the question: is suffering so inherent in life that ending it is the only way it’ll stop?
But the main characters are almost superhumanly determined to rid the world of Sin forever. I feel good when I hear that sort of optimism, even if it is ‘just’ in a video game. But of course, real people wrote the script of that game, and they must have thought about these things themselves.
I think sacrifice is probably one of the common themes of a Final Fantasy game, because it turned up in FF6. Spoiler… To destroy Kefka and restore the world it was necessary to sacrifice the power of magic itself.
I will almost certainly post again. But good luck with your role in this project and I hope (and expect) that you and your students have a lot of fun with it!
-
Planescape: Torment might be worth a look. It takes a pretty tired trope (amnesiac protagonist) and uses it as an opportunity to grapple with questions of identity (“what can change the nature of a man?”) in ways that no other games I can think of which feature an amnesiac protagonist are willing or able to. I just love how “meta” that central question is too. As the one in control of the nameless one, the answer, at least partially, is *you.* *You* (the player) can change the nature of the nameless one by deciding what he will and will not do.
-
Hi Chris. An intruiguing proposition to be sure. Naturally, I have some suggestions. These are games which I have already blogged about, so chances are you might be familiar with my thoughts on some of them. So let’s see, here’s what I got so far…
The first game which, as a young man of about 13, I found impressesed a greater need for environmental conservation was Final Fantasy Adventure (blog post).
You’ll probably get multiple votes for this one, but it’s hard to deny the power of Final Fantasy VII (multiple blog posts).
Another two of the most significant games for me were Omikron and Indigo Prophecy (multiple blog posts). Two very fascinating games in terms of design and psychology if you ask me.
I’m also inclined to suggest Morrowind, but the sheer vastness and endless nature of the game (which is what makes it so good) makes it less than ideal for this purpose.
When it comes to psychology, no other game can claim to have shaken me up as much as System Shock 2 (blog post).
I derived an unexpectedly pleasant experience from Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (blog post), which requires you to align your ideology between three differing philosophies in the game.
You’ll probably also remember my clamoring on about Okami in that long series of posts from a while back (link).
And finally, three superb indie titles which, far from being insignificant, are simply shorter. These include The White Chamber (link), Facade (link), and Knytt Stories (link).
My apologies if I’ve mentioned just too many games, but I really do feel that they have been of great importance to me and have had a significant impact.
-
Noctis – a dreamable space simulation written by Fottifoh. It is a DOS game written between 1996 and 2001. The player is thrust into a surreal universe with only his/her spaceship to keep company. Using procedural techniques, Noctis allows exploration of six billion individual, unique persistent stars in a giant galaxy. But here is the kicker, the player may land on planets and wander their entire surfaces. From stormy gas giants to the quiet landscape of a cold, desolate moon to the more rare planets bursting with alien faurna.. and perhaps life?
This game touched my being because of the atmosphere. It has a very low resolution (640 by something?) and that works to its advantage. Its poetic, soft, fantastic but most of all.. I was struck by a profound sense of loneliness. You chance upon a beautiful lagoon under a perfect purple alien sky but have nobody to share it with.
Anyway, linky http://www.anywherebb.com
-
Oh, and I forgot to add something. You cannot ‘win’ this game or ‘lose’ or ‘lose a life’ or ‘get a high score’. You explore and find meaning.
-
Bioshock is really good with the moment of reveal, when it flashes back to all those moments when he said “Would you kindly” and just how you as the character, AND as the player, had been utterly manipulated. I think that for me it brought on a touch of real life cynicism, making me more aware of how people use words for power, often intentionally, without us even realizing it.
I also had a moment like that with Loom, with the sense of personal sacrifice for the greater good. Transcendence and transformation were constant themes throughout the game. How sometimes we need to look at how our present desires may conflict with the needs of many more people down the road.
And if you want to look at Maslow, The Sims are a great example! You can’t socialize, move forward in your career, etc. until your basic needs of of food and security have been taken care of:) And anyone who plays Sims understands the basics of networking, that to move forward in the world, you don’t just need to know stuff, but you need to know people.
Civ is great for giving people an idea of how everything in a society is connected. The sum is greater than the whole of its parts. You start to see where cause and effect can connect in unexpected ways. You can understand the past better and make predictions about the future by appreciating the connectedness of things.
-
Although the game served to reinforce this idea more than reveal it to me, Shadow of the Colossus contains a fine commentary on the subjectivity of good and evil. Compare the attitudes of Wander and The Shaman towards Dormin, and evaluate those attitudes in the context of Dormin’s interaction with Wander. Also consider the way that the game challenges one’s notions of a good act vs. an evil one; there is ambiguity throughout the game regarding the moral value of honoring the dead, giving selflessly for love, keeping and breaking oaths, violating taboos of unknown origin, and killing.
V. neat idea, can’t wait to see the fruits of your labors. Will pass on other ideas if I find some.
-
Thank you for the excellent experiences contributed thus far! These are exactly the kinds of responses that I need to make this course happen. Keep ‘em comin!
I’ll try to respond in kind to each of these as they begin to coalesce into a theme or three.
Edit: If anyone posted a comment and it hasn’t showed up yet – please let me know. It looks like my spam filter has become a little… testy!
-
I can’t recall if I’ve seen you over at the Vintage Game Club, but our current play through Deus Ex is revealing some of these insights rather early on (it seems to peter out through the middle, and I have yet to finish the game) and provided that angle of ambiguity based on relationships we have to identifying markers and symbols of a nation, family and whether it means anything to one, where one’s loyalty lies in terms of corporations versus people, who is worth more to save, the worker or the government official, et cetera.
Personally, Quest for Glory IV tore at me in many ways (good ways). The switch with Katrina, Toby’s relationship to Tanya and eventual sacrifice for her, Nikolai’s attachment to his bride and eventual shambling off to meet her ghost, the Rusalka’s fate, the Cthulian themes running throughout, and just the general desolate feel of the world. Compared to all others of the franchise, it definitely felt the most dead and hopeless. Even Quest for Glory I was bright and while everyone was glum about their circumstances, they were generally pleasant and gave you a smile.
Man, I’m going to have to play through the series again soon. Just thinking about IV and the relationships in it are leaving me in a bittersweet melancholy.
-
I wanted to say something about The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, because I know they have affected some people in some ways, but I don’t think they affected me in precisely the way you’re thinking of. TLJ made me think about fate and destiny; you’re never quite sure whether April has any free will or not. Although she is repeatedly told that she does have the power to change things, April herself feels like she’s just careering down a stream with no way to change course, with everyone waiting for her to show up at every step of the way. Dreamfall is designed to make you think about faith and the potential perils of technology. April’s lack of faith is what (appears to) kill her. And the character called Faith is killed by the technophilic megalomaniacs, as is revealed in the very touching scene in Russia.
-
@Denis – I’ve been posting over at the VG Club but I didn’t get involved in the DE playthrough. I tried to earnestly, but DE just didn’t rope me in. I’ll take a look at the discussion threads to see what I can glean from them.
Interesting you mention QFG4! I’ve been really interested in re-playing all of them. Currently I’m playing the QFG2 remake and loving it, but I think I’m going to go back and hunt for some of the themes you’re picking out. Any chance you’re willing to write a more extended discussion of QFG4? I’d love to read it. Thanks for the reply!
@Justin – Those are exactly the kinds of experiences that I’m interested in, actually! Sounds like TLJ inspired quite an existential experience – I too had that feeling as April began to recognize her situation… in fact, even feeling ‘empty’ by the end of the game.
My partner is currently playing through Dreamfall. I can already imagine an interesting debate on the psychological value of technology in relation to Dreamfall – great stuff, thank you!
-
SPOILERS, SPOILERS, EVERYWHERE!
I second Planescape: Torment. Besides being extremely well-written, this was the first game that moved me as deeply as more mainstream media, the game that made me sit up and take notice of games as vehicles for artistic expression. The end sequence in particular, starting with when you encounter the other versions of yourself, is a perfect denouement for the journey to that point. I could go on for pages about the amnesia/immortality mechanic fusing plot and system, the use of characters as foils to the main character and central themes of the piece. But Planescape:Torment is not hard to find. Join Gametap. Go. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Call of Duty 4 is also worth a look. If you’d like, I can send you a thirteen page paper I wrote on its use of filmic tropes through the first-person perspective and the powerful story mechanic of eventually having to avenge your own death.
Also, I am going to talk about this in my blog soon, but there’s lot to be said about the act of communal meditation over the moments of genius spewed out by talented musicians when two or more people join together with masturbatory focus during a game of Rock Band. It’s like getting together and playing a game of golf with your friends but instead you burrow into a musician’s work with laserlike intensity.
Also, it’s hard to underestimate the impact of true first-person viewing in Quake. Was it Quake or Descent that pioneered the looking around with the inclusion of all 3 axes? That perspective is a magical thing, truly stepping through the eyes of another and inheriting their senses. It’s stultifying to think of what might come from that technology’s children in 10-20 years.
-
I found the game original Manhunt to be a very interesting experience in relation to the practice of videogame violence. The game had serviceable stealth mechanics wrapped underneath all the controversy however what stuck with me was the nature of the central character who essentially was saved from death row in order to participate in the snuff movie ‘scenes’ that make up the levels of the game. He is a convicted murderer that most people might struggle to identify with. However as the game progressed I was still able to identify with the protagonist (which once I distanced myself was quite shocking) only because he was presented as less evil or sadistic than both his direct foes or the movie ‘director’ who guides you. The protagonist also is never given a voice in the game therefore preventing any distancing effects that it could provide. Manhunt gives an interesting take how player identification contributes to the experience of video games and the extent to which violent actions and motivations can be justified within certain contexts.
Thief 2: The Metal Age stands out as an excellent example of video games as being extensions of the practice of childlike play. It provides a game world with multiple sets of rules that have varying degrees of rigidity and consequence. The act of being unseen involves obeying the rules of the light and shadow in the virtual space and then there are the implied rules of morality that govern the theft of items, which as the title suggests are summarily disregarded. The AI in the game had some easily identifiable responses to certain actions. The main impression I got was that I was indeed “playing” with the rules set about by the game designer but that I was not beholden to them in order to engage in the process of “playing”
I am not sure if this fits in since this is my first visit and post on your blog. I wish you best of luck with the subject
-
Yo Chris, I’m actually having a really tough time answering this question. If a video game has changed my life, I can’t think of it.
That’s probably not the answer you’re looking for, but on the other hand, same thing goes for movies and books. Catcher in the Rye struck me in a profound way as I read it in high school, but it’s really hard to say if it elucidated “deep, psychological changes.” Mass Effect allowed me to think profoundly about myself (or at least my virtual persona), but can’t say that I emerged from the experience a changed man.
I’m more inclined to think our media hits us in small chunks, gradually picking away at our perceptions as we accept some ideas and reject others. Video games in particular encourage this through their logical way of looking at the world. In fact, that mindset of logic and problem solving above all — which applies to most games — is the one that’s seeped into my brain the most.
As a side note, I can pinpoint music that has permanently altered the path of my life, but that’s more a product of the culture that surrounds particular bands than the songs themselves.
-
I’d suggest a few, for the following reasons:
* Silent Hill 2 – while the game itself is decidedly average, the story is one of the most emotionally powerful and ‘mature’ (in a classic sense, not boobs and bums sense) I’ve ever had the joy of experiencing in a game. When I finished, the game, I simply sat there staring at the screen for about ten minutes, thinking of what I’d seen.
* Planescape: Torment – as others have said, the writing is top-notch, and the gradual reveal of the reasons why you’re in the state you’re in and your prior relationships with your companions are excellent.
* Planetfall – the death of Floyd was quite emotional, especially given how badly I’d treated him and how annoyed I’d been at him through the entire game.
* The Longest Journey / Dreamfall – While Dreamfall was more of an interactive movie than a real adventure game, my empathetic response the characters was extremely strong. It’s one of the few games I’ve played where I really care about and feel for the characters.
* Portal (the original Amiga/Apple/C64 version, not the Valve version) – again, excellent writing, and it really pushed the boundaries of narrative in games.
* Alter Ego – it made you highly self-aware of the consequences of your choices, still a very novel concept in games that are generally designed to allow the player to move on with as little penalty as possible.
* Ultima IV – it pushed an entire ethical and moral code, something that really captured my imagination as a kid. The world would probably be better place if we actually followed that code, now that I think about it …Other than that, probably the more ‘arty’ games, a phrase that seems to be a codeword for ‘a game with a deliberate, subtextual message’.
Braid and The Marriage both come to mind, mainly because they push the boundaries of what we think a game is capable of.
-
Oh, and also Shadow of the Colossus and Ico. Despite the aged graphics, the whole tone of the pair really moved me.
-
@Thompson: Torment remains to be one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had in a game – especially in the last hour of the game when the intricacies of the plot finally unfolds in an Aristotelian fashion. Beautiful. CoD4 is an interesting recommendation… one that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. Care to pass along the paper? I’d love to read it. I believe Descent was the first 6-axis 3D game, but I could be wrong on that one.
@Gerard: Ah, Manhunt! That one slipped my mind – I played through a significant amount of the game a few years ago. If there ever was some fodder for psychological perversity, this is near the top of the list.. especially in the way that the player identifies with the protagonist. And.. welcome.. an excellent inaugural post!
@Jared: Now that is something I didn’t unexpect. You just identified a gaping hole in my reasoning. I’m going to have to take into account that many/most games do not move people at all, and in the end offer an entertaining or even thoughtful experience, but not one that gives rise to a transformation of being. I think I’d like to devote an entire lecture to this – this seems vitally important. Thanks for the response.
@Evan: I like the sense of unease/disruption that comes out of the Silent Hill 2… that easily leads into existential territory, I think. I had the same sense in TLJ, and to this day I cannot explain my attachment to the various characters, especially April. PORTAL! I’m excited to see that someone else has played it! Indeed, the narrative in that game has gone far beyond the games we play today (although I think Planescape is very similar to that extent). Thank you for mentioning Ultima IV – part of me has some serious attachment to that game, and I think it’s (with Torment) one of the few games out there about establishing an identity for one’s self. The idea of morality/ethics, as the subject of the narrative AND the mode of gameplay, entices me from a psychological standpoint.
Thank you for the continuing suggestions. I’m extremely excited about what’s coming out of this – the themes are starting to coalesce (if you’ve noticed in my comments) and I would love to have some more suggestions to continue that process!
-
Cool, man. If Snatcher changes my life you will be the first to know
-
@ Gerard Delaney
I heartily second Manhunt. About halfway through the game, I realized the horror of what the game was doing to me psychologically: making me into the snuff film director. I was literally developing the same sick fascination with gore and death that Brian Cox’s superb narration was encouraging. By the end of the game, the psychological transformation of becoming a deviant was fairly thought-provoking. The sequel explores this on a much more mental level by replacing the director with a sort of split-personality id…but because of the scene censoring the game is essentially handicapped. Without the disturbing violence that is your “reward”, the de-sensitizing and craving of violence that makes the games so freaky never kicks in.
For my 2 cents…I’d say the indie gem ‘Immortal Defense’ is still the best thought-provoking game I’ve played in ages and might end up getting my vote for best game of the year over at Popmatters. Still gotta wade through the Holiday season but…it’s a damn frightening existential discourse. Your character’s descent into confronting the meaninglessness of their divine existence after more and more time passes kept me awake for a while after I played it. The demo is worth trying, anyhow.
-
You’ll probably get more and more Japanese roleplaying games. The adventures are epic. You become the hero, the chosen one, to save the world. Of these games I love the Kingdom Hearts series very much. I had my doubts about mixing Square and Disney, but it came out like chocolate covered strawberries. Theses games are as close to my heart as the Disney movies they reference and take inspiration from all the while without being too pedantic.
On the other end of the spectrum is Spore. I am currently addicted to this game where you play God. Playing Spore has actually given me insight into how life and the universe may actually work.
20 comments
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link: http://www.artfulgamer.com/2008/09/10/games-that-changed-your-life/trackback/