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What Games Have Actually Affected You?

Posted by Cliff on from the memorable-experiences dept.

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?"

7 of 1,546 comments (clear)

  1. Duke3D by Verteiron · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The first time I encountered one of those floating brain things in Duke Nukem 3D I nearly peed myself. Those things made the creepiest noises, did massive damage, and completely freaked me out the first time I saw one (after it snuck up behind me, underwater).

    As for a game that affected me emotionally, I'd have to say Final Fantasy 4 (2 in the US). The storyline was so deep that, even with the terrible translation that Square inflicted on it, the pain of the characters showed through.

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  2. Doom by geeber · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Doom. Definately Doom. First truly immersive 3d shooter. Those dark areas and shuffling noises scared the bejesus out of me.

    And there was nothing worse than turning a corner and confronting a demon unexpectedly

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  3. Civilisation by Jim+the+Bad · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...for giving me an interest in history and geography.

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    1. Re:Civilisation by sgt_sloth · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I second that, and also want to say that some of the game mechanics influenced my thoughts about history and technological development. For example, starting off geographically isolated (i.e. on a small island) with no other civs to trade technologies with is a sure fire recipe for falling behind.

      If you look at actual history, though, you can use this game mechanic to explain why certain real-world civilizations were also technologically primitive without resorting to un-PC speculation about inherent cultural/intellectual inferiority. For example, both New World Indians (no wheel, no metallurgy) and sub-Saharan Africans (no writing) were technologically backwards b/c they were isolated from the technology swapping that was going on between the various Eurasian civilizations.

  4. The game that affected me the most ... by Ignorant+Aardvark · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The game that affected me the most was Wolfenstein 3D. I was 7 at the time, and somehow it had appeared on my computer (I guess my dad went out, bought it, and installed it). I figured out the directory where it was stored and played it (this was back on my 386). Never has a game scared me so much. I wasn't even allowed to see PG movies, let alone Nazis and guard dogs and mutants spewing crimson gore! I was mightily afraid of the game, but at the same time, couldn't stop playing it. It taught me an interest in the Nazis and World War II that I would never have acquired otherwise. And I had nightmares for years on end ... walking through hallways armed only with a pistol ... and then I turn around and a Nazi with a machine gun is shooting at me!! Newer FPS's with more realistic graphics don't scare me as much ... for me, the one and only horror game will always be Wolfenstein 3D.

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  5. Re:Hmm by Gudlyf · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Actually, that's not as "funny" as it seems. Back about a year after War Games was released and my personal computer was an Apple //e, a strange package came in the mail for me form a company I had never heard of. Inside was just a commercial-labled floppy with the title "Global Termonuclear War". So of course, being the geek I was/am, and having seen War Games a few times already, I plopped it in and loaded 'er up. I must say my friends and I were pretty freaked out at the realism at the time of this game -- I recall one friend checking to make sure our modem connection was disconnected in case this floppy wasn't so innocent.

    Of course, now I look back and am embarassed at our reaction, but it did freak us out at the time. Not so sure it affected me forever or anything.

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  6. The short list... by dswensen · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Most of the games that really get under my skin are in the 3d shooter category (some spoilers):

    Quake -- I thought it was just another 3rd person shooter, albeit with better graphics. Then the Fiend leaped at me for the first time, and I yelped and nearly threw my mouse across the room. I got killed -- but it was worth it for the adrenaline rush.

    Thief -- During the haunted monastery episode, while I was watching an in-game "cut scene," one of the undead Hammers snuck up behind me. Just by coincidence I happened to turn around just in time to see a six-foot skeleton swinging his weapon at my head. I nearly had a heart attack and spent the rest of the game deathly afraid of those things. When the sequel came out, and I found myself trapped in a basement with one of those things, I said "forget it," and just stopped playing.

    System Shock (the original) -- still one of the most cinematic games in history, IMHO. Best scene in any game ever: I finally set the station to self-destruct, and fought my way to the escape pod... then, just as the countdown is about to reach 0 to launch and I am breathing easy... the countdown stops and Shodan appears on the screen. "You're not leaving!" Oh, hell. I didn't know whether to laugh or scream -- as I recall, I did both.

    Half-Life - though the game is excellent throughout, I think it has the best opening in video game history. Walking through the Black Mesa installation, causing the "resonance cascade scenario," then running back through the same installation, except this time it's trashed and all the scientists and security guards you were talking to are dead... fantastic. That, and the huge monster running after you through the parking garage, tipping over SUVs as it charges... breathtaking. There are so many great moments in that game. I can't wait for the sequel.

    Alien DOOM Full Conversion -- Much older, and many years before the AvP video game, but so scary I could never stand to play it for long. Especially when you had to go into the tunnels full of facehuggers. Screw that.

    Omikron - Not a perfect game, but very underrated IMHO. You enter a parallel world where you possess the bodies of other people and are stalked by invisible demons that only you can see. A great adventure game with a great plot; not without its flaws, but original enough to be very compelling. It was all I could think about for days after playing it.

    I'm sure there are more, but these are the games that come to mind immediately...