I could list games that demand a serious emotional commitment going way back. In fact, I already did; Steve Meretzky's "A Mind Forever Voyaging" goes into much of the same territory as, say, Orwell's 1984, but by putting you in an exploratory first-person perspective, makes it seem disturbingly real. (Not that Meretzky is Orwell... the game is good, but it's not *that* good.) That was two decades ago.
But, understand, Steven Spielberg didn't grow up with video games. Without the childhood factor, it's very difficult to develop an emotional attachment to any medium. For instance, I find myself almost entirely inert when it comes to visual art, where others are moved to tears (or extacy). Similarily, dance has almost zero emotional impact on me. I weep openly at movies, and at video games alike, if they hit me in just the right spot. Music is somewhere in between, though closer to emotive than not. I have been known to go nearly mad about food. The difference? My childhood. When I was a kid, I watched plenty of movies, and played more than my share of video games, and put a lot of value on good food. I never paid attention to art, or dance, or a host of other media. Novels can move me deeply; poetry leaves me cold, exactly as expected.
For one extreme example of a "game" (more of a strict interactive fiction, really, this is NO fun to play) is Victor Gijsbers' disturbing The Baron. Definitely not for the squeamish or sensitive, but an indication of how a game can create an emotional reaction that wouldn't really be possible in another medium. (Although, now that I think about it, maybe not. Borges did once say that the magic of Macbeth was that you end up sympathising with the murderer, without ever forgetting that he's the murderer, or seeing him redeemed for it.)
-Jester
Afterthought: Another, even earlier Steve Meretzky moment, the death of Floyd in Planetfall, widely regarded as the first moment that made gamers cry. That was what, 1983? Get with the times, Steve. :P
But, understand, Steven Spielberg didn't grow up with video games. Without the childhood factor, it's very difficult to develop an emotional attachment to any medium. For instance, I find myself almost entirely inert when it comes to visual art, where others are moved to tears (or extacy). Similarily, dance has almost zero emotional impact on me. I weep openly at movies, and at video games alike, if they hit me in just the right spot. Music is somewhere in between, though closer to emotive than not. I have been known to go nearly mad about food. The difference? My childhood. When I was a kid, I watched plenty of movies, and played more than my share of video games, and put a lot of value on good food. I never paid attention to art, or dance, or a host of other media. Novels can move me deeply; poetry leaves me cold, exactly as expected.
For one extreme example of a "game" (more of a strict interactive fiction, really, this is NO fun to play) is Victor Gijsbers' disturbing The Baron. Definitely not for the squeamish or sensitive, but an indication of how a game can create an emotional reaction that wouldn't really be possible in another medium. (Although, now that I think about it, maybe not. Borges did once say that the magic of Macbeth was that you end up sympathising with the murderer, without ever forgetting that he's the murderer, or seeing him redeemed for it.)
-Jester
Afterthought: Another, even earlier Steve Meretzky moment, the death of Floyd in Planetfall, widely regarded as the first moment that made gamers cry. That was what, 1983? Get with the times, Steve. :P