By Tom Loftus
Columnist
msnbc.com
Oct. 11, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038606/

parts taken from article on msnbc.com

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Bringing emotions to video games
Can games inspire feelings as well as fun?
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Imagine this video game scenario:
Assigned to rescue the embattled squad you've fought with for the past 10 hours, you fail miserably.
You have nothing to show save for a torn piece of clothing, bloody at the edges.
As the soundtrack reaches its crescendo and the words “Game Over” materialize over the mists of Planet X,
it's not frustration you feel, but regret, sadness, even, for those brave soldiers you left behind.
Sound familiar? Probably not.

When it comes to emotions, most games touch our simpler instincts:
Keypad-throwing anger at missing a jump in "Ratchet and Clank" or an "I-Feel-Good-Uh" triumph of scoring
a touchdown in "Madden 2004."


the sims 1,2&3
While games like "Final Fantasy" relied on linear storytelling akin to that in films to evoke emotion,
"The Sims" was an anomaly. It had no "story." In fact, the digital dollhouse where players led their sims
through a number of real-world scenarios was barely a game.
But the act of controlling the life of a sim allowed players to insert their own emotional story.
Its interactivity made it emotional.