Can Video Games make you cry?

I know it is kind of a tacky title, but I've noticed something recently. I was watching Forest Gump the other night, probably like th e 5th time. I'm a 19 year old. Not too old but has enough mental maturity. I was crying at the end of the movie. It is so emotional and powerful. But my question is What should change in games if they were to be as powerful? Not necessarily that they have to be, but I someone wanted to make a game like that what would they need to do to make it resonate? I feel like it is the Uncanny Valley, that game character have? Uncharted 2 had the best shot of accomplishing that with visual fidelity and great writing. But the tone of the game the way it is it would have been inappropriate to have such sombre scenes. What do you folks would change in games that would make for a more emotion resonance?

You're using the wrong game. Here, try this.

Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4.

" First off, you should read you post and edit it to sound more like yourself 'cause I know no one who says "What do you [folks would] change in]" Anyways, personally, I think it just needs good voice work within the context of the story, and it needs to have music that matches th emotions of what's happening (like Hans Zimmer). I thought Gears of War 2 had it pretty good when Maria died and I think that's the kind of tone you're looking for when it comes to emotions in games. "

While I've never cried because of a video game, the closest I came was Metal Gear Solid 2.

" Uncharted 2 had the best shot of accomplishing that with visual fidelity and great writing. "

The only ones I can think of are Metal Gear Solid 3 and Final Fantasy X (I was like 10 years old). 

i almost cried at the end of metal gear solid 3. i felt really sad at the end listening.

man I fucking cried at the end of SMT: Strange Journey (neutral ending). I am not very emotionally stable.

" @NTM said:

" First off, you should read you post and edit it to sound more like yourself 'cause I know no one who says "What do you [folks would] change in]" Anyways, personally, I think it just needs good voice work within the context of the story, and it needs to have music that matches th emotions of what's happening (like Hans Zimmer). I thought Gears of War 2 had it pretty good when Maria died and I think that's the kind of tone you're looking for when it comes to emotions in games. "

Yeah that was a good scene. I think videogames have the ability to hit you emotionally if you're really into the story.
 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

When John died at the end of Red Dead, that was pretty sad. Kinda hit me, not gonna lie.

   And actually when Wrex died in the first Mass Effect that depressed the hell out of me. I loved that character. Kaiden too. That game did a really good job at getting you invested in the characters.  Same with the second one. "

I cried in all of the MGS games, RDR and in Mother 3. Good shit. Probably some more I can't remember off hand. 

Final Fantasy X.

No, not the love story, you dolts!  The part where Tidus reconciled with his dying father.  Hit a little too close to home.

Edit: Also, Silent Hill 3 got me close to tearing up in the mid-game.

RDR is the most recent. Also think MGS2 made me cry. Also, barbie horse adventure when my horse broke her leg and couldn't compete in the race.

King's Quest 4 (if you get that you are a winner and old) and Saint's Row 2 (et tu Julius?)

The only game that has ever made me cry was Blast Corps. on the N64. It has one of the hardest video game levels I've ever played, Diamond Sands. I was SO close to beating it and failed at the very last moment. It was so upsetting that I broke down into tears. But I guess you're talking more about story and characters triggering emotional reactions. Depends on what kind of person you are. Some people can get really attached to fictional characters, or get drawn in to a world far enough that major events can move them. Since you asked what a game could do in order to be more emotionally effective I'd say finding some balance between game play and the story, which is probably tougher than hell.
 
In my experience, the game play and story segregation has a lot to do with emotional power. The more frustrating things are, the less I care about what's going on. Some people like to cite the end of Metal Gear Solid 3 where Snake has to kill The Boss because of complicated political reasons and so forth. However, that fight against her was so frustrating that by the end of it, I couldn't pull that trigger faster (despite all the dramatic trappings and Snake's unwillingness to finish it). I was tired of seeing her dodge direct RPG hits and take zero damage. Or outrun bullets fired from a light machine gun. Or the eight million times she dismantled my weapon. Snake might not have wanted to kill her, but I sure did.
 
Another quick example would be Yorda from ICO. Her AI is especially dumb (standing right next to swirling holes that monsters climb out of) and her inability to do easy things like.... run away from monsters... made escorting her wear thin in a hurry. By the end of the game, I really didn't care what happened to her because she was really just a pain in the ass that could open doors with freaky light magic. If she was helpless in a way that didn't create overwhelming frustration, her fate might have mattered to me.
 
Again, this is tough to nail down, not to mention it will vary from person to person. I haven't played a game yet where I've been in the moment deep enough to cry when a character gets killed or something terrible happens. I find it compelling most of the time, but not important enough to get worked up about it.

The ending of HL2 Episode 2 is the closest I've to crying at a game.

Uhhh no. 
 
I laughed when Dom found his wife. 

" Another quick example would be Yorda from ICO. Her AI is especially dumb (standing right next to swirling holes that monsters climb out of) and her inability to do easy things like.... run away from monsters... made escorting her wear thin in a hurry. By the end of the game, I really didn't care what happened to her because she was really just a pain in the ass that could open doors with freaky light magic. If she was helpless in a way that didn't create overwhelming frustration, her fate might have mattered to me. "

The lifestream part in FF7 got me also Persona 4's bad ending,MGS4,RDR ( even though it was spoiled for me),Braid,Bioshock 2's pure good ending,and FF XIII when

" The lifestream part in FF7 got me also Persona 4's bad ending,MGS4,RDR ( even though it was spoiled for me),Braid,Bioshock 2's pure good ending,and FF XIII when

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Sazh's son finds him and then turns into a crystal.

:( "

Yep, they can. It doesn't happen often and not always because of sad scenes. I've shed some nostalgia-tears recently replaying an old classic I hadn't touched in a long time, and for a brief moment I felt that "original sensation" I experienced so many years ago--made me extremely happy. Something similar happened to me when playing MGS4 for the first time, when Old Snake had to revisit Shadow Moses.
 
Anyways, Persona 3's ending and Aerith's death from FFVII would be my top-choices for memorable tearjerkers in video games.

 I was crying at the end of the movie.

Tears of sheer frustration because a game is so hard, or nostalgia from playing a game from  your childhood, seem much more likely to result from games than a well thought out narrative. That and/or convincing characters. Because games barely ever have those.

" @R3Qui4M:
Really? You don't think so? I thought it did when he says something like "Marcus, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do man!" And Marcus looks at him and says, " Dom.. It's ok..."  

  But when he cried at the end it sounds like he says doh. Which is kind of funny. "

Final Fantasy X ending almost brought me to tears if that counts. 

I would figure out a way to make the gameplay not jsut fun, but resonate with the person and create a bond and connection with the story with the people in the game. When I saw alyx in half life 2 episode 2 nearly killed and those screams I legitimatly felt worried and scared for her. It was an emotion I have never felt even in a movie. I felt as if someone I knew, a real person was going through that and I could here their screams. I would create connectivity. What game designers struggle in story is being able to convince the audience that these are true to life people, and its and its a true feet to do so when the whole content your working with is computer generated which lacks the feeling of human characteristics even though people are making these games.  
 
People say fun is the most important part in a game and to some extent they are right, but in the right moments for people to truly feel the senses and emotions this very industry is criticized for not being able to do, then the sense of fun and enjoyment needs to be replaced at times with different emotions. Shock, terror (kind of been able to do that with horror games), grief, contentment, resolve, hope, peace. It is difficult to create a symphony of emotions from something that struggles to show emotion. I feel it is very possible to create many emotions with games, you just have to have some amazing minds to be able to do so. 
 
Thats my goal in the video game industry. To explore new emotions in a game that haven't hit most people. The broad spectrum of emotions that I generally otain while playing games actually has little to do with the game, but the environment in which its being played. I want to give those emotions I have felt through my life of playing games and growing with them to the next generation of people that would grow with them too.

"The ending of HL2 Episode 2 is the closest I've to crying at a game."

MGS4 did. Snake staggering through that hallway hit a personal chord (seriously).

Ever actually cried?  Hell no.  And, I don't mean that in a "I'm too manly to weep...EVER." way.  It's just, video games don't have the most amazing of stories, so very rarely will I be able to connect with the characters.  Red Dead Redemption is about the closest I got, but I was more like "Woah.  ...Holy shit." than sad.
 
As for people saying Final Fantasy games made them weepy...come on, guys.  You're better than that.  Final Fantasy games after VI are just so fucking cheesy and corny.  They purposely make that shit overly emotional and lame so dorks think that it's "deep and moving."  It's always so cliche: The music swells up (happens in most things, but Final Fantasy just wrings that fucker out for all it's worth), the big "thing" happens, and the main character sheds a tear or two.  Though, to be fair, that is pretty standard in JRPGs in general.  Maybe Japanese gamers are easy to manipulate emotionally?

I've never cried playing a game, even if I used to say I cried when Aeris died because, well, everybody said that eventhough I'm pretty sured noone cried either. Videogame stories need huge improvement if they want to touch people and start to be treated as art. Not even Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, they feel cold and that "emotionality" (so to speak) is way too exagerated which does nothing to me. They are trying way too hard to be emotional eventhough they are great games.

There may or may not have been a tear at the end of Chrono Trigger.

In the future, I'll be inclined to say yes. But as of now, definitely not. Games still don't look or play that well.

It is definitely possible to place importance on things in games (crying is a little hard due to the disconnect and interactivity in the story). For example:
The characters that I follow and actually care about in games are (obviously) those that are fully realized. Characters like Master Chief and Gordon Freeman are static characters that don't essentially evolve over time whereas characters like Solid Snake, John Marston, and Bioware characters are some that do (to name a few). They don't necessarily need to be fully fleshed out, talk, or be the most important character in the story, but they do have to interact with those that do or link to important events. 
 
I mean, take the main character from the first Bioshock. I had no clue what his name was for almost the entire game, but in the end I really felt that his actions held meaning and worth in the world he was in. Andrew Ryan and Atlas were obviously the stars of the game, but I eventually started to feel some sort of connection with the main character and it led me to like the game even more (even further than the actual gameplay).

Can't ever think of a time that I actually cried. I did choke up a bit at the end of Super Mario Galaxy when all hell is blowing up and the Lumas sacrifice themselves so that Mario can live. Silly, I know but yeah, was sad. 
 
Half Life 2, Alex crying. Not sad but seriously yelled at the game. You can't end a game like that and make people wait this long. I want to get some revenge, in all things, a video game.

I cried at the end of  Utawarerumono, a game that I don't think any of you have heard of.

One of the Lost Odyssey memory stories left my eyes moist, but that's it.

never not even close i felt kinda touched at the end of red dead redemption but no where near crying it was more of a IM GOIN TO GET THAT SONNOVABITCH type feeling.

I was a little drunk the first time I played through ME1 and didn't realize quite what was happening during the Kaiden Ashley sequence.  I was in shock after I saved Kaiden, thinking I still had to go get Ashley.  No tears (and no previous save) but that's probably the closest I can recall. 

You see, I'm a real man. AND REAL MEN DON'T CRY AT VIDEO GAMES! 
 

MGS4 did. Snake staggering through that hallway hit a personal chord (seriously).

Mafia had kind of tragic ending. Not enough to make you cry though.