Video games have been part of our culture for more than a generation now, and there effect can reach far beyond a few minutes or even hours of fun. Video games may still be largely concerned with basic motor functions rather than evoking and dealing with emotions and grappling with issues like life and death, but even so they can sometimes touch our hearts. Finding those stories and telling them should be something every game marketer should consider, because that can have a very powerful impact.

A recent example comes from a teenage YouTube commenter (00WARTHERAPY00) in the comments section of a piece talking about whether or not games can be a spiritual experience. Here’s what he had to say:

Well, when i was 4, my dad bought a trusty Xbox. you know, the first, ruggedy, blocky one from 2001. we had tons and tons and tons of fun playing all kinds of games together – until he died, when i was just six.

I couldn’t touch that console for 10 years.

but once I did, I noticed something.

we used to play a racing game, Rally Sports Challenge. actually pretty awesome for the time it came.

and once I started meddling around… I found a GHOST.

literally.

you know, when a time race happens, that the fastest lap so far gets recorded as a ghost driver yep, you guessed it – his ghost still rolls around the track today.

and so i played and played, and played, until i was almost able to beat the ghost. until one day i got ahead of it, i surpassed it, and…

i stopped right in front of the finish line, just to ensure i wouldn’t delete it.

Bliss.

Fellow commenters were quite moved by the story, some of them confessing to tears. According to Yahoo Autos, the teenager’s comments have gone viral since being picked up by various publications, and he says he’s overwhelmed by the response, saying he “just commented on a video, which happened to be about spirituality in video games” and “never expected any of this.”

What a wonderful way to remember a lost father, and a beautiful example of the meaning that games can hold – even when that’s not the intent of the designer.

Source: Yahoo Autos