Brian Kendig
On the topic of video games which offer unexpected connections with other players (such as Journey), I finally remembered another example I was thinking of: The First Tree. I was moved by a message I found carved into the tree at the end of the game, and I was surprised when it asked me for my own message - and only afterward did I realize I had seen someone else's words, and had carved my own for someone else to find.
Dec 20, 2023 at 12:32amWeb
Show threadmathewDec 21, 2023
@bkendig Reminds me of this story:
https://www.inverse.com/gaming/animal-crossing-new-horizons-memorial
How Animal Crossing helped one gamer mourn their dead mom

They couldn't afford a gravestone, but 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' is giving one player another way to pay tribute. And they're not alone.

Inverse
Show threadmathewDec 21, 2023
@bkendig I remember reading one about someone who got actual mail from their dead mother in Animal Crossing after they went back to the game after an extended time not playing it.
Show threadBrian KendigDec 21, 2023

@mathew I heard that story too. I really hope the person wasn't fooled by the fact that Animal Crossing automatically generates messages from "Mom" to your in-game mailbox every now and then. But if they really were real messages from his real mom - and they very well may have been - then that's a lovely story.

I also recall the story of the guy who was dusting off his old Xbox on which his dad played a car racing game before the dad passed away - and the guy discovered that he could race a 'ghost' of his dad's best performance on the tracks. So he played it over and over as a way to race his dad again, though he would always stop before the finish line so as not to overwrite the ghost.

There are people who say that video games are only mindless entertainment, but I know they're an art form that connects people in ways no one could have imagined.