Can a game like this be fun without empathy/tragedy?

[plasticpanzers]

Watching the rather epic trailer of Star Wars today and seeing the depth of what must be
said is great emotion that may be in this installment can a computer game also have the
empathy and sense of tragedy of a famous movie series or book series?

I mean not just getting a point value or 'gee i just blew up another planet' what is the real
acomplishment that a player can feel in the game that can possibly be coded into it to make
them feel in a real universe of living beings?

The empathy of a fallen race or a destroyed world. The destruction of a fleet and 10s of
thousands of lives. The conquoring of a world. Is it just a matter of point value to victory?

May seem like an odd post but can such depth at all be found in any game that can match that
of a film or a book or is it just number crunching and graphics and the ego of the player?

Just my humble opinion and viewpoint

 

[Zarine]

Maybe we can hope for some event that would make you care about your leader. And for whom you might have some hard choices to make.

After, one big issue with it would be that it's best within a story, and in a game where everything is possible, having a story that would fit into it is really hard.

 

[risker34]

That's the beuty of large scale stratagey games, you see the world through the point of view as national leaders, generals, or other forms of power wielding individuals. To a galactic empire a fleet of ten thousand people is nothing, blowing up a hostile planet to assure no one messes with you? Perfectly worth it. In the scope of several hundred years individuals are expendable

 

[Milten]

I wouldn't have high hopes on that, devs said leaders will have some traits but that's it, not even close to CK2's level of personalization.

That's the beuty of large scale stratagey games, you see the world through the point of view as national leaders, generals, or other forms of power wielding individuals. To a galactic empire a fleet of ten thousand people is nothing, blowing up a hostile planet to assure no one messes with you? Perfectly worth it. In the scope of several hundred years individuals are expendable

More than that. Player doesn't have career to pursue, kids to raise, money to steal. Single pure will on state level.

 

[Meraun]

CK II was great in taht. I felt really bad when my old king died after 55 years of good reign, after smahsing rebellions, loosing kinds and wife and getting betrayed by his best friend bastard brother
to wich he gave a duchies because of their friendship.

Or when my heir died and in order to keep my dinasty alive i had to kill my doughter husband and their 2 kinds. so can remarry her martirilinar

 

[EntropyAvatar]

In an historical game, I think a lot of the sense of empathy and connection comes from the history. We've read about the great battles, ideas and developments of the era and now we take a hand in seeing them play out. It's just some pixels and number floating up, a ticking counter and a part of the map gets a different colour. We fill in the terrible spectacle of the battle, the suffering of the long seige and the resigned negotiation scene.

In Stellaris, this can all connect to our experiences of SF stories and adventures. If the mechanics lead to memorable moments and stories popping up organically, they will be our stories and I think empathy and involvement will naturally follow.

 

[Krajzen]

I don't get the point of this thread. Stellaris isn't RPG or story-based game but strategy (grand scale strategy) game. If I want empathy and tragedy I play the former. If I want the simulation of particular universe and shaping history I play the latter. Two different experiences.

 

[Daltesh]

To answer your title: Yes, yes it can.

 

[Jerree17]

I mean, I'm thinking that the main sense of attachment for me is going to come from the fact that our empires are largely going to be our own creations, making our own history with them as the game progresses. I'll definitely feel a sense of loss if my pops abandon their traditional values and the empire is torn apart after working so hard to build it, or if a world on which I've built a royal mausoleum is taken by filthy aliens, or if the imperial flagship is destroyed in battle.

It's not going to be as character intensive as ck2, but our scientist and leader characters seem like they'll still matter, their unexpected deaths due to my poor decisions/megalomania would be a real hump-buster, too.

 

[fabius]

I get what the OP is saying. Games, even or especially strategy game are best fun when some empathy type thing is developed. Usually with healthy amount of imagination, and sometimes mental role play.

I guess this has often come with war type game when attachment to specific squads or units has developed.

As for Stellaris, and other P'dox games, characters, units and planet/provinces that have some uniqueness and development. So units leaders that gain XP and traits, and Planets that have unique positions or bonuses.

Other empathy comes from the game making 'stories'; that can mean that some wins are hard fought and close. And the AI doing things that are understandable but sometimes surprising and challenging.

 

[zukodark]

That is not the emotions I want in this game. I want inspiration, glory and greatness. An empire's path to greatness, led by me. An empire that I have shaped through choices and creation. I want to feel the wonder of exploring space, the feeling of accomplishment after winning a war, finishing a goal, or colonizing a planet. Not sadness or empathy.

 

[fabius]

That is not the emotions I want in this game. I want inspiration, glory and greatness. An empire's path to greatness, led by me. An empire that I have shaped through choices and creation. I want to feel the wonder of exploring space, the feeling of accomplishment after winning a war, finishing a goal, or colonizing a planet. Not sadness or empathy.

Indeed, that is the good side of empathy with the in game characters, units, colonies, empires.

 

[Sinister2202]

I always thought of grand strategy to be one of the most heartless genre there is. I mean, the genre itself isn't really heartless but the players themselves could be. After all, all we see are charts and numbers that describe tragedies. We just merely act on them like machines.