Gaming Tears

Manly Tears, Guys. They're Manly Tears.

You're playing an RPG. Now this isn't just any RPG, you've played it for over 80+ hours, you've fallen in love with the characters, and you're so invested in them, you think you might have a slight problem. You've leveled, you've seen some of your favorites die along the way, but now that you're facing the final boss, everything is going to be okay. All of your hard work is going to be validated. You beat the boss, you're celebrating, but then as you watch the final scene, you come to the sudden realization that your main character is dying and there's nothing you can do about it. Helplessly, you watch as they fall asleep... And then you burst into tears.

Okay guys, crying over games is a perfectly acceptable thing. I'm not going to lie, I've cried over several game endings (Persona 3 and Metal Gear Solid 3 are notable games that I've felt like bawling over (is is something to do with the 3? I'll have to try this theory out...)) and the key thing to understand is that it's not a crime to feel sad. Of course you're going to feel gloomy about beating one of your favorite games, of course you're going to feel depressed about leaving behind all of these wonderful characters, and God,  why did they feel it necessary to kill of the main character? I mean what the hell, right? It's just kicking you when you're down! Shedding tears is a perfectly acceptable way to react to this kind of situation.

"But Rachel," you say, "I don't want to cry in front of my friends!" Well, concerned gamer, your friends should accept you for who you are. If you're going to cry, they shouldn't make fun of you for it (unless it's over the end of My Little Pony or Barbie Space Princess or something like that (of course, then they'd probably laughing at your choice of game as well as your inappropriate amout of mucus over the ending where Princess Buttercup falls in love with the Hunky Prince, but that's beside the point.)) However, there are appropriate levels of crying in front of your friends. If you're going to be sobbing to the point where there's going to be snot flying everywhere and you're going to be inconsolable for four hours, then playing through the end of the game with your friends might be a bad idea. Then you might want to wait until the middle of the night when everyone in your house is asleep, and you can lock yourself in your basement and wail like a banshee all you want.

However, if you've been playing through a game with your friend, and the ending makes you tear up, but they're just laughing their asses off at your heroes' plight (the jerk!), then you should probably bite your cheek and try to keep it in. Or at least excuse yourself to the bathroom where you can sob in peace. Really, it all comes down to the atmosphere in the room, and the friend that you're playing the game with. If you feel comfortable with them seeing you so exposed, then go right ahead and show off those manly tears, be proud of your feelings! Let it all hang out (but not too much, because sometimes blubbering cannot be unseen. Especially when you have to wash all the snot out of your clothes. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.)

So the moral of the story is: be in touch with your emotions, know your friends, and always stay in your comfort zone when you want to cry at the end of a game. Knowing when and where it is appropriate to burst into tears can make so many awkward situations instantly disappear, and can truly make the difference between a positive and negative gaming experience.

So how do you guys react when you reach the end of a game? Be sure to let me know!