In Part 1, I discussed death caused by the player, and how some games try to make pulling the trigger feel like the grave, powerful and irreversible act it is. In this part, I'll be looking at the death of characters friendly to the player, and how these moments can illicit an emotional reaction in the player.

Author's note: This post contains spoilers for Fable II and The Walking Dead.

Death of Friendly Characters

When designing Fable II, Peter Molyneux really wanted to illicit an emotional response from the player. How he intended to achieve this was to give the player a loyal dog that would be a constant companion throughout his/her adventures. Much effort was put into creating life-like AI for the dog to make it seem as real as possible, all with the goal of making the player feel emotionally attached to their four-legged friend. Then late in the game, as the player looks on helplessly, the dog is killed. This is where we were intended to feel something. But for me, the moment just didn't resonate.