::sadmusic
I'm sure there are some people out there who can relate to this situation.
Back when I used to do a lot of reading, I'd occasionally come to the end of a good series or such and be left in a state of semi-depression afterward. [Still happens, I just don't read as often because the internet is an eternal distraction.]
I remember first noting a story having this effect on me back when I read the Dragonlance Legends trilogy. I was amazed by the depth of one of the characters and his ending was particularly thought provoking. After reading the Hunger Games years later and having a similar feeling, I identified it as 'Post Reading Depression' to myself. Google search tells me that some people have written their own thoughts on such an occasion using the same phrase. One person described it as feeling crushed that a story would not continue; that the characters had nothing more to give.
That description is accurate to a certain degree for me. Sometimes a fictional character can be created so well that you have a emotional bond toward him or her and it sucks for the story to end because it feels similar to a lessened version of losing a friend. That doesn't necessarily mean that I think the story needed to continue [in a lot of cases the story ended perfectly], but there is still a feeling of loss because there will be no further connection.
I named this entry 'Post Story Depression', however, because this feeling doesn't only apply to books. I finished Mass Effect 3 almost 24 hours ago but I can't stop thinking about the characters. This is the end of a trilogy that I've been following for a while now, and while Bioware has always been great at creating compelling characters, this series is their best so far. I knew that there would be a lot of emotional moments in a game depicting a battle for earth's survival against a technologically superior enemy, but the level of compassion I have developed for the characters over the course of the trilogy actually surprises me.
I'm the type of person who likes it when a fictional story, be it movie, game, or book, can move me to feel personally attached. What makes this situation truly memorable for me, though, is that unlike a book or a movie, this was an RPG, designed to make you feel as if you were in Commander Shepard's place. As much as I love reading, I love how well a story can be told from this media with the way video games have evolved. It's not just witnessing the actions and thoughts of characters, it's being thrown along with them. Experiencing all of the conflict with them, and in a true RPG's case, making your own mark on the story with your choices. RPGs can be an excellent story telling format. Movies and books have their uses, but only an RPG can give you the element of being involved. If used properly, it's practically an interactive story, and while some disapprove, I think it's one of the most artistic ways to express the elements of writing that provoke an attachment.
A lot of games over the years have tried to claim the experience of having your actions cause the game to change drastically, but they fall short. And while the very ending of Mass Effect 3 wasn't entirely satisfying [everything until the VERY ending was great] and some actions only had minor effects, I'm eager to see more games that can tell a story as beautifully as this series did. I'm even more interested to see how far this genre of RPG can develop as technology improves, allowing for an even more personalized scenario, perhaps.
For now, though, I'm glad to have experienced the story that this series presented. I feel like I'll be mourning my fictional alien assassin boyfriend for a while.
.__.
