I want to make someone cry.

I don't do storytime very much, 64Digits. But with our roots in a gaming site, I decided to share an interesting experience with you. And after this blog, I'd like to ask you the same question.

At first glance, this may seem rather silly. But take another look and you realize that as a community of artists, this should be your goal in life–to impact others with your creations. And so I will share with you a game that has impacted me in many ways.

That game is Rune Factory. And this is how I met it.

Rune Factory is a spinoff of the Harvest Moon franchise, taking the mechanics and putting it in a fantasy setting. I remember the first time I saw the name and paid no mind to it. I was online looking up what new Harvest Moon games were coming out (back when they were actually good), and found nothing but a link on the side that I thought was an ad. I didn't bother clicking it.

Back in 2007 I got my first job, and had more money than I knew what to do with. I bought my laptop that I'm still working on today, a high-quality mic for my mom, and an assload of games I wanted to try out.

These days I hit GameStop twice a year. Back then I would frequent it weekly.

One day I walked in there, and on a poster in the middle of the store, it was advertising Rune Factory. I didn't pay much mind to it until I noticed the subtitle mentioned Harvest Moon. And that was the first time I reserved a game–because I was open to trying things and if they weren't that great, I'd sell them back.

The time came that I could pick up my order, and so I did.

I was hooked.

I quickly learned and accepted the fact that the Rune Factory franchise doesn't have the most original stories or gameplay. But I'd been toying with the idea of mixing Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, and Fable to get the ultimate do-anything social game. Rune Factory beat me to it. And so while my childhood dreams were crushed, I actually got a chance to play the game I'd wanted to make for so long.

I didn't bother with the second game because I fell out of gaming, and had no income for a while anyway.

One time for Christmas I found out a Wii version was coming out that acted as the sequel to the game that had first hooked me. Naturally I asked for it, and spent all weekend playing that game.

It took me a year to complete it, because there was a little system in it that broke the game and made it overly difficult to do simple things. But despite that, I'd keep coming back.

Finally I finished the game's story, and the final boss fight still brings tears to my eyes to this day.

This has been one of the very, very few games, novels, movies, or shows to make me cry. And not out of sadness–out of a sort of epic feeling, something that felt so cliche but at the same time, unheard of.

Last night I couldn't fall asleep because that scene made its way into my head. I opened up the game again and loved every minute of it. But I still wished I could experience the game again the first time. It's always better that way.

After that, the third DS game came out. It didn't impact me as much, but it was still good. And finally, the second Wii title. I had a difficult time getting attached to it, but the final boss fight, once again, invoked a feeling of epicness, even though it was predictable.

Rune Factory: Frontier stands as my favorite game of all time. It brings back memorable characters from my first experience with the franchise, and combines everything I've come to love in a great-looking and fun experience. And while it's not for everyone, this is the game that has impacted me most, and I've taken a lot from it into my life.

And last night I thought back. If none of this had happened, I wouldn't have truly enjoyed any game in my life. And it's that game that made me realize storytelling is my talent, and that if I have one goal in life….

It's to impact someone with my work.

So now I ask you….

What is the game or story that has impacted you most, and how did you discover it?

I guess I have to do a quick RPG update now that we're in the last month. This week I cracked down like no other. I added some nice shinies and fleshed out the rest of the story. The game will have six endings, which you influence with your choices. I'd like to provide a sort of replay value for those dissatisfied with the endings they earned, and this will give them a chance to try a new class and make new choices to see the rest of the game.

I've got hundreds of hours of editing in this file and its resources. All for a hopeful five hours of gameplay.

Don't you love development?

A fair disclaimer right now would be that I'm reusing no more than five tracks (if even that) with at least ten other tracks composed specifically for this game. This is the only unoriginal content in the game, although everything has been done by me.

And I take back what I said before. I'll post one or two more progress blogs to build some interest.