In most racing games, a player’s best timed run on a given track is recorded by the game as a “ghost” that can be played against to improve upon records and hone your skills. In one gamer’s case, the ghost became a lot more literal after his father passed away, and he stumbled upon one of his dad’s best times still within the memory of RalliSport Challenge. His story is a moving look at how truly emotional gaming can be.
He posted his tale in the comments of an episode of PBS Game/Show on YouTube, which frequently analyzes games from a real-world social perspective. 00WARTHERAPY00‘s response to an episode on whether or not games can be a spiritual experience reads as follows (reposted unedited):
Well, when i was 4, my dad bought a trusty XBox. you know, the first, ruggedy, blocky one from 2001. we had tons and tons and tons of fun playing all kinds of games together – until he died, when i was just 6.
i couldnt touch that console for 10 years.
but once i did, i noticed something.
we used to play a racing game, Rally Sports Challenge. actually pretty awesome for the time it came.
and once i started meddling around… i found a GHOST.
literaly.
you know, when a time race happens, that the fastest lap so far gets recorded as a ghost driver? yep, you guessed it – his ghost still rolls around the track today.
and so i played and played, and played, untill i was almost able to beat the ghost. until one day i got ahead of it, i surpassed it, and…
i stopped right in front of the finish line, just to ensure i wouldnt delete it.
In an era wherein the Moms Against Gaming Twitter account—which I’m still pretty sure is a cleverly subversive parody—sparks rage over issues related to gaming’s negative impact on society, this is a great reminder of the positive things games can do for our lives.
(via The Daily Dot, image via RalliSport Challenge)
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