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Feature Articles > Features > Game with God
With the help of some of the greatest designers in gaming, we take a look at how religion and spirituality are addressed in computer games. Theologian Paul Tillich once noted that, "Religion is the substance of culture", which is not a controversial statement when you consider the impact religion and spirituality has had upon the faithful in all cultures. They even reverberate through the secular world, reflected in art, music, architecture, entertainment, even computer games, often with great benefits. "Games that treat religion realistically, weaving it into the game as it is woven into people's lives, can provide a richer and more realistic simulation," says Destination Games founder and Ultima creator Richard Garriott. "Spirituality lends the game world credibility and completeness. The search for meaning in life is universal, and a shallower life of conflict and treasure collecting will never match the strength of a game that includes ethical or spiritual underpinnings." While religion and spirituality add a lot to a game world, they often aren't used effectively. "I don't think there are any games that treat religion at anything more than a superficial level," says Firaxis founder, and Civilization creator Sid Meier. While PopTop Software's Phil Steinmeyer agrees, noting that "Religion is ignored in gaming, or if it is portrayed, it's wildly caricatured." If religion and spiritual concepts can potentially add so much to a game world, why are they only used superficially? Why are they caricatured? And what will the future bring? To answer these questions we looked at games from the recent past, and considered how religion isùsometimes cleverly, sometimes clumsilyùused in gaming. We invited a few top game designers to come along and show us the sights, to in effect, play Virgil to our Dante. "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit" Luke 12:25 Role-playing games (RPGs) traditionally avoid using established religions in favor of using mythological gods and goddesses. A typical computer RPG features Priest characters, but they often function merely as medics and healers. They don't preach, or further any religious end, they instead act as a medieval triage team. One exception to the 'godlessness' of a typical fantasy RPG is Diablo and Diablo II, which feature gameworlds where Hell is an actual destination and defeating a 'devilish' character is the ultimate goal. The Diablo universe also features Old Testament angels, like Tyreal, who provide a stark counterpoint to the evil you're fighting. Few secular games feature both a satanic underworld and also imply that its heavenly opposite exists. Implying a Christian paradise in Diablo's world helps put the evil of its villain into sharper perspective. But there's an absence of spirituality and morality in Diablo. "The good guys often kill and loot indiscriminately on their path to the evil bad guy," notes Garriott. Richard Garriott received a lot of fan mail from his early Ultima games; a lot of them were from, in his words, "religious extremists protesting the very idea of role-playing games." This was during the early 80's, back when Dungeons & Dragons was being blamed for all sorts of societal ills, like Devil worship and teen suicide. Garriott didn't dismiss these letters; instead they made him think about the content of his games, and more importantly, the context of his game world. The result was Ultima IV: The Quest of the Avatar, a game that used a series of ethical questions to determine your character class, and then thrust you into a world that offered a great deal of freedom. There were monsters to slay, treasures to take, and quests to perform, but behind the scenes the game tracked you based on eight virtues. If you ran from a battle you would lose Valor, for example. Lie to characters and your Honesty would suffer. The result was a game that had no traditional villain. It had monsters and quests, but behind the scenes it had a code of ethics to live up to. The goal was perfection, to become the Avatar for Garriott's imaginary world. This internal and highly moral quest for virtue and redemption became the theme of all the Ultima games that followed. Adventure games typically use religion as the historical and supernatural backdrop needed for such a story driven genre. Arguably, no one has used early Christian history, myth and iconography better than Jane Jensen in her Gabriel Knight series. Jensen claims this wasn't intentional, "I chose a paranormal detective theme for my Gabriel Knight series. The religious element has just developed naturally as part of that theme." Sometimes adventure games use it as a story device, like the Cult of the Hammerites in Thief: The Dark Project. The cult and their churches make the supernatural element easier to swallow, and the zealotry of the faithful increase the tension in the game. While the full extent of Vampire: The Masquerade-Redemption's spiritual thrust was that it cast a nun as your vampire character's main love interest. The game uses the Adam and Eve 'corruption of innocence' motif, as a simple, melodramatic story device yet never exploits it fully. Action games tend to treat religious or spiritual concepts quite casually. They're used as a backdrop, or setting, in games like Doom, and Quake, or they're used in a light-hearted manner in games like Requiem: Avenging Angelùwhich featured an angelic protagonist complete with a Mohawk and a biker attitude. Sometimes they're used in an offensive manner like Messiah's wisecracking cherub and its morally bankrupt population of nuns and priests. However, a few Christian shooters have recently materialized on store shelves to compete with the secular shooters. The War in Heaven (Valuesoft), Catechumen, and Ominous Horizons: A Paladin's Calling (from N'Lightning), all feature fairly primitive graphics by current standards and haven't enjoyed a very positive critical reception as of yet. But they feature less violence (enemies dissipate into light, rather than explode into bloody chunks), offer much better motives for you to fight the forces of Hell, and they even reward players with Biblical lessons and scripture. N'Lightning's games have reportedly sold well, but only within the Christian market. They haven't yet captured the imagination and attention of the secular audience. Also, a company called Astrolab has made a few Islamic action/adventure games (they appear to be heavily based on trivia and religious lessons). "Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war?" Isaiah 36:5 It's easiest to find religious references in the strategy genre. Here religion is presented as historical context, or it's incorporated into the gameworld to function as Karl Marx put it, as "an opiate for the masses." Take, for example, Sid Meier's Civilization series. According to Meier: "Civilization treats the development of religion as a cultural advance, which brings benefits primarily in the area of the happiness of your population and their loyalty to your culture." A Cathedral, in Civilization III, has the dual effect of fulfilling your people's needs and impressing your neighbors. These ideas simplify religion's effect on real-world culture into a game play mechanism, but one that's meaningful throughout the game because it plays into your decision-making. Do you build more weapons? Or do you placate your populace with entertainment or religious achievements? What about RTS and Strategy Games? Click here for MORE!
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