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Good Examples of Religion in (video) Games

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  • Good Examples of Religion in (video) Games

    The topic of religion came up in the "What Video Games Have You Been Playing" thread, and I thought it was a topic worth exploring a bit more. I'd like to see a constructive conversation, so if we have to bring up cases where it's handled particularly badly, let's also try to think of ways it could be handled better. Otherwise, I'd suggest looking at those cases where it's handled relatively well and why those cases work.

    We're probably going to have to deal a lot of plot spoilers here, but let's still give a little warning.

    I haven't put a ton of thought into this as yet, but I guess I'll offer one example of when a game uses elements of religion relatively respectfully. I don't know if it's a particularly good approach, but if none of y'all have better examples, at least we'll have this one:

    One approach I've noticed tries to be inoffensive while still making use of the church as a part of the game's world. In games like Tales of Symphonia and Dragon Quest VIII [SPOILER ALERT], you run into a number of people affiliated with the game's church, a good number of whom are clearly good, but the corruption and corruptibility of that church also play a significant role in the plot's development. In Dragon Quest VIII, for example, both Abbot and later the Pope figures have a vaguely defined faith in the goddess that is the sole member of the game's pantheon, invoke that faith when confronted by the game's villain, and overall seem to be very good people, but there are also corrupt characters around them, one of whom usurps first the Abbot's position and then the Pope's. There are also bits about torture and indulgences and bribes and such, but those are mostly centered around the one or two clearly corrupt religious authority figures, and you run into so many priests/sisters over the course of the game (they are the game's save points) in addition to the clearly good religious authorities that it's hard to say the overall portrayal of religion is bad, but it's also not a particularly deep treatment.
    Don't call it a comeback. It's a riposte.

  • #2
    Incidentally, I put "video" in parentheses because I figured any experiences we've had with religion in tabletop games are just as relevant, and we're more likely to be able to use any insights we have about how to use religion well in a game in our own tabletop or play-by-post games than in developing any sort of game.
    Don't call it a comeback. It's a riposte.

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    • #3

      "Fire is catching. If we burn, you burn with us!"
      "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay here and cause all kinds of trouble."
      Katniss Everdeen


      Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast.

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      • #4
        Good example's of religion in video games????? I need some crickets.
        A happy family is but an earlier heaven.
        George Bernard Shaw

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        • #5
          My post really wasn't about good examples of religion in video games but rather about bad examples. It really bothers me how many Christians casually play games involving "gods" and such. The Bible is pretty clear that the supernatural is no joking matter, and certainly not a game.
          "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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          • #6
            Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
            My post really wasn't about good examples of religion in video games but rather about bad examples. It really bothers me how many Christians casually play games involving "gods" and such. The Bible is pretty clear that the supernatural is no joking matter, and certainly not a game.
            Would you have a similar problem with reading accounts of mythology, treating it as fiction?
            I DENOUNCE DONALD J. TRUMP AND ALL HIS IMMORAL ACTS.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Zymologist View Post
              Would you have a similar problem with reading accounts of mythology, treating it as fiction?
              I think gaming is different because you're immersing yourself directly into the world as a participant.
              "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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              • #8
                Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
                My post really wasn't about good examples of religion in video games but rather about bad examples. It really bothers me how many Christians casually play games involving "gods" and such. The Bible is pretty clear that the supernatural is no joking matter, and certainly not a game.
                Games aren't necessarily trivial any more than movies or plays or any kind of fiction are necessarily trivial. We may call all of these entertainment, but that doesn't mean they're just "fun." We might think of games instead as interactive media, The fact that video games are interactive means they're potentially capable of involving the player in the action more closely, making them relate to and interact with ideas, characters, and events. They can potentially do things that films can't, and I'm interested in discussing what those things are.
                Don't call it a comeback. It's a riposte.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Spartacus View Post
                  The topic of religion came up in the "What Video Games Have You Been Playing" thread, and I thought it was a topic worth exploring a bit more. I'd like to see a constructive conversation, so if we have to bring up cases where it's handled particularly badly, let's also try to think of ways it could be handled better. Otherwise, I'd suggest looking at those cases where it's handled relatively well and why those cases work.

                  We're probably going to have to deal a lot of plot spoilers here, but let's still give a little warning.

                  I haven't put a ton of thought into this as yet, but I guess I'll offer one example of when a game uses elements of religion relatively respectfully. I don't know if it's a particularly good approach, but if none of y'all have better examples, at least we'll have this one:

                  One approach I've noticed tries to be inoffensive while still making use of the church as a part of the game's world. In games like Tales of Symphonia and Dragon Quest VIII [SPOILER ALERT], you run into a number of people affiliated with the game's church, a good number of whom are clearly good, but the corruption and corruptibility of that church also play a significant role in the plot's development. In Dragon Quest VIII, for example, both Abbot and later the Pope figures have a vaguely defined faith in the goddess that is the sole member of the game's pantheon, invoke that faith when confronted by the game's villain, and overall seem to be very good people, but there are also corrupt characters around them, one of whom usurps first the Abbot's position and then the Pope's. There are also bits about torture and indulgences and bribes and such, but those are mostly centered around the one or two clearly corrupt religious authority figures, and you run into so many priests/sisters over the course of the game (they are the game's save points) in addition to the clearly good religious authorities that it's hard to say the overall portrayal of religion is bad, but it's also not a particularly deep treatment.
                  Which religion? Any in particular? I can think of a number of games where religion is somewhat of a plot point. Call of Cthulhu, Clive Barker's Jericho, Assassin's Creed, any of the Elder Scroll games, Black & White. I can't remember any popular game that puts Christianity in any sort of positive light though.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Zymologist View Post
                    Would you have a similar problem with reading accounts of mythology, treating it as fiction?
                    Not making any argument here one way or the other, but it seems to me that there is an educational level to reading mythology that there probably isn't in most modern video games with gods and goddesses.

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                    • #11
                      Heh, I wonder where XCOM would fit into the thread. Galactic civilizations that threaten Earth... not sure how that would fit into a biblical perspective.

                      The game has these as news events occurring in the world:
                      Rioting and religious frenzy follow in invaders' wake
                      World awaits statements from leading religious bodies following alien sightings
                      Religious leaders across America warn that the presence of aliens is a sign of dire times to come
                      Religious leaders across Russia hold meeting to discuss impact of aliens' arrival on doctrine as populace grows increasingly skeptical
                      Many across Canada turn to religion as little hope remains for end to alien conflict
                      As fear spreads, many Brazilians turn to religion for answers
                      "It's evolution; every time you invent something fool-proof, the world invents a better fool."
                      -Unknown

                      "Preach the gospel, and if necessary use words." - Most likely St.Francis


                      I find that evolution is the best proof of God.
                      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      I support the :
                      sigpic

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Irate Canadian View Post
                        Heh, I wonder where XCOM would fit into the thread. Galactic civilizations that threaten Earth... not sure how that would fit into a biblical perspective.

                        The game has these as news events occurring in the world:
                        It's not... entirely unrealistic, I suppose, but does the game have any more substantive treatments of religion? I wouldn't be surprised if not; it wouldn't earn them any fans to put words in the mouths of the leaders of world religions, unless they actually did research into what the religions would be likely to say, and even that could get messy.

                        I don't know how they might have done it better without treading onto more dangerous ground.
                        Last edited by Spartacus; 09-19-2015, 08:03 PM.
                        Don't call it a comeback. It's a riposte.

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                        • #13
                          I remembered a few days ago of an example. In the Fallout 3 DLC, Point Lookout, there's a Christian missionary named Marcella. She belongs to something called the Abbey of the Road, a network of Christian churches in the post-apocalyptic wasteland and is one of the few characters who isn't totally evil, crazy or shady in the DLC. The Abbey headquarters located in western Massachusetts/eastern New York and they might be making an appearance in Fallout 4.

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                          • #14
                            Dracula quotes Matthew 16:26 at the end of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PS1.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Raptor View Post
                              Dracula quotes Matthew 16:26 at the end of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PS1.
                              Is there any particular significance to that quote?

                              I've played a few Castlevania games; there is an institution called "the Church" that seems more like a CIA for the supernatural than a hospital for sinners, or any other significant ecclesiological symbol.

                              Japanese game developers seem to have a certain fascination with Western religion, particularly the ecclesial structures of Catholicism, and it probably makes their games more accessible to a Western audience, but I think it's clear they generally don't see the Church the way the Church sees Herself.
                              Don't call it a comeback. It's a riposte.

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