God in games

[C-C-C-Cashmere (old)]

That's the thing, if I wanted to sell units, I wouldn't include God. But the point of this game isn't to be popular or to sell a game. It's to be a piece of art and get people to think thoughtfully about certain things. Anything that spurs further conversation and open-minded talk I am a fan of, and theoretically the medium of games is just as valid as any other art form to discuss this.

 

[AcosmicDevi]

I am an atheist, so I feel that you should treat a god like any other character in the game. The character should have traits that help move the game, plot, and player forward. I do not feel that any god should be given special treatment simply because it happens to belong to a religion that dominates a particular geographic area neither should you, as the creator of the game, constrain yourself out of fear of offending others. No matter how careful you are, you will offend someone with your interpretation of the god in question. The best you can hope for is to minimize the number of people you offend. If you truly want to be non-offensive, then it would be best to create your own game deity that has no relationship to any god currently worshipped by humans.

I don't agree that the concept of god doesn't have a place in games. Having this character in the game can be useful for exploring concepts and ideas and many game characters are based on gods (primarily those in Eastern religions).

 

[Ms Littlefish]

If you truly want to be non-offensive, then it would be best to create your own game deity that has no relationship to any god currently worshipped by humans.

I have to agree that this is the safest course of action. But it is still entirely up to the OP and the kind of story he is wanting to tell. A lot of works use real life religious imagery and ideals but either leave things unnamed or use a different name.

 

[C-C-C-Cashmere (old)]

I am an atheist, so I feel that you should treat a god like any other character in the game. The character should have traits that help move the game, plot, and player forward. I do not feel that any god should be given special treatment simply because it happens to belong to a religion that dominates a particular geographic area neither should you, as the creator of the game, constrain yourself out of fear of offending others. No matter how careful you are, you will offend someone with your interpretation of the god in question. The best you can hope for is to minimize the number of people you offend. If you truly want to be non-offensive, then it would be best to create your own game deity that has no relationship to any god currently worshipped by humans.

I don't agree that the concept of god doesn't have a place in games. Having this character in the game can be useful for exploring concepts and ideas and many game characters are based on gods (primarily those in Eastern religions).

I like that you said I shouldn't constrain myself out of fear of offending others, and that the best thing I can hope for is to minimize the number of people I offend. I wouldn't mind offending a couple of people, just not every single player.

But based on the feedback I've got from this thread, it seems that most people are open to the concept of God being portrayed in games. I think that my game is just a bit different because most media don't have such a direct and frequent voice of God in the game as mine does: the only two speaking characters in my game are a boy and God. So for God to speak directly and so frequently, I'm a little afraid not only for others but for myself, that I'll misrepresent what I'm trying to achieve. It's a risky endeavour, and I'm actually feeling really nervous about it.

I guess tonight it's going to be pretty hard for me to sleep :/

 

[The Prince of Sarcasm]

I say to just go for it. If you really are trying to represent God truthfully I think he will honor that. I think the overarching answer top your question is that it is ok for God to be in a game as long as you don't use religion as an excuse to bash people. I very much want to play your game because I think you will do a good job.

 

[AcosmicDevi]

@CashmereCat

I'm glad I could help. It's nice to get differing viewpoints on issues to help stimulate your own creativity. At the end of the day, though, you have to do what's best for your game. So don't be afraid to just go for it as The Prince of Sarcasm (and pretty much everyone else) said.

 

[cane_danko]

Is it the idea of God in a game that offends you eschaton or a game focused specifically for Christians. I don't really understand where you are coming from. 

 

[Dark Messiah]

I don't care if some sort of god is in a game as long as it has a purpose and it's not just there to give it forced religious undertones. In my personal projects, usually I make god's big boss enemies, with maybe one good one who is mentioned but is never explicitly proven to exist.

 

[mogwai]

You are creating a game with God. You created God. Are you a Solipsist?

 

[hian]

@hian... I strongly disagree with the first part. Saying that my religion means that yours is wrong shows a lack of grasp on religion. While I do agree most people view their religions like this it is just a popular misconception. I could go more into this but it will get off topic. I do agree with you that she should put what she feels and not tip toe around offending people because if it has any meaning it will both move and offend someone.

No it doesn't - not recognizing that speaking as if one religion is right will alienate people who believe otherwise is a perfectly reasonable thing to assume. You might not be a person like that, and many others might not - that however, doesn't change the fact that the large majority of religions are mutually exclusive in nature, which means that if you make a game tip-toeing around the Christian faith, you're still probably going to piss off a large portion of Muslims, Jews etc. whether you want to or not. My point is that, in trying to give justice to the perspective of one religion, the people who don't like that religion, or think it's wrong, will still find a way to be offended.

I'm not telling you to not make religious narratives - I'm simply telling you that if you want to do that, worrying about offending people is a waste of time, because you inevitably will, so why bother thinking about it? Just do it. I'm sure it will be OK.

Side note though, If you think sensitive religious people getting up in arms over the portrayal of other religions is a "common misconception", then I suggest you take the time to consider all the cases of exactly that happening all over the world(everything from Christians fuming over the Noah movie to Muslims hunting down Christians simply for being Christians etc.).

Just saying.

 

[Paladin-Cleric of Awesome]

In one of my games where religon plays a role (though most of them don't) I have a goddess of life, a god of death, a god of the abyss (he who watches over the natural and unnatural elements of the world and will step in to correct it should the unnatural become unontained) and cosmos, a pretender god who can assume all roles and none and basically screws with the balance.

I try to avoid the one god approach, simply because I believe that all gods exist, at least for the people who believe in them, and just as we have many religions devoted not only to one god, but many incarnations of that one god, and others as well, that should be reflected in games, as both a way to encompass all beliefs and yet none of them at once.

I do make a point of never basing any god or goddess off a specific deity in our own world, instead. Tend fr generalisations. I guess I follow a panettone approach, like the Greeks and Romans, where every god had a role and preformed that role.

I hope that made sense. Getting tired now. Lol.

 

[cane_danko]

No the common misconception is comparing overzealous religious people to religion. We all know the story of the crusades and quran burnings and other religious people getting up in arms or in a hooplah over different things. My point at what was a misconception is people claiming that their religion is right and others is wrong. As I said before though this discussion will get off topic if we go this route. We can go ahead and disagree though because this is about whether God should or should not be depicted in video games. Trying to argue whether people take religion too far is a moot point and that is not what I was saying. And paladin-cleric... your religious views seem to lean towards paganism. Not saying that is right/wrong. It is beyond the realm of science to prove whether a God or group of gods exist and I am of the belief that everyone is entitled to his or her own beliefs. I am a Roman Catholic though I was raised Baptist. I know a good bit about religion and enjoy studying philosophy and theology. I enjoy discussing religion with various different groups and their leaders. I agree that religious people can come off the wrong way sometimes (alot of times even) but then again atheist (and even agnositcs) have their moments flaring up of trying to play the other side of the fence proving that there is no God. You have to remember that both sides usually the person is trying to convince themselves of their own argument and not to try to take it personally. Not that I feel that my religious background plays much of a role here I just thought I would help you understand where I am coming from. Just try to have an open mind about religion (whether you practice your faith or not).

 

[Paladin-Cleric of Awesome]

lol. I probably do identify with paganism... if I identified with anything. As it stands I just let people believe what they want, and that is fine, s long as they don't break basic human rights or use their religion to hurt other people. Personally I was baptized catholic, and was raised as such up to my communion at age 11/12, and now I only go to mass for weddings and funerals, or visit churches and stuff because I enjoy looking at the insides. lol.

But for Games, I don't tend to use Gods, except in the sort of vague sense of "Clerics can use Blessings from the god/goddess they worship). I try to steer clear of our worlds version of gods, be they ancient or modern or whatever, on principle alone, because my games are set in fantasy worlds, therefore our religions do not apply.

So I would say, if your game is based in a fantasy world then avoid using our world religons. If your doing a game based in our world past or present, or even future, then feel free.

 

[Kokoro Hane]

In response to original post;

Personally, I do not see a problem with it. Perhaps this is because I am a Christian myself, but I can also see your concerns. I think the way you are presenting it, however, is very interesting; experiencing a death in the family, we often wonder why someone dies and another doesn't, and for a game sort of explaining to the person who did pass why I think is an interesting topic to explore, but you should execute it very carefully and also, prayerfully. 

I myself have considered having God in my stories, though since mine takes place in a fictional world altogether, there are a few different rules but are all inspired in my Christian beliefs. For example, God has a different name but I try to make it obvious to which God I am referring to while also it can be seen as the god of that world (think how Aslan in Narnia said he goes by different names in other worlds). So that is one way to go about it, though I do applaud you for taking the more direct approach. Yes, there will be people who will not find it interesting or disagree, but in truth most people have manners and do not start flame wars (those who do typically are trolls). Besides, I have played many games or enjoyed many stories that had mythical gods or made-up gods, etc.! I feel stable in my faith for it not to hinder me, and I do not get offend, and I am sure it is the same way with people on the other end, so like I said, approach it carefully and prayerfully. 

 

[captainproton]

I'm a Christian, but my own personal beliefs put me in mind of the story about the seven blind men who each touch a different part of an elephant and each think an "elephant" must be something different (the man feeling the trunk thinks an elephant must be like a snake, the one feeling the ear thinks it's like a fan, etc). Likewise, God is just far too grand for any human or even any culture to comprehend more than the smallest part of an infinite entirety. I truly believe in the Bible as the Word of God, but I also believe that theologies of all the world's civilizations--including Christianity--are reflections of what little we humans are capable of perceiving.

That being said, I don't think the OP can really go wrong, as he's described his game. It sounds less like a game wherein evil beasties are slain, and more like a character's examination of his own life. It sounds to be less about religion, let alone a specific religion, and more about ethics, morality and understanding the consequences of one's actions.

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

Thanks for your words, guys. My ambition is to make the first good Christian game. I know that's an egotistical statement, but I believe people haven't really tapped into gaming's ability to instigate religious discussion. And the people that tend to make really good movies and games regarding religion are those that paint it in a negative light. It's not like I want to be preachy, but I'm making a game where Christianity is portrayed in an intelligent and debatable manner. The God that I am portraying isn't inherently the God that exists, because, if you assume He does exist, he has infinite depth and thus you can't accurately portray His "mysterious ways". But the God that I'm portraying is playing around with the concept of mankind's idea of God, the way they view God, and the way that God might actually be.

I assume that people won't really be too offended since it exists in a fictional world, and thus God is allowed to exist there, but I still feel like I should be treading slightly carefully.

This sounds like an excellent idea.  Littlefish is right, no matter what you do you'll offend SOMEONE out there. That's just the nature of nospinespeople.  Of course, I'm sure you'll do your best not to be offensive INTENTIONALLY, too.

 

[Matombo]

Haven't read everything in this Thread (sry), but my opinion on Religion and other politicaly problematic subjects in Games (omg even the fact that religion is always threated as politicaly problematic):

JUST DO IT! The western world -should- be at least one of free speace. And an rpg maker game isn't such big deal, that you will make it to the news, if your aren't straight forward racist.

 

[amerk]

I separate my real life and beliefs from entertainment and fiction. Xenogears was probably one of the most controversial games I've played, but it didn't bother me in the least because it's all fantasy and fiction. While I hold on to my own beliefs, I'd like to believe I'm well open minded to enjoy the ideas and stories others tell within their movies, books, and games.

 

[Euphoria]

This is why my game has a fake made up religion. I don't see people being turned off by a fictional religion. And the player isn't going to be preached to by these fake gods either.