Slashdot Mirror
God Mode
1up has an interesting look at the curious place where religious beliefs and gaming habits intersect. From the article: "'We view games as just games,' says Kendrick Kenerly, founder of +CGO+, Christian Gamers Online. 'They all boil down to a few things: They have a goal, they have a reward for the goal, and they have a set of rules that need to be followed to reach the goal. The violence in most games isn't something we get worked up about. It's merely presentation, simply a way to convey an experience to players so they can follow the rules to reach the goal.' Abstract games like checkers, chess, and Monopoly operate in the same fashion, Kenerly argues-they merely employ different presentation methods."
Killing pawns and rooks is obviously intended to desensitize people into more violent means of expression. Why do you think there are so many smelly people who do medieval reenactment?
The article brings up an interesting point that I've always used to defend myself against more radical religious elements I've come into contact with:
Men are fricking war machines, and throughout nearly any of the world's holy books war is a fact of life: the Bible, the quran, (heck even the Bhagavad-Gita is narrated in a war setting).
In today's culture, men are told that the very things that selected their genes for greatness in the past (i.e. warrior prowess and the ability to survive) are liabilities. Thousands of years of genetic selection aren't going to be reversed in a few hundred years.
In that vein, I believe video games are a reasonable (and even constructive) outlet for a man's natural agressions. It could be said that God made men this way, so who are we to deny that?
For me, my faith is almost exclusively about self control, but at the same time I'm fully aware of my own humanity. Having a safe and (legal) outlet for myself is a wise choice. Obviously, games can become pathological, but that's true about anything.
My personal poison is Halo, and I've found that during the game I increasingly find myself looking after the welfare of my marine NPCs. I do generally tend to steer away games that are violent for violence sake. I think if you look back, the reason so many early games were generally pointless (i.e. DOOM's run-and-shoot mentality) is because back then that was already pushing the limits.
Just my two cents. Most rabid religious types are simply afraid of change. There are some of who aren't blindly reactionary, and realize that this isn't an bridge we want to burn our credibility/time over. Don't lump us all together.
The Secret of Life: Proteins fold up and bind things.
You know the most violent book I have ever read.. The Tanakh (What Christians would call the old testament)
.. well they are a lot of fun , a good experience that you can live through , something that would be impossible or out and out idiotic in real life.
.. or perhaps you could look a little deeper , not take them so literally (that one goes out to the Creationists) and just have fun .. and perhaps learn something.
It has sexual assault , Genocide , All forms of Killing , Hell The entire Human race is drowned to death bar 1 family.
You know what though , it is an enjoyable read , filled with many philosophical and metaphysical thoughts .
Games
They allow people to de-stress , perhaps live out some primal urges and have a lot of fun. You can even learn things on occasion.
It's all about how you look at it.
You could see either as pure blood thirsty pieces
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
Occam's Razor , Perhaps Zonk just likes 1up.com and posts stories here that interest him
From the article: "Many people seem to have this misconception that somehow Christian means nonviolent.
However, there was this guy named Jesus who said:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:39-45 (King James Version).
So, it seems to me that these MOG guys are full of ####.
No, I don't trust in god. He'll have to pay up front, like everybody else.
I was doing one of The Barrens instances and we kept wiping. This mage would always say it was Gods will for us to have to start over, so we would learn. In all actuallity he was trying to tank. We booted him and got another mage, finshing it no problem.
Now that I think of it, God was trying to teach a lesson. Not to me or the others in the party, just that mage. And the message was "That's nice, LEARN 2 PLAY!"
So what about the famous fifth commandment, the one that says, "Thou shall not kill?" -FTA The fifth commandment actually is the one that says "Honor your father and mother."