Kotaku - Study Says Video Games Have ‘Problematized’ View of Religion

[KZN02]

Link

I dunno, doesn't religion sometimes have problematized view of video games too?

[VirtualStranger]

Do video games spend too much time emphasizing the violent aspects of religion?

Video games emphasize the violent aspects of everything.

[KZN02]

Do video games spend too much time emphasizing the violent aspects of religion?

Video games emphasize the violent aspects of everything.

How else would you appeal to the demographic?

[Yaezakura]

I believe it's simply a case of someone trying to create controversy out of good storytelling. If religion is important to a story at all, it's because the religion is a problem. If it's not a problem, it's not a factor. No one cares about religion in a story if it's not a cause of conflict. Would anyone want to sit through entire paragraphs of a fantasy novel dedicated to explaining the religious practices of the population if they weren't somehow directly involved in the overall narrative? Of course not. So why the hell would anyone want to sit through such information in a video game?

One of the most important aspects of telling a story is limiting the narrative to only factors that matter. To use an example, if you take the time to describe a sword on a wall, that sword needs to be there for a reason, otherwise describing it was useless and a waste of the reader's time. Maybe the sword is one given only to army officers of a certain rank, and thus helps establish who a character is. Maybe later in the story that same sword is used in a fight. But if you took the time to mention it, it has to be a factor. It has to have a point.

So unless a character's religious beliefs are a core aspect of their role in the story--perhaps they're a priest, or a shrine maiden, or a monk--it's simply not a factor. So when it comes to the overall religious practices of the population of a video game... unless those practices are a source of conflict, they are at most a very minor background aspect of the world's flavor. So any time religion is an actual factor in the game's narrative, of course it's going to be "problematized". If it wasn't, it wouldn't need to be talked about at all!

[VirtualStranger]

I find it odd that the article points out Assassin's Creed as an example. For the most part, the series portrayed the religions of the time period very realistically.

How else would you appeal to the demographic?

What demographic?

[Shane for Wax]

Fuck Kotaku. Get that trash out of here.

[Askold]

1. The selection of games is silly.
2. The study concentrated on weird things. ME2 Thane, sure he is a religious assassin but ME series also has Ashley Williams being a devout christian, that one Hanar preacher and a short article about each races religions/philosophies so why concentrate on that one thing. Probably since they just wanted something that fits their hypothesis. Also blood thirsty Templars is not an extremely unrealistic portrayal.

3. What was it that you have against Kotaku?

Fuck Kotaku. Get that trash out of here.

4. We see all kinds of portrayals of religion in games. Sure sometimes the evil church/cult is the antagonist but rpg's usually also have religions shown in good light, since they usually have religion of good, religion of evil, etc. or if they aren't lazy they actually make the religions more complex than just good/bad.

[Sylvana]

I find the choice of games for the case study to be interesting, especially their mass effect example. In Mass Effect the character they are looking at is Thane the assassin who prays for the people he kills  because he feels remorse in his actions. This is not showing some kind of violent aspect of religion, this is showing the personality of a violent person who has his own personal struggles. Thus making the character interesting.

Religion in any story telling medium does not need to be a source of conflict, but is often used as a means to give certain characters depth. A religious character may act in a way that would be unusual in any normal circumstances, but with their religious background their actions can be explained, even without any violence being introduced.

Video games as a medium generally focus on violent stories. As such the religion used to give the world depth is often incorporated into that violent underlying core mechanic. However, in a number of RPGs you have pacifist religious sects as well as violent religious cults. They simply fit the story in a deeply focused and zealous organization that cannot be convinced to change their ways.

To be honest, a much more in depth study of religion in video games would be interesting, but it would have to be done by an unbiased source unlike the person who created this report.

[KZN02]

I find it odd that the article points out Assassin's Creed as an example. For the most part, the series portrayed the religions of the time period very realistically.

How else would you appeal to the demographic?

What demographic?

Hmm, sorry about that. I meant teenage boys and men who like action and stuff. Course, I'm generalizing that. Maybe I meant it as sarcasm?

[VirtualStranger]

I think that demographic is already pretty well covered, if you ask me.

[ThunderWulf]

Video games need conflict of some sort for the player to remain interested.  If there happens to be a central religion of some kind in the area or the game, then of course it's going to be involved in the conflict, because you wouldn't need to mention it otherwise.

I find the choice of games for the case study to be interesting, especially their mass effect example. In Mass Effect the character they are looking at is Thane the assassin who prays for the people he kills  because he feels remorse in his actions. This is not showing some kind of violent aspect of religion, this is showing the personality of a violent person who has his own personal struggles. Thus making the character interesting.

Yeah, the Thane example made me raise an eyebrow.  Someone didn't understand his character at all.

[Shane for Wax]

3. What was it that you have against Kotaku?

Fuck Kotaku. Get that trash out of here.

Kotaku is poor journalism at its finest. It doesn't know the gaming demographic beyond the immature teens who think about boobs all the time.

They also can't seem to figure out simple nuances of games. They never look beyond. Their selection of games was silly at best. Downright stupid at worst.

I won't forgive them for their constant articles that make all gamers look bad. People can't take gamers seriously because they perpetuate the stereotype.

As for the article at hand: Everything has a different view of religion. There are plenty of examples of religion done right and done wrong in the same damn game (take Fallout 3 for instance.). I don't trust Kotaku to know how to write a good article about this subject at all.

[Eniliad]

Fuck Kotaku. Get that trash out of here.

Not only is Kotaku shitty for its content, but also for its web design. Fucking thing threatens to crash my browser just loading it.

[Shane for Wax]

Fuck Kotaku. Get that trash out of here.

Not only is Kotaku shitty for its content, but also for its web design. Fucking thing threatens to crash my browser just loading it.

My browser won't load anything outside of the Kotaku logo. XD

[StallChaser]

How many real-life wars were fought over religion?  Reality 'problematizes' religion waaay too much.

People should get back to their roots when it comes to religion.  Commandments like "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's achievement points" are still really important in these times.