When I played Dungeons and Dragons, I always played my characters as serving the cause, trusting that the Circle of Eight (the wizards of Greyhawk) knew what they were doing and that the tasks they sent us on had a genuine purpose. We usually didn't discover there was anything wrong with what we were doing without first uncovering a significant plot element that altered everything. Never did I think, "What makes them think they deserve to be in charge, anyway? What in this for me, really?"

Those are the kinds of games I like to play, that give me a chance to take on that kind of role - although at times I do enjoy seeing the interesting things that happen when internal struggles take place. Starcraft is a prime example of such a storyline. Even though you are controlling the missions and have to succeed in order to advance, do you really agree with what everyone is doing? Are you playing in agreement of the characters? They all have their own points, and they are mostly all easy to respect for their convictions. The main enemy, Kerrigan, simply comes across as a tragic character to me.

I always felt like there was some grander thing or reason why everything happens the way it does. Good stories are just a more focussed portrayal of that. Lately, however, artforms and entertainment aren't spending so much time presenting things that I can connect with in that way. Now it seems entertainments nowadays gives us an excuse to admit that we are a certain way, rather than strive to be something better. Well, there are balances between striving to be something, admitting to what you are, and mistakenly believing what you actually are.

I would hope my game designs help the player explore those questions. That's the best connection to game design I can think of, at least from my own viewpoint.

[edited by - Waverider on March 31, 2004 11:13:53 AM]

Although religion doesn''t play any major role in my life (I''m SORTA atheist, though that doesn''t quite apply to me; I''m not agnostic, mind you, though) I''ve found that religion and war are two elements which have a pretty strong impact in any storyline I come up with. In fact, I think pretty much all of them have had influences from one or the other.

My current project, Silver, is a cyber-punk thriller kinda side-scroller action/adventure game with a Metroid/Castlevania feel to it. The game rapidly descends into a religious conflict where a cult seeks to "resurect" God and ends up becoming quite a threat to society.

My other project, my MAJOR project, which is currently on hold while I gain a good enough understanding of SDL to do what I want (I''ve only started using SDL recently and would rather have a bit of experience prior to starting work on anything really major) is based around war between two nations. However, the underlaying theme, freewill and fate, ends up tying in quite strongly with the imperfect god who runs the game world. In the end, everything becomes centered around him, although the religious undertones and symbolism used is much less present than in Silver (where it''s pretty much just eye-candy anyways )

Finally, my AD&D game (currently on hold; I''m taking a hiatus from IRC) is in a world with a war-torn background. The plot revolves around two sects fighting for control over an ancient artifact; one wishes to use it to reawaken a group of evil deities and the other wishes to use it to awaken a demon that was summoned ages ago and to try to control it for their own.

I''d say it has influence the heck out of me...

quote: Original post by Veovis
I''m not religious, but I can enjoy a good mythology (Greek, Christian, or otherwise) for the stories that they are. And actually I''d love to make a Heaven vs. Hell game, with as much accuracy as possible, even though I don''t believe in the concepts myself.

I wouldn''t mind helping you do that, if you''d like. I have a knowledge of angels and demons and where they lack, the Greek mythos can fill in. Dante''s Inferno and Paradise Lost could be major references. Alas, I can only deal with the writing of the game and characters and, maybe, some units, but that''s it.

In rare cases religion could potentially improve the quality of the atmosphere of games. Xenogears, for example, pleads guilty to this accusation.

Jehovah is viewed by Gnostics as fundamentally evil, jealous, rigid, lacking in compassion and prone to genocide.

While this may be true, I think the case would be different if the main focus is religion.

Religion can be an incredibly powerful theme, as long as you avoid taking the horribly literal stance exemplified in the Christian Gaming nonsense you see spilling from America.

Games like Gabriel Knight and Broken Sword took religious themes from the real world and used them in a way that, without being too pushy about it, made you step back during the game and wonder how much of what you were being told was true. Thief is an example of a game that understood the core elements of religion and created their own from that base, using the darker elements of faith to enhance the world''s foreboding bleakness.

So, yeah, use religion. Just don''t let it use you, or you end up making Doom with exploding bibles.

Being an antheist ans anit-religious, I try to keep religion out of my game as far as possible. Mythology happens to be very boring for me,

Well, mythology is religion as fantasy, so I don''t see much difference between that and any other fictional construct.

So, yeah, use religion. Just don''t let it use you, or you end up making Doom with exploding bibles.

LMFAO


Jehovah is viewed by Gnostics as fundamentally evil, jealous, rigid, lacking in compassion and prone to genocide.

quote: If you''re designing a game that features an imaginery religion that is similiar to a religion found in the real world is your knowledge of that real world religion crucial to your game design?

Obviously Yes..., so, which religion is it and who are you intending to offend