Christianity and Games
by Paolo on May.26, 2009, under Faith
A few months ago, I solicited the Escapist Magazine to write an article on the problems of creating “Christian” Games. Originally, I wanted to write yet another article panning the Christian gaming community for creating yet another set of horrible and embarrassing games in the name of Jesus. But after I saw an blog post written by Brian of JoyfulGames.com, despairing that “video games may be a completely incompatible medium for proclaiming the Gospel,” the contrarian in me was inspired to write on how Christians may being to approach creating great games, and perhaps even create a whole new culture in the gaming industry.
Why Should Christians Even Bother?
A lot of gamers are simply bored and jaded with their games. They echo the words of Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes “What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say, ‘See, this is new!’ has already existed in the ages that preceded us.” With this kind of attitude, it is no small wonder that arguably the most popular game critic is a man who became famous for his biting sarcasm, Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw.
But this bitterness reveals an underlying anxiety, a deep seated need that claws at the soul: that there is more to life than simply staving off daily boredom which can only seemingly be relieved by what the game gods to bring to us: perhaps a new gadget, another way of playing the same tower defense game, or yet another level of sexual titillation aimed to tease and frustrate you out of your money.
What the Christian brings is a proposal – that not only is there more that Christ can offer to your life, but through good and faithful service to Him, He can transform the gaming industry itself.
To accomplish these ends, the Christian must address the following:
- Mastery of the Craft
- Mastery of Storytelling
- Faithfulness and Service to God
Mastery of the Craft of Game Design
There are a lot of well-meaning Christians in the game industry who set out on a mission, thinking that “all they need is faith” to accomplish their goals. But no matter how much faith, or even how much money one can throw at creating the ultimate “Christian” game, they will fail if they do not master their craft. Though young David had plenty of faith facing the giant Goliath, he also had plenty of practice with his sling beforehand, including slaying a lion.
There are plenty of pitfalls on the road to becoming a good game designer. No matter how much faith you have, if you do not put in the hours and the practice to becoming good at your craft, you will not be able to produce the games that will be a proper expression of the faith. The Christian blacksmith who spends his days talking about Jesus, neglects his craft, and is late on his deliveries is both a bad Christian and an incompetent blacksmith.
Mastery of Storytelling
Where the Christian game designer can truly excel is in creating games with a compelling narrative. This means mastering the art of storytelling and delivering a message with both subtlety and respect to the audience. One of the most compelling conversion stories I have ever seen was the musical “Les Miserables.” There is no preaching, no altar call, no “confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior”, but the story moves you – it makes you think – and it moves your heart.
There has been an argument that a Christian game must present a moral choice for the player. I disagree. Almost every game I’ve played has a story in it where I’ve made no choices on what the protagonist does to the story. The ones I remember have very compelling stories that are interspersed between gameplay sessions, almost like brief intermissions but I made no choices on the plot – I am just a silent witness and a participant in the “gameplay” portions, but not with the narrative.
As long as the narrative is compelling, the characters are real and sincere, then players have no problem being a “tag-along” for the narrative ride. I’m pretty sure that if people can tolerate Hideo Kojima’s sermons in Metal Gear Solid 4, and can even call the plotline “compelling” then I would imagine that more skilled Christian narrators who have a sense of plot could do far better.
But even in a sandbox-like game like Grand Theft Auto could be changed dramatically if you could see the consequences of one’s actions. What if being “wanted” was a permanent state that couldn’t be sugar-coated with a new paint job or a short trip to the police station? What if the murdering of a prostitute made all prostitutes run away from you, or even call the cops on you? Those are simple gameplay mechanics that can change how a person plays a game and views the world. But what if you saw the more human aspects of prostitution, where an impoverished single mother has to make money for her child and takes drugs to live with the guilt of sleeping with countless men since she was a teen?
The Christian can certainly do much more with their games through story rather than simply making a Mario clone with the three wise men hopping through the desert. (I wish that was a joke and not a real game.)
Being a Good Christian
The gaming industry is a horrible place to work if you are a family man. The long hours of work for little compensation is not the place to foster families. Could it be that the reason the gaming industry is so full of testosterone fantasies is because the vast majority of people creating games are young single males?
But let’s take a moment and wonder what would happen if there was a game company that made excellent games with compelling stories (not even overtly Christian stories) that was good to their employees and fostered an family-friendly environment that nurtured their workers lives rather than exploited them? What would happen to that company’s reputation, growth and the talent it would attract? What would happen to that company simply on account of the fact that the people who ran it, were good Christians who took care of their employees on the basis of their faith and love of their fellow man?
Would not such a company make even better games, more joyful games, more edifying games than companies full of anxiety, anger and despair?
In the end, it wouldn’t matter if they made Christian games or not. The very presence of a company that sets an example of how to take care of its people is enough to change the gaming industry whose staple is the exploitation of the worker.
There are many ways to address the problem of creating a “Christian” game. And I will be sure to revisit this subject again in the future. But in the end, it doesn’t matter for the Christian game designer to make games on the Gospel. What matters is that he is a good Christian. And being a good Christian is so much more than spreading tracts – it is being a living example of Jesus for a world that needs Him so badly.
May 27th, 2009 on 6:12 am
Generally speaking, what you described is the Doctrine of Vocation. God has placed us in certain stations where we use our time, talents, and gifts to serve our neighbor. Be it husband, father, software developer, or game designer. These vocations aren’t explicitly Christian, but a Christian approaches them differently out of gratitude for the salvation that Christ has won for us.
I like your game company description. It is exactly what a company run by Christians should look like. It would serve its customers with quality entertainment, and serve its employee by giving them meaningful work and reasonable working conditions. These are the ideals I had in mind when I started Joyful Games. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there (not sure if that’s one of the vocations that God has intended for me) but if you ever run into that company, let me know so I can fire off a resume.
Finally, I won’t let you off the hook. I agree with the observations you have made, but that doesn’t get us closer to the answer of whether games can convey the Gospel. Conveying the Gospel through words is straight forward. It gets a little harder with film and imagery. With games I still wonder if the medium and the message are just at odds and one or the other will be compromised when you try to mix them. This question might be similar to the endless debate on whether games are/can be art.
May 27th, 2009 on 8:29 am
Hi Brian,
I’m glad you mentioned “vocation.” A lot of Evangelicals, who are the primary force behind the creation of Christian games, don’t really use that word. I think too much emphasis is placed on evangelizing than dedication to one’s vocation.
I wouldn’t get discouraged with your endeavor. God will let you know if it is not your calling – especially if you are faithful to your vocation. If at any time my desire to create my own game company puts my family in danger, I know what I am called to do. Being a good husband and father is God’s will and my vocation before anything else.
I have made some suggestions on what a game can do – it can lead someone to the Gospel through narrative. But if you are talking about portraying the Gospel directly through a game, I do not believe that the Gospel itself can be properly conveyed by a “game.” A game tends to trivialize things.
So, I think that is where the medium must be changed from “game” to “interactive storytelling” which is a completely different medium and does go into the realm of art.
May 28th, 2009 on 9:53 am
Paolo,
The pull quote for me is, “A game tends to trivialize things.” The Gospel as a game mechanic seems to fall into this trap.
Thanks for the guidance and insights!
May 28th, 2009 on 10:08 am
Hi Brian,
I’m going to do an exploration on different types of experiences a person pulls from in terms of “fun” and “interactivity.” I think that may give you more help into what you are looking into to portray the Gospel.
Paolo
June 2nd, 2009 on 3:29 pm
Nice article Paolo. I think much of the problem lies in how few examples of Christian Gaming that are available today. I think one solid, amazing game could really shake things up. I do agree that the craftsmanship and the storytelling are essential to making this happen, and hope that there are development companies out there filled with the qualities you’ve described. Now to hope than can get investors to look past the failures and see the potential in building a great Christian game.
To me, games are a medium much like movies, cartoons, books, or music. The intent and subject of each can vary drastically. And their audience too. I think “Christian” Gaming can reach Christians AND non-Christians, but it’s harder to reach both in one game.
I do agree that it’s far more important to simply live a Christian life and be a living example. I hope though, when time comes for my daughter to sit down with her friends to play a few video games, that their will be alternatives for them to play, that may even help shape them into being an example for their generation…
June 2nd, 2009 on 8:19 pm
Hi Joey,
Part of the problem is defining what it means to make a “Christian” game. Brian is describing a game with the Gospel in it and very explicitly telling the story of Christ. I tend to lean more towards C. S. Lewis and Tolkien in using Christian themes.
What would you define as a “Christian” game and what would you like to see in it?
June 10th, 2009 on 11:51 am
Nice post Paolo. I’m so happy to have found a couple more game developers interested in Christian games.
It’s hard making a game that tells a story, because you have two challenges at the same time: doing a good job telling any story at all using games, and doing a good job telling a specifically Christian story in any medium.
I’m pretty confident that you can express the Gospel through a game, though. Good games can be the equivalent of good parables. And we already know how well those worked for expressing the Gospel.
June 11th, 2009 on 4:25 pm
Thank you very much.
I agree that one of the saddest things that a lot of Christians forget is that our God is a masterful storyteller and we should follow in his footsteps.
September 15th, 2009 on 10:53 am
Thanks for the article, I came by this while investigating whether there was already an existing organisation for Christians in the games industry. I have just started working in the industry and I was thinking about an organisation called Christians in Sport, which then led me to think on the Christian Medical Fellowship. They exist to unite Christians in these fields, encouraging one-another and supporting each other. I was wondering if anyone knew of a similar games organisation.
Jon
September 27th, 2009 on 4:47 am
Hi Jon,
The Christian Game Developers Conference (http://www.cgdc.org/) should be a great place to start.
Here is their last big press release for the 2009 conference: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/christian-game-developers-conference-2009-begins-on-july-30th-in-portland–oregon–with-loaves-and-fishes-for-all
Hope this helps!
Paolo