Christianity in Games and other Media

[anthem47]

I think one of the issues is that to make a character religious they have to make an active statement, or otherwise carry a sign saying 'I am a Christian', or else we assume they don't follow anything at all. Hey, Gordon Freeman could be the most devout person on the planet and we'd never know because he's terminally mute. But once you have a character refering to their faith repeatedly it gets a bit hammy and obvious.

That's the problem I think...
mention faith = looks self-conscious, can see the hand of the writer.
don't mention faith = character must be a heretic. (okay that's extreme, heh, maybe don't mention faith = defeats purpose of portraying Christians in good light).

As a side question, would you like positive representations of Christian people, or Christian ideals? Because ideals is much harder...I instantly think of Rod and Todd Flanders playing Billy Graham's Bible Blaster ("Convert the heathens!").

My final thought tho, I don't think it's a good idea to make a game, or anything, with an agenda. But then it's hard to be purely agenda-less.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

People period sacrificied. But for a very specific one, read Homer's Iliad. Take note of when they're invading Troy. They know the first man to jump off of the boats will die. Some one takes up arms and charges anyways, earning himself a place in the Elysian fields for his sacrifice.

And for a case of death and rebirth, Osiris of Egyptian mythology died, was torn apart, and then rebuilt and became the god of the afterlife.

Yes I know people sacrificed themselves for whatever reason, but the story of jesus was that he died to save everyone else, just like the fallout 3 ending. I'm specifically talking about one sacrificing them self to save the world.

 

[Shadow88]

Good points. I realy don't want a game compleatly based on Christian ideas. I am well aware of the fact that you can't put all of the Christian ideas in a good game. What I want to see is characters who are smart about their faith. For example:

What NOT to do
Silent Hill cultists
Darth Vader as seen in the prequels (faith compleatly destroying reason)
Scarlet Crusade.
These are some things that come to mind off the top of my head

Good protaganist lines
"Quit blameing the Dark Side you are evil and wrong because you want to be"
"Drop the act Scripture will never defend your actions"
"God doesn't know you"
All of these pre(vilolent)smackdown lines have a Scriptual basis.

 

[implodingMan]

Although its not what people tend to associate it with, Clockwork Orange was designed by the author as a pro Christianity work. Just because there isn't an ordained minister saving the day, does not mean that a story does not support Christian values.

 

[RAWKSTAR]

To keep it short-
Don't put religeon in games - no one is offended.
Win win!

 

[meatloaf231]

If I ever get into the game industry, I'd make SimReligion, just to see what happens.

 

[hellthins]

People period sacrificied. But for a very specific one, read Homer's Iliad. Take note of when they're invading Troy. They know the first man to jump off of the boats will die. Some one takes up arms and charges anyways, earning himself a place in the Elysian fields for his sacrifice.

And for a case of death and rebirth, Osiris of Egyptian mythology died, was torn apart, and then rebuilt and became the god of the afterlife.

Yes I know people sacrificed themselves for whatever reason, but the story of jesus was that he died to save everyone else, just like the fallout 3 ending. I'm specifically talking about one sacrificing them self to save the world.

Prometheus put himself at great risk to give humanity the means to make ourselves better, according to greek mythology. Tell the guy getting ripped apart by eagles daily he didn't sacrifice something to make the world a better place and cut humanity a break when there were a bunch of very angry and possessive gods.

 

[TheNoog]

This thread reminds of when my best friend played Halo for the first time. He's a flaming Catholic.


Him-"So, what? Is Master Chief supposed to represent Jesus?"
Me-"What?"
Him-"Yeah. It seems to have a religious type of background. You know... Halo... you're fighting the Covenant..."
Me-"What?"
Him-"What's it all mean?"
Me-"...you run around and shoot aliens. Its not that hard bro."