GameSpy: The Role of Religion in Videogames

[sharkey360]

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Check out this article about faith in gaming

Writing about videogames is not generally the stuff of Woodward and Bernstein. Occasionally, a hostile public relations manager will make your life difficult, or you'll lose a scoop to a rival publication. Trying to get a good interview while a game's in development can be challenging, especially if that game isn't in its official PR swing yet. But for the most part, this is the entertainment industry: The consumers want to read about it, the producers want to talk about it, and the rest is just details.



So it was with some surprise that I encountered a wall of fear and paranoia when I called around, asking developers to talk about religion in gaming. What I found is a small handful of people who think about the issues a lot, and wanted desperately to be part of the conversation...and a vast, silent majority who didn't want to touch the topic with the proverbial 10-foot pole.

"There cannot be a hotter potato than this hot potato," explains Peter Molyneux, Creative Director of Microsoft Game Studios Europe and Lionhead Studios, and one of the brave few not only willing, but eager, to talk about issues of faith. "Religion is one of those things where -- if you're specific about it -- you're going to get yourself into a mountain of trouble," he suggests. "You have to be very, very careful."

More at GameSpy: God's PR Problem: The Role of Religion in Videogames - Page 1

[vern]

If religion plays a role in a game other than for story and setting, I would take the game box and crucify it upside down while chanting my morning players. Allahu Akba!

[sharkey360]

I wonder how many local gamers take religion seriously in their games.