Theology and popular culture is an ever-growing field with numerous implications for both the church and academia.  Churches and professors have embraced the theological/religious/spiritual implications of film, television, and popular culture.  However, one of the most popular components of popular culture, video games, have yet to come under exploration for their theological/religious/spiritual implications.  Until now.  In his latest book, Halos and Avatars:  Playing Video Games With God, Craig Detweiler has compiled a collection of essays that make it impossible to look at video games the same way again. 

In his introduction, Detweiler reveals the popularity of video games that transcends teenage male gamers.  He also pulls the curtain back on the myth that gaming is a loner activity, as increases in online communication and technology make video gaming a communal exercise par excellence.  Yet despite this popularity, we have no serious vide game critics…aside from popular reviewers for publications like Game Informer, Playstation Magazine, etc.  We do not see writers reflecting critically on what this popularity means for us socially, much less theologically.  This book explores the theological implications of both video game narratives and gameplay itself.  The authors refuse to simply praise or condemn video games, giving us much more insightful engagement with them in the process.

In Chapter 1, Chris Hansen questions whether or not video games are the future of storytelling and how this might influence film narrative.  He examines the influence of video games on the stories films tell and they ways in which they tell them.  However, I would question his critiques of Quentin Tarantino’s films, especially the Kill Bill series as simply modeled on video games.  Asian shock films might be a better resource from which to examine this topic.  Hansen points out that this is not a one way street and that video games are increasingly expressing cinematic aesthetics.  Moreover, multiple ways to solve a puzzle or win a game might bode well for the future of religious pluralism and ecumenism.

Long before there was Heavy Rain, there was Ultima IV, and in Chapter 2, Mark Hayse explores its ability to push the     moral envelope of video games.  Hayse adds of increasingly morally complex games:  “Grand Theft Auto offers a cautionary tale, a way not to be.  Although many video games today incorporate moral economies, their designers tend to make them more explicit than implicit” (38).  A strength of Ultima IV, Hayse argues, is its ability to keep these moral implications veiled.  In Chapter 3, Rachel Wagner reveals why so many Christians might have a problem with video games…they require something of an open-ended narrative, or at least require multiple paths to a pre-determined ending.  Wagner points to the literal interpretation of Scripture that many of video games’ harshest critics support.  Wagner writes, “Film, due to its own fixed trajectory, is thus more suitable to theological inevitability than games, since film more readily parallels the Christian view of time as shaped by God in a predetermined linear trajectory” (49).  Of course, there are numerous Christian views of time that are far from linear or predetermined.  In Chapter 4, Heidi Campbell explores the phenomenon of “Islamogaming,” whereby Muslims incorporate video games for religious education, “image-correction,” and political, social, or religious solidarity.

"Inspirited" play

In perhaps the most interesting chapter of the book, Kutter Callaway explores the theological implications of the Nintendo Wii.  After beginning with a history of gaming consoles, Callaway focuses on the Wii as symbolic of the Spirit’s movement (and desire to move) in the world.  Playing the Wii is an embodied and inspirited experience as it is, Callaway argues, somatic, holistic, and affective.  However, as with some other chapters, I wish Callaway would have taken a risk to further explain or imagine how “we might develop our theological understanding of these experiences as devotional practices” (88).  Chapter 6 contains an interesting conversation with Rand Miller (co-creator along with his brother of Myst) and Marty O’Donnell (music composer for Halo), two Christian game developers.  This interview is further proof of the possible unnecessary existence of an alternative Christian video game industry when committed Christians are doing such phenomenal work in the wider video game industry.

In Chapter 7, Matthew Kitchen challenges the very notion of sport itself by reflecting on the emerging field of competitive gaming as a potential sport itself.  In Chapter 8, Andrew McAlpine challenges the notion of video games as art by drawing a distinction, for one, between creating music and repeating it in games like Guitar Hero.  McAlpine writes, “[...The fact remains] that the experience of playing a game is entirely separate from the aesthetic experience of interacting with art” (129).  There are games that are increasingly more experiential in the sense that McAlpine might mean as opposed to the interactive experience of traditional games.  Such gaming evolutions will further challenge McAlpine’s arguments.

A "Bioshock" screen shot

In Chapter 9, Kevin Newgren examines BioShock as a locus for serious discussions of bioethics and utilitarianism, yet again revealing the success of a “secular” video game where specifically religious ones so often fail.  He also questions, along the way, the very ethics of religious video games that present a “cleaner” alternative:  “While Left Behind attempts to offer good morals, it ultimately demeans women no differently than games like Grand Theft Auto, which allow players to beat up prostitutes” (141).  In Chapter 10, Jason Shim discusses rituals in online communities like Second Life.  Are they as real as first life rituals?  In Chapter 11, Daniel White Hodge attempts to outline a theology for gamers through a series of interviews with and observations of self-professed gamers.  Hodge points to the experiences of the numinous, mystery, and fantasy that video games provide their most committed devotees.  In Chapter 12, John W. Morehead discusses “Cybersociality” and connects fun to the play of God, drawing on discussions of play, imagination, and creation.

A "Second Life" Wedding

In his conclusion, Detweiler looks to the religious future and video games’ implications for it.  These include both interfaith and “intrafaith” challenges.  Detweiler links gamers’ lack of concern for the game manual (preferring to pick up and play) to a changing approach to reading scripture:  “Instead of convincing kids to start their day with a devotion, perhaps we have to shift the emphasis to the end of the day–looking back” (191).  He also adds, “Questions of pluralism will only rise as the gamer generation comes of age” (194).  In the appendix, Kara Powell and Brad M. Griffin offer guidelines for productive conversations about video games for parents and teens.  As such, Halos and Avatars proves to be not only the first text to link theology and video games, but a must read for any teenager or adult, parent, minister, or scholar interested in not only video games but theology and popular culture as well.

One of the most interesting parts of Conrad Ostwalt’s book, Secular Steeples, is his comparison of secular and sacred apocalyptic films.  One of the characteristics of secular apocalyptic films is that humans must and do overcome the apocalyptic threat before them through world unity, technological advancements, military might, etc.  Contrary to this, sacred apocalyptic films wait for God to act decisively while humans must endure the violence around them.  Lately, I have observed a string of video games that mirror Ostwalt’s secular apocalyptic criteria.  Games like Fallout 3 and Resistance 2 might just seem like re-hashed first person shooters, and while Mirror’s Edge abandons weapons for acrobatics, their worlds beg further analysis.

Amid all the election talk last Monday, NPR aired an interview with film critic/historian David Thomson.  During the interview, he suggested that some of America’s best films were made during times of great national crisis, like The Great Depression for example.  He claimed that during those times, people were starved for truth regarding and firm answers to the problems they faced.  Filmmakers, in search of the same, responded with more honest films.  Thomson expressed some measured excitement over and hope for the possibility of great filmmaking to emerge during the tough times that our nation currently faces.

I wonder if the same cannot be said of the video game industry.  Will creators, faced with the same crises, respond as effectively and as imaginatively?  In recent years, creators have focused more intensely on story, seeking out narratives that catch up to graphics in terms of beauty and intrigue.  Are games like Fallout 3, Resistance 2, and Mirror’s Edge, all games with some virtual dystopic element, responses to the threat of real world dystopia.

Apocalyptic themes in video games are not unique to the twenty-first century.  They can be found throughout the history of video games from the controversial Doom series to the various Terminator film video game remakes.  So, in a way, the video games about which I write here are nothing revolutionary.  Wikipedia offers a category of post-apocalyptic video games that includes well over 50 titles (and is in need of updating).  In fact, the numbers attached to the end of the first two games discussed here should tell us something.  Fallout 3 is the third installment in a series of popular apocalyptic video games on the PC.  Resistance 2 is a follow up to the surprise success of Resistance:  Fall of Man, a first-person shooter exclusively for the PS3.

Fallout 3 takes place in a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., and, as the main character, you are one of the survivors.  Born in a large, sophisticated bomb shelter, you have never seen the outside world until now.  As a young adult, you manage to escape and find the outside world ravaged by what was surely an atomic bomb.  Survivors have huddled together in shanty towns (villages).  The monuments of D.C. off in the horizon are ashen husks of their former glory.  You are in search of your father and can find him by interacting with other survivors, helping them with various tasks in return for information.  All the while, you have to battle fearsome mutants and gigantic cockroaches (they really do survive nuclear holocaust).  Oh, and along the way, you will decide the fate of more than one city through your actions.  In the vein of the Grand Theft Auto series, the world is very much open for exploration.  You are free to explore as you please, although acquiring certain items, weapons, and skills will make further exploration much more manageable.  (I paid dearly for crossing the river to check out the monuments straight out of the bomb shelter).  The ways in which you interact with others affects your character’s attributes and just how trusting of you future acquaintances will be.  Virtual karma.

In Resistance 2, the alien Chimera virus that plagued Europe in Resistance:  Fall of Man has now spread to the United States.  As the main character, Nathan Hale, you find yourself in the midst of the apocalyptic battle with the mutant invaders across the country.  Far from waiting on some divine assistance, you arm yourself to the teeth with massively over-sized weapons, a la Gears of War, and meet the enemy head on.  Apparently the game’s only shortcoming, according to critics, is its weak story line.  The creators have downplayed narrative and clearly emphasized non-stop action with everything larger than life.  This too is an apparent short-coming of it’s XBOX 360 counterpart, Gears of War.  One of Resistance 2‘s many strengths, however, is its massive online functionality which boasts competitive and cooperative modes that will keep players engaged well beyond the completion of the campaign mode.

Mirror’s Edge is simply unlike any other game out there.  It takes place in a world that is much more beautiful and attractive, and much less explicitly violent, than Fallout 3 or Resistance 2.  Set in the not-too-distant future, the game’s glossy, pristine city is a veneer for a much more disturbing reality.  The government watches everyone and everything.  Behave, and you are fine…step out of line, and you are finished.  As the main character, Faith, you operate as a runner transmitting packages and information for your clients.  With the police mildly interested in your work, at least enough to shoot at you or pursue you, you get the sense that you are not only serving criminals, but revolutionaries that would seek to overthrow a pseudo-fascist government.  The game encourages non-lethal combat to disarm the police as the focus is on the completion of missions as fast as possible.  (There will be online competitions and rankings to see who is the fastest at competing each level).  Mirror’s Edge draws on the growing popularity of parkour and free running which see cities as giant playgrounds with limitless potential for injury (death?)-defying stunts and movement.

There is no one explanation for the release of these films and their use of (post) apocalyptic, dystopic worlds.  Certainly money is an issue, especially where sequels are involved.  In the case of Mirror’s Edge, we have a fresh idea and gameplay on our hands.  But what of the audience reaction to these films?  Their financial viability signals an enthusiastic, eager audience.  Perhaps these games simply allow us the ability to literally play out these critical scenarios.  Like watching horror films, we can live out, or play out, our fears, or at least these scenarios.  Terror does play a crucial role in Fallout 3 and Resistance 2, while the adrenaline from being pursued or shot at in Mirror’s Edge boosts your character’s performance.

These games are violent to varying degrees, with Resistance 2‘s blood-and-guts-shoot-em-up the most over-the-top of the three.  You can minimize violent contact in Fallout 3, but if you do engage enemies, you can target heads and limbs for gruesomely explosive shots.  In fact, the new combat system and visuals in the game heighten your actions and their consequences.  So these games, despite their varying compelling story lines and settings, will still find themselves in the on-going discussion of video game violence and gamers’ obsession with violent product.

Yet these settings and their story lines are no doubt responsible for the overwhelmingly positive reviews that they have garnered thus far.  Perhaps these stories and settings provide a welcome break from the World War II re-hashes that have made the Call of Duty war video game series so popular.  In fact, this series has quickly and virtually responded to changes in real life warfare and how we fight terrorism.  One of the most recent installments, Call of Duty 4:  Modern Warfare, has you playing as a team up of British and American special forces in a hunt from Baghdad to Russia for a terrorist mastermind.  Perhaps the games discussed here are an extension of that transition and an expression not of how we fight, but of our fears of war and the results of it.

When 25% of 17 year olds (out of 12oo polled) do not know who Adolf Hitler was, we have a serious problem on our hands. Perhaps putting this story in a hand-held context, might remedy that. Unfortunately, it seems like our unwillingness to publish the game will only contribute to this statistic. Gamers, hit the import market.

Indie Nintendo DS Game About a Jewish Boy in Nazi France Pushes Buttons

No Game About Nazis for Nintendo

The session was presided by Gregory Grieve from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and the panelists included Rabia Gregory from the Univeristy of Missouri, Columbia, and Brian Moynihan, Vincent Gonzalez, Pamlea Mullins Reaves, Shanny Luft, and Anne Blankenship, all from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The first three presenters in the group discussed the theme of “Born Digital” and examined the presence of religion in virtual gaming worlds, examining online games like Kabbalah 101 and Shadowbane and the New Age PC Game The Journey to the Wild Divine.

Gregory, Moynihan, and Gonzalez discussed the ways in which these games illustrate religious principles and enliven Scripture. A game like Kabbalah 101 uses intentionally unsolvable problems to teach religious lessons. The questions the panel had for an online battle game like Shadowbane concerned the ways in which the digital religion of the game justifies the rule set of free-for-all interplayer combat in which one player can kill another for any reason. To do this, the creators of the game employ an elaborate religious narrative including its own creation and fall story. Yet to further subvert reality, and perhaps the virtual reality as well, the player never really dies but is reborn in another character.

The study of The Journey to the Wild Divine reveals an ironic transition whereby the religious becomes more technological and the technological becomes more religious. In this game, players wear a set of three fingertip controllers that they use to move throughout the game and that the game uses to monitor physical responses, particularly heart rate. The game is championed by the likes of Deepak Chopra and Dr. Andrew Weil. A question particular to this game, yet that also overrides the first part of the session concerns what happens to the player when (s)he steps back into the real world, having spent such immersive time in the virtual world.

The second group, Reeves, Luft, and Blankenship, which I found much more interesting, examined the Christian video game industry and Christian video game makers’ attempts to cash in on the popularity of secular video games while trying to negotiate the presence of violence in these games. This group also looked at the technological progression of the Christian video game industry from Wisdom Tree‘s early forays into virtual reality to the first person shooter Catechumen and, most recently, the Left Behind video game, Eternal Forces.

This group noted the rise in popularity of the Christian video game industry/market, noting its $200 million business in 2002. Again, an overriding question for this panel is how religious communities negotiate their identities as consumers in contemporary culture. One of the ways they have negotiated the video game industry, and particularly the violence in secular video games that makes its way into Christian games, is, as the panel discussed, through three techniques, metaphoric, adaptive, and justification.

The metaphoric narrative repeats the secular conventions of violence but codifies them in religious terms. The adaptive narrative imitates the qualities of secular games but modifies the violence. The justification narrative allows the existence of violence in a religious virtual world but justifies it as a necessary evil in an ongoing battle between good and evil, most mythically played about between angels and demons. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive and one can find all three in particular games.

The panel discussed Wisdom Tree’s release, Super Noah’s Ark 3D, a direct religious translation of the popular first person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D. The comparisons of screen shots from the two games are invaluable for an understanding of the ways in which Christian filmmakers interact with their secular counterparts. The creators simply exchanged dangerous Nazis with wayward animals and a plethora of deadly weapons with a bothersome slingshot.

Catechumen is another first person shooter that came on the heels of the Columbine shooting. In this game, the enemies are highly demonized (literally) so that the player is justified in killing a demon. However, Roman centurions also stand in the player’s way and must be eliminated as well. Thankfully, when you dispatch a soldier, they evaporate rather than bleed to death. The dialogue surrounding the game hypocritically stressed its “war-free warfare.” This N’Lightning release also allowed players to encounter verses of scripture throughout the game that players could pause and reflect upon if they were not too busy shooting demons with their swords.

Finally, the panel discussed the recent, controversial release of the Left Behind: Eternal Forces video game for the PC. The game has been criticized for its emphasis on “convert or die” scenarios in which, while not necessarily encouraged, a player can kill his opponents if they refuse to be converted. This is the most blatant example of justified violence in Christian video games. The heart of the justification is that forgiveness does not include absolute defensivelessness, and the whole scenario is framed in the ideals of persecution and martydom.

I really enjoyed the panel; however, I did have some questions and concerns. The panel, especially the first half, did not focus on any mainstream games that might also rely on similar religious strategies. The second group only considered violence, an appropriate entre into the discussion, but a passing mention of sexism, racism, and xenophobia in these games is warranted as well.

P.E. Classes Turn to Video Game That Works Legs

PlayStation 3 taking a role in Alzheimer’s fight

As if I need another excuse to want a Playstation 3.