Religion in games: Less a leap of faith, more a suspension of beleif

Owen Good's 2010 article on Kotaku is an interesting look at how Games and real world religion are incompatible. Good makes an example of an Indian game called Hanuman: Boy Warrior for the PS2. The players control Hanuman who in Hindu religion is sent to aid Rama, himself a deity of Vishnu. The game itself was attacked for trivialising major figures in Hinduism. It was considered denigration to control and manipulate such an important character.

The article itself is very interesting, however it does not cover what I want my essay to explain, I may be able to reference some parts however, about how the knowledge that people may be offended by the use of their religion may effect the decisions made to what is shown.

http://kotaku.com/#!5509058/religion-in-games-less-a-leap-of-faith-more-a-suspension-of-belief

Comparison ideas

• Assassin's Creed
• Okami
• Final Fantasy
• Infinite Undiscovery
• Devil May Cry
• Dragon Age
• The World Ends With You
• God of War
• Sims
• The Path
• Black and White
• Fable 3

Essay ideas

My essay is going to cover religion in games. I want to cover a variety of different games and show how religion, folklore and mythology are represented and how that differs depending on which game you play. I want to compare two games for each section of my essay and see if they show religion or mythology in a positive or negative light or if the game is light hearted or serious. For example, Okami, a game which focuses on Shinto mythology, is shown in as a light hearted, pretty game, telling the story of a sun god who is reborn as a wolf. the game is very bright and comical. The god is the main protagonist and is very helpful and kind to all those you meet throughout the course of the game. On the other hand, Infinite Undiscovery shows religion in a negative light. The god turns out to be the main antagonist, the power he uses to bless humans ends up turning them into monsters and he intends to crash the moon into the earth in order to create a new world.

I plan to do many comparisons in my essay and talk about how the game has portrayed religion, if it is in a positive light or not and the effect the mythology has on the environments and characters in the game.