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[jfritzyb]

So...

About a year ago, there was a small debate raging about a certain game that had certain religious overtones in it; certain people expressed their strong dislike for this game b/c of its religious nature. Having noted several games that possessed religious overtones, I decided to start this thread in order to:

A. Give a list of games I've either heard of or played that had religious overtones (slight or heavy [and none Christian in nature])
B. For anyone else who may have an interest in either discussing this very interesting concept of religious gaming or posting a list of that particular genre of game(s) or both.



Ok here is my list...

1. Prince of Persia series
2. Might and Magic series
3. Simon the Sorcerer series
4. Ico
5. Shenmue series
6. Nirvana
7. Myst

So why these games?

Well...

Ico and P of P go hand in hand b/c both games teach Zoroastrianism
Might and Magic and Simon the Sorcer series teach witchcraft
Shenmue teaches Chinese (or was it Japenese?) religious traditions
Nirvana and Myst teach Hinduism (or was it Buddhism?)

That's my list--what's yours (if you got one)?

There's more I could have listed but I just decided to start with those seven; I'm going to be gone for about a day just so you know just in case you wanted to reply directly to my post. I will read it when I get back on-line and let you know what I think.

Thanks (and I hope you have some fun with this one!)

~ JD

[Lulu_Jane]

I will be keeping an eye on this thread, just so everyone knows.

Other than that, HAVE AT IT!

[The Fifth Horseman]

I do believe you're forgetting Dungeon Keeper, with it's flat out satanist overtones.

[TotalAnarchy]

Lol, I thought all the stuff coming out of Faerun is 80% religion. I mean, you just need to hear the short description for Baldur's Gate and the Time of Troubles, and you'll notice one guy named Baal, who's both an ancient god worshipped in Syria and a fallen angel in the christian tradtion. A very popular character, actually, adopted by virtual religions. He even surpasses Lucifer and Satan for the amount of appearances in video games.

[Lulu_Jane]

Don't forget Bioshock, with it's massive Objectivist themes. Not that it's a religion but Ayn Rand fans tend to treat it as such.

[TotalAnarchy]

But I guess people want to hear about games that are based on real religions... Well, I know two that caught my generation: one is Left Behind: Eternal Forces and the seond is a game featuring characters that look like they were taken from a porn movie, called Heaven. I don't know what to think about it. And it's not released yet.

[riccso]

Black & White.It haz yourselfinity

Vampire : The Masquerade

Originally Posted by Wiki

Some vampires, namely those of the Sabbat, refer to themselves as "Cainites", as (according to the traditional Abrahamic creation myth) the curse that transforms them into vampires originated with Caine (the spelling is different from the Biblical Cain, though it is intended to be the same individual). The term "kine" (an archaic term for cattle) is the opposite of this, and refers to humans.

The mythic-historical origins of the Followers of Set are in ancient Egypt, as they claim to be descended from the dark god Set (who is also identified with Typhon) rather than Caine, the father of all vampires.

The Baali are a bloodline of vampires associated with demon worship.Much of the Baali symbolism is Mesopotamian and Phoenician in origin. The very name Baali is originated from the Phoenician word Ba'al, meaning "great lord".

[Eagle of Fire]

If you look deep enough, every game have religious overtones.

Religion has been a driving force for the past 2000 years, and in some place in the worlds it is still the driving force.

Religion in games is not the problem, IMHO. The reaction of the gamers who play them is.

I always hated fanaticism in all its forms.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Let's not forget Shin Megami Tensei series as the whole.
Satanic overtones? Check.
Portrayal of demons as positive? Check.
Magic? Check.
Portrayal of religion (ostensibly, Christianity) as negative? Check.

[TheChosen]

Not to mention that a lot of western fantasy RPG's have some kind of priest as playable character class.