9.26.2008

why videogames?

Why videogames?
"But there was something else about it, something I really didn't want to admit. I asked Paul Sams, the Blizzard COO, why people played WoW and his answer was simple, if a bit depressing: "How often in your everyday world do you get to feel heroic?" he said. "How often do you get to step into a world and do something big and meaningful? People need an escape from ordinary life. It's just something people need." "
Modern life doesn't provide many opportunities to be heroic. There's no adventure. Our culture doesn't give us a purpose, a telos, a summum bonum. In fact, it's actively hostile to the idea (see Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, et al.). Human nature abhors a vacuum, and video games are one way to fill the void.

Christians must contend that human life does have a purpose: to serve God. This is life's great adventure, this is the challenge of every human life (whether we know it or not). And this adventure calls for heroes - moral heroes. John Paul II used to remind young Catholics that God calls everyone to moral and spiritual greatness. And hey, he knew what he was talking about.

5 comments:

Kyle Cupp said...

I like 'em for their literary qualities. I intend to do a post on this in the near future.

Zach said...

Are you a fan of the Final Fantasy series of games?

Kyle Cupp said...

Very much so.

Zach said...

Your favorite?

For my part I have to say FFVI (III in the US). FFX and FFXII come close though!

Kyle Cupp said...

Probably XII, if I had to pick, and depending on my mood. VI was just as good, and I've come to appreciate VII more since first playing it. In college, I earned the name Squall by friends in the dorm because I played FFVIII in the dorm seemingly non-stop.

My two favorite videogames are made by Square - and actually the same team behind FFXII. They are Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics.

I liked X as well, especially the character Auron. X-2 was okay, but it lost me at the start by turning Yuna into a pop singer.