What games should Christians not play?

[Lumen]

I don't have a problem playing it in the living room with my 5 yr old son running around, but I still think they made the game without before and everyone still liked it, so I believe it is unnecessary in a game.

The original sims still had the sex if I'm not mistaken.

Its against God's law for polygons to shoot other polygons?

When you realize all a game comes down to is countless strings of binary, it's impossible (for me at least) to see how it breaks any commandments.

 

[Lumen]

well one game i can think up with is dead or alive extreem beach volleyball... that game sells lust and other negative concpets.

So this brings up a moral question.

First, even if you do "lust" after the girls in that game, is it still sinful? They're not real people. You can't have committed adultery in your heart with them because they are made out of code.

It's illogical.

 

[JacobsDream]

The original sims still had the sex if I'm not mistaken.




When you realize all a game comes down to is countless strings of binary, it's impossible (for me at least) to see how it breaks any commandments.

Countless strings of binary result in a very interactive and realistic gamming experience which can induce lust among other things that Christians concider sin. That is the point.
We can't pretend that things concider sin are exempt from videogames and there are lots of games that don't suffer from this.

Pixels and polygons can't mask this or neither can they be a justification in certain cases.
Movies are pixels as well but we know how bad they can be.

 

[Controverse]

Having been a serious PC gamer since 3 years old, playing games like DOOM since they first came out (I'm 18 now btw), I can tell you:

IT'S ALL FICTIONAL. IT'S ALL VIRTUAL.

I was really into Black & White, a game in which you were an actual god whose objective is to get more followers, create a thriving society that... ah just look it up on Wikipedia.
It was fun, 'cause on the second island of the campaign, I'd resort to stealing my fellow deity's resources just to strengthen my own forces. It's fun having an allied god to "support" you in-game (if you get what I mean!). >_<

Meanwhile, as for the GTA series, I just don't play them. yet not for any reasons you might think - I just regard the games as tripe. See a car you like? Carjack it. See a prostitute walking down the street in a hideously ugly tank top? Bash her to death. I really fail to see what makes the GTA series so eminent in the gaming world as a whole!

I don't really like it when Christians like Jack Thompson and his cohorts go to extreme lengths just to get games banned or at least restricted - they tend to take things way outta context. Look at the way they started complaining against the game "Bully" BEFORE ANY INFORMATION CAME OUT. They based their allegations on the name of the game "Bully" as well as Rockstar Games' previous games such as GTA.

Due to the same reasons I hate the GTA series, I stay the heck away from The Sims 2, Playboy Mansion (ooh a game based on a pr0n0 mag, how wonderfully different), and Black & White 2.
Why?
Because they're badly-made and thus badly-rated (by professional gamers and game reviewers alike) games!

Anyway, I'm also glad to say that my particular selection of PC games does not affect my relationship with God in any negative way. They are nothing more than games, and I do not see any reason (nor has the Lord provided me any) to stop what is currently my primary hobby, keeping in mind I have an almost perfectly normal social life.

i am sorry, but I am a conceptions challenger. where there is old traditions, I challenge the ideas. sorry again and good-bye.

Hey, I'm hearing you buddy. Good to see someone thinking in very much the same way (or similar) as yours truly.

Arkaine

 

[Lumen]

Countless strings of binary result in a very interactive and realistic gamming experience which can induce lust among other things that Christians concider sin. That is the point.
We can't pretend that things concider sin are exempt from videogames and there are lots of games that don't suffer from this.

Pixels and polygons can't mask this or neither can they be a justification in certain cases.
Movies are pixels as well but we know how bad they can be.

Movies are pixels, yes, but those pixels form the image of a real person.

Games are not real. They are not real images. You can't project the same morality onto a game.

 

[Dracil]

Because feeding a homeless man in a game is like feeding a homeless man in real life.

 

[JacobsDream]

As Christians, I think that sex that occures in games like GTA cannot be justified under the name of pixels and videogames. They are not real but lust can come out of them and at some point, the fact that its a mere videogame cannot justify it.

Are videogames free of sin because they are mere pixels, no, but where do we draw the line? I think games like GTA are beyond whatever the line might be.

 

[Elesaid]

Movies are pixels, yes, but those pixels form the image of a real person.

Games are not real. They are not real images. You can't project the same morality onto a game.

This is a poor argument point, one that seems dellusional. I'm not comparing the Sims2 to this, but pornographic anime is just pixels and pornographic novels and fiction are just based on some idea in someone's head but they still cause people to stumble.

Morality is not projected onto a game, but the user. Some things you judge for yourself about your own reaction to them and if they are causing you to sin, other things you judge by what Christian witness you are producing by what you do and if your actions that may be harmless to you are really making another person stumble.

 

[Dannager]

Because feeding a homeless man in a game is like feeding a homeless man in real life.

Quoted and limed for truth. Morality swings two ways.

 

[Dannager]

Due to the same reasons I hate the GTA series, I stay the heck away from The Sims 2, Playboy Mansion (ooh a game based on a pr0n0 mag, how wonderfully different), and Black & White 2.
Why?
Because they're badly-made and thus badly-rated (by professional gamers and game reviewers alike) games!

I sure hope those aren't the same reasons you stay away from the GTA series. If you stay away from the GTA games because they're badly-made and thus badly-rated, you're staying away from them for a reason that doesn't exist.

GameRankings.com lists the following composite scores (given as the ratio of positive reviews to negative reviews) for the most recent entries into the GTA flagship series:
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Number of P/Reviews: 743 PlayStation 2 94.9%
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Number of P/Reviews: 272 PlayStation 2 94.1%
Grand Theft Auto III
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Number of P/Reviews: 259 PlayStation 2 95.0%

So...I don't think you can really object on the grounds that they were reviewed badly. And sure, you can object on the grounds that they're poorly made, but the same reviewers you seem to trust to review games like Black & White 2 or Playboy Mansion and give them accurately poor scores gave the GTA series high marks. The impression you're giving is that the reviewers' scores matter to you when you agree with them, and you can disregard them when you disagree.

I do agree with the rest of your points though.

 

[Steezie]

As Christians, I think that sex that occures in games like GTA cannot be justified under the name of pixels and videogames. They are not real but lust can come out of them and at some point, the fact that its a mere videogame cannot justify it.

Are videogames free of sin because they are mere pixels, no, but where do we draw the line? I think games like GTA are beyond whatever the line might be.

I think if you cant differentiate between immages on a screen then you DEFINATELY shouldnt play games.

Its ridiculous to think if you de-humanize someone in a game, then you'll de-humanize the same people in the real world. It is a HUGE leap for a person to jump from pictures on a screen to the real world. True there are people who do it, but these are not healthy individuals to begin with and if we didnt have TV or games, they would be emulating characters from books or plays.

You may be perfectly able to beat someone to death with a baseball bat in GTA but I very much doubt that most people could actually do that for real.

 

[Lumen]

This is a poor argument point, one that seems dellusional. I'm not comparing the Sims2 to this, but pornographic anime is just pixels and pornographic novels and fiction are just based on some idea in someone's head but they still cause people to stumble.

Morality is not projected onto a game, but the user. Some things you judge for yourself about your own reaction to them and if they are causing you to sin, other things you judge by what Christian witness you are producing by what you do and if your actions that may be harmless to you are really making another person stumble.

Sorry but I don't see how "lusting" after animated characters is a sin. I don't even see how someone would "lust" after one but I guess there's people that do.

How is it sinful if it's something that isn't real?

 

[Lumen]

I think if you cant differentiate between immages on a screen then you DEFINATELY shouldnt play games.

Its ridiculous to think if you de-humanize someone in a game, then you'll de-humanize the same people in the real world. It is a HUGE leap for a person to jump from pictures on a screen to the real world. True there are people who do it, but these are not healthy individuals to begin with and if we didnt have TV or games, they would be emulating characters from books or plays.

You may be perfectly able to beat someone to death with a baseball bat in GTA but I very much doubt that most people could actually do that for real.

I love gore in video games. hacking up people with chainsaws is just damn fun. but I could never do something like that in real life, the very thought is sickening to me.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

You may be perfectly able to beat someone to death with a baseball bat in GTA but I very much doubt that most people could actually do that for real.

Sure you can. It's just a whole lot harder in RL to get your wanted level down.

Seriously, regarding the OP, (and I haven't read the thread) I'd say any game that inhibits your relationship with God should be avoided. We are all different so you can't apply a blanket standard to everyone. I try to be very strict with myself but much more lenient with everyone else when it comes to what I consider acceptable.

I personally don't have any interest in playing GTA: SA because of the content but I don't judge anyone else for playing it. I know people who condemn God of War but I consider it to be the most fun game I've ever played and if I get another PS2, it's the first game I want to get.

But to answer the question in the thread title.

What games should Christians not play?

Games that suck.

 

[Steezie]

God of War is the only game I will not play on religious grounds.

I dont like the idea of irritating Ares. He probably wouldnt care too much but I'd rather be safe than sorry

 

[Controverse]

I sure hope those aren't the same reasons you stay away from the GTA series. If you stay away from the GTA games because they're badly-made and thus badly-rated, you're staying away from them for a reason that doesn't exist.

GameRankings.com lists the following composite scores (given as the ratio of positive reviews to negative reviews) for the most recent entries into the GTA flagship series:
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Number of P/Reviews: 743 PlayStation 2 94.9%
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Number of P/Reviews: 272 PlayStation 2 94.1%
Grand Theft Auto III
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Number of P/Reviews: 259 PlayStation 2 95.0%

So...I don't think you can really object on the grounds that they were reviewed badly. And sure, you can object on the grounds that they're poorly made, but the same reviewers you seem to trust to review games like Black & White 2 or Playboy Mansion and give them accurately poor scores gave the GTA series high marks. The impression you're giving is that the reviewers' scores matter to you when you agree with them, and you can disregard them when you disagree.

I do agree with the rest of your points though.

Oops, my mistake. The GTA series has been given consistently high ratings, yes, but I was trying to say that I stay the heck away from it because of the very reason that I just don't see why it is rated so highly by critics and players alike. I guess I should made that more clear in the first place. >_<
I mean honestly, apart from a standard plotline, all you really have is an artificial city with randomly roaming cars and people, as well as the ability to carjack and beat people to death.

Ark

 

[Elesaid]

Sorry but I don't see how "lusting" after animated characters is a sin. I don't even see how someone would "lust" after one but I guess there's people that do.

How is it sinful if it's something that isn't real?

It's probably a whole new thread topic, but the sin of lust has more to do with where your heart is at rather than what you are lusting (and acting on those feelings) for.

It just doesn't fly with me to say (for eg) "this cartoon, book, image, game, whatever, is really sexy, I could get off on this" and then turn around and say that you are all clear because what you are lusting after is not a real person. It's not about the image, it's about you (generally speaking).

 

[Steezie]

Oops, my mistake. The GTA series has been given consistently high ratings, yes, but I was trying to say that I stay the heck away from it because of the very reason that I just don't see why it is rated so highly by critics and players alike. I guess I should made that more clear in the first place. >_<
I mean honestly, apart from a standard plotline, all you really have is an artificial city with randomly roaming cars and people, as well as the ability to carjack and beat people to death.

Ark

The GTA series is (or atleast was) innovative because of it's sandbox style of play. You could play 20 games of GTA and not have the same experience twice.

Theres so much to do and to explore that you can virtually ignore the plot and still have tons to do.

 

[Lumen]

The GTA series is (or atleast was) innovative because of it's sandbox style of play. You could play 20 games of GTA and not have the same experience twice.

Theres so much to do and to explore that you can virtually ignore the plot and still have tons to do.

Elder Scrolls FTW!

It's probably a whole new thread topic, but the sin of lust has more to do with where your heart is at rather than what you are lusting (and acting on those feelings) for.

It just doesn't fly with me to say (for eg) "this cartoon, book, image, game, whatever, is really sexy, I could get off on this" and then turn around and say that you are all clear because what you are lusting after is not a real person. It's not about the image, it's about you (generally speaking).

I guess the question is, if the person isn't real, is it still lust?

 

[Dannager]

Oops, my mistake. The GTA series has been given consistently high ratings, yes, but I was trying to say that I stay the heck away from it because of the very reason that I just don't see why it is rated so highly by critics and players alike. I guess I should made that more clear in the first place. >_<
I mean honestly, apart from a standard plotline, all you really have is an artificial city with randomly roaming cars and people, as well as the ability to carjack and beat people to death.

Ark

I'd suggest giving the series a solid chance. It is extremely fun, mostly because the ability to steal cars and beat people with bats is really a tiny fraction of what the game has to offer.