It's official!

[Snarky]

Interesting topic, especially as I don't think The Shivah is really about religion. It seems to be much more about Jewish identity, and to a lesser extent about morality, rather than faith as such. Although the main character is a Rabbi, we only really see him address religious questions twice (once in his interrupted sermon at the beginning, and then again on the same topic near the end).

While many games use Gods, demons, angels and other bits of mythology (God of War comes to mind), few seem to really bother themselves with the substance of religion. Do any RPGs really delve into the religious beliefs of its cleric characters?

One could argue that it's not really possible (or at least very difficult) to go in depth about any religion you don't believe in. Especially one that you make up. A man may write a game with a female main character, but will probably not be able to make a game about the experience of being a woman. In the same way, a Christian, Jewish or atheist designer may create a game with a Muslim main character, but probably not one about the Islamic faith. Given that only a few religions are well represented among game designers (one assumes), this may limit how well the game industry deals with religion.

There are a number of games with an explicitly religious, missionary message (usually an Evangelical Christian one). Digital Praise has released a few religious adventure games (one of which is reviewed on Adventure Gamers), and then there's that Left Behind RTS game.

Of course, religion has a number of different aspects: as a political force, as a part of cultural identity, as a motivation for conflict, as a hierarchical organization, as a source of superstition, as a collection of stories, as a wellspring of taboos and prohibitions against "sinful" acts, as an arena for philosophical speculation, as an account of history, as a repository of customs and traditional laws, as a point of view on the nature and attitude of the universe and the meaning of human existence, as a justification for ritual, as a framework for ethics, as an inspiration for art, and so on. Different types of games will emphasize different aspects of religion, and it may by that it's only adventure games that really have the potential (or need) to grapple with the inner life of a believer. However, it seems to me that it is the personal experience of religious faith, of spiritual revelation, that sets religion apart from other human phenomena, and which is therefore the most interesting (even if the most challenging) reason to use religion in a game.

Another interesting question is to what extent games that allow you to play God (or a god), such as Populous, Black & White, Okami and many others, alter the way religion is perceived. And how many games allow you to experience divine powers approaching omnipotence (such as the ability to rewind time). Does it make it easier for the human mind to comprehend what godhood means? Does it expose contradictions in the concept? Does it trivialize deities?

Edit: Another AGS game that deals with religion (or at least myth) is What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed. The upper half of the screen retells the story of Izanagi and Izanami from Japanese mythology, and is intertwined with it in a complex and very cool way. It doesn't really deal with faith, either, but it seems authentic even in its revisionism.

[Dave Gilbert]

The official Press Release, for those who care:

Manifesto Games (www.manifestogames.com) is delighted to congratulate Dave Gilbert, whose development studio Wadjet Eye Games has been nominated for a Game Developers Choice Award in the category of Best New Studio. Dave's two games, The Shivah, released in the fall of 2006, and The Blackwell Legacy, released in January 2007, are both distributed by Manifesto Games.

The Developers Choice Awards are nominated and voted on by developer members of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and are presented at the Game Developers Conference. This year, the conference will be in San Francisco and the awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 7 at the Moscone Convention Center. The other studios nominated in the same category are Gastronaut Studios; Iron Lore Entertainment; Naked Sky Entertainment; and Ready At Dawn Studios.

"Dave has great narrative abilities and a true quirky originality; I can't imagine anyone else delivering a game about a Rabbi undergoing a crisis of faith, let alone one so compelling," says Greg Costikyan, CEO of Manifesto Games, the online distributor of independently produced games. "Dave's games are the best illlustration I know of that great gameplay is not dependent on glitz or graphics but on good writing and design. He deserves this nomination and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy," Costikyan continued.

"You know how people say it's an honor just to be nominated? Well it really is - my co-nominees are incredibly talented and accomplished and I really didn't imagine things would take off like this," Dave Gilbert told Manifesto. "The Shivah was my first commercial game and for while I as waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and tell me that the reviews and sales weren't real, or that there was some kind of mistake. I think it's great that the industry has evolved to the point where it not only accepts games like mine, but also takes time to honor them. "

[Nacho]

I think it deserves attention because it' s a good game, Mr. Flibble...

[EagerMind]

Wow, your gamble to go full-time into game development really seems to paying off. Congratulations, and here's wishes for your continued success! Just don't forget the little people when you eventually become the next EA.

[Ali]

The Shivah has Jews in?!

Ahem. Congratulations! It's great that people outside of the AGS community appreciate the depth of character your games offer. I haven't yet played any of your talkies, but even without voices your characters are some of the best 'actors' I've seen in games.

[Vince Twelve]

Edit: Another AGS game that deals with religion (or at least myth) is What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed. The upper half of the screen retells the story of Izanagi and Izanami from Japanese mythology, and is intertwined with it in a complex and very cool way. It doesn't really deal with faith, either, but it seems authentic even in its revisionism.

Heh.  Funny you should mention that in this thread.  The use of the Izanagi myth in the game was inspired by a PM conversation that I had with Dave while I was still planning Linus.  He told me that he was thinking of using some Korean mythology in a game (he was living in Korea at the time) and I thought, "Hey! I'm living in Japan, I should work some Japanese mythology into my game!"

Congrats again Dave.  The things you're doing are amazing!  Good luck!

[Klytos]

Congrats!

[Dave Gilbert]

Heh.  Funny you should mention that in this thread.  The use of the Izanagi myth in the game was inspired by a PM conversation that I had with Dave while I was still planning Linus.  He told me that he was thinking of using some Korean mythology in a game (he was living in Korea at the time) and I thought, "Hey! I'm living in Japan, I should work some Japanese mythology into my game!"

Congrats again Dave.  The things you're doing are amazing!  Good luck!

Haha.  RIGHT.  I totally forgot about that.  A fantasy rpg inspired by the myth of Tangun.  I did about a page or two of notes of ideas and then forgot about it.  Ah well.  If the idea helped inspire YOU, it was worth it.