How Should a Christian Relate to Videogames? - Limitations

Last week we looked at the many benefits that videogames offers as an entertainment medium.  Many of these are simply impossible to achieve on other forms of media.

However, videogames have their limitations as well, in large part as a result of these benefits.  This short post will catalog a few of these limitations.

Imagination

     One major limitation is that, because the videogame is a visual medium, imagination is more or less cut out of the process.  One of the best things about books is that it sparks the imagination of those who read them, especially children.  If nothing else, this limitation demands the conclusion that videogames should never replace book reading (although this applies equally to film and television as well).

     It should be noted that one genre of gaming escapes this limitation.  There are a number of text-based games, where you stare at a screen comprised of nothing but text (one example is the Text-based MMO called Valheru).  While these games do allow for more imagination, it does stretch the definition of videogames.

Storytelling

      The primary benefit of the videogame medium is the interactivity it provides.  Unfortunately, this interactivity comes at the cost of storytelling.  While many of the best videogames have compelling tales, the goals of storytelling and videogames are in sharp conflict.  Storytelling works because the author has complete control over the characters.  This control enables the author to weave the characters' choices into a brilliant story.  Videogames, on the other hand, work primarily by relinquishing control of its main character.  When the player can choose how the character acts, it becomes difficult to tell a compelling story without the game feeling like little more than one long interactive cutscene.  This is done, but with great difficulty, and to an extent at the cost of both gameplay and story.  Perhaps the best games are those that have no major story.  They are free to focus on how the game plays, rather than why the character is here in the first place.

Must win

     Finally, videogames as a medium are inhibited by the fact the player must win.  For the world this is of little note.  However, for us as Christians, we recognize that our victory is not the goal.  We lose the world, that we may gain Christ.  This is true most clearly in multiplayer games.  When two Christians are playing against each other, the self-centered goal of victory inherent to the videogame medium rings a touch hollow.  Cooperative games mitigate this somewhat, but the mindset is there nonetheless.

Videogames have great benefits as an entertainment medium, as well as notable shortcomings.  We are now ready to begin evaluating the question of whether or not Christians should be playing videogames.  Next week we will work through some of the most popular objections to Christians playing games, and analyze them to see if there is any merit.