Becoming Appalled vs. Taking it in Stride

by Jeffrey D. Zimmerman 

The game created by Silicon Knights known as "Blood Moon: Legacy of Kain," is not for the feint of heart. It is a huge slap in the face of all that Catholicism, and indeed, religion itself stand for. You play Kain, a vampire. And no, you are NOT a nice vampire. If there is a villager clamped on the wall begging for mercy,

"Please, help me, kind sir!"

Then you, as Kain, can do nothing but slaughter the poor soul, suck his blood, blow him up, or do any number of disgusting things, but never save him or her. Kain's idea of mercy is a quick death; he hates all that surrounds him. His quest is to end his own suffering at the hands of his self-imposed curse, though as an externality, his homeland would be saved. He looks at mass destruction, corruption, and perversion with nothing more than disdain; perhaps even amusement. The majority of the game is spent bloodily slaughtering civilians: men and women alike.

I am a Catholic, and I play this game, and I enjoy it. It takes a strong sense of reality to be able to do this which, I admit, some people lack. I vehemently disagree with all that Kain does, even if it seems "virtuous" by some (killing a victim to end its suffering). Yet, I refuse to say that the creators of the game are evil, which they are not. Nor do I say that the game should be taken off the market, which it shouldn't. It is a true work of art, in my opinion. I do not condemn any who play the game, either. It's all about "taking it in stride."

A discussion was held at our local church about the movie "Titanic." Some believed that parents should prevent their children from seeing it, that the movie itself was immoral, and that it perverted the meaning of true love. I agreed, to a point. However, at this meeting, I also made the point that it was good entertainment with superior acting and an excellent storyline. I saw the nudity towards the end of the first video cassette as nothing more than art with a touch of humor in a precarious situation. The following scene, I ignored, and it did not phase me one bit. Certainly, the movie had a twisted ideal of "true love," particularly when the red-head claimed, "He saved me in every way he possibly could have," because, in a way, he damned her as well. But I had the ability to see this, and my morals were not compromised.

Do I agree with the concept of euthanasia because of "Legacy of Kain?" No, of course not.

Am I deathly offended by Final Fantasy Tactics? Not a chance. Being objective when playing a game is more than simply retaining one's morals after playing it, but to be able to calmly agree or disagree with values communicated by it without becoming apalled or incensed by it.

Is a game ever just a game? No, each game is a piece of propaganda; a philosophy all its own, that sets in front of you a dish containing a variety of ideas, or a single moral. One may accept this dish, or refuse it, but for goodness sake don't take the plate and throw it across the room in fury! The people who consume everything on every dish presented to them are fools and sheep, and are in constant danger of becoming corrupted. The people who whine that they do not like the contents of every plate presented to them are like the children who do not grow for lack of nutrition, and who are satisfied with the very small, narrow world around them.

Thus, my message: if a game offends, take it in stride. Enjoy the game for its virtues while, at the same time, being unaffected by its vices. No game is the end-all in propaganda or philosophy, so don't accept everything that is put in front of you. Perhaps then, this editorial section won't be so full anymore.