Worldview

A recent run-in with a game developer got thinking me about game creators/ developers and the lens with which they view the world.

Worldview – “A worldview describes a consistent (to a varying degree) and integral sense of existence and provides a framework for generating, sustaining, and applying knowledge.”

As a Christian, I view the world through the lens of the Bible and the man Jesus Christ. Within this framework, I make judgement calls and live life. Everything I process and believe is tainted, per se, by my Christian worldview. What happens though when a game creator/ developer offers a rival lens with which to view the world? For example, say they view the world through a “patriot”-driven, anti-government, atheist lens. What then? Would all the games they potentially work on be flavored by their personal opinions? To some extent, yes.

I write this today in hopes of bringing about awareness. Christian or not, we should all be evaluating the things we take in, be it in books, movies, music, or video games.

Virtual Real Estate

I have never owned real estate in a game before. In the past, saving up money and having an actual housing option stopped me from making such a commitment. Until now…

Note my awesome hat!

Lord of the Rings Online offers housing options that are not prohibitive in price. A starter home only costing about 1 gold. My interest piqued, I decided to visit the local real estate agent in Bree. I was quickly given a list of homes available. Not knowing if one neighborhood was better than another (I have no idea what school districts are like in Bree), I randomly picked a neighborhood to see what was offered.

I love the cartoon drawing of the house. It's the little things.

The house was small, situated on a good piece of property, and had a convenient mailbox located outside. Inside, the floors were bare and the walls ready to be decorated with my spoils of war. Now, I do want to note that while there are no utility costs involved, there is a monthly upkeep fee (in the case of this house, 50 silver). Wonder if that is for both the gardener/ housekeeper? Having seen enough of the house, I rode around the neighborhood and happened upon an area meant for parties. Wonder how many this area holds?

I was all ready to purchase a house, however, I found myself a bit short on funds. A few more adventures across Middle Earth should do the trick. I’ll be sure to post a picture of my house once I have settled in. Until next time.

Demo Friday

Today has been a demo day for me. First up on the list was Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution on the PS3.

The only other Sid Meier game I have ever played was one of the first Civilization games. I found that game to be dull, complicated, and had absolutely no patience for it. Civilization Revolution, on the other hand, plays at a faster and more entertaining pace. I was so engrossed in my fight against the Aztecs and the more recent discovery of the Egyptian culture (I was playing as the Romans) that I became a little angry when the demo came to an end. What would happen to my cities of Bryantopia, Bryansville, and Awesome? I guess I’m going to have to buy the full game to find out.

The next game on my demo tour was Ron Gilbert’s DeathSpank.

Unlike the humor found in the Monkey Island series, I just couldn’t connect with DeathSpank’s humor. I found myself continually skipping through the quest text, bored. The combat was fun and the controls were tight. Overall, just not my thing.

Dreams

Sorry the picture is so grainy…no flash photography was allowed in this part of the game. Might scare the zombies!

I do not do well with scary stuff. Take for instance a sudden twist in the Uncharted storyline last night. Everything had been going along swimmingly, when suddenly a past Nazis influence was introduced. Poof! Cue the supernatural elements such as killer Zombies -thankfully not armed with weapons, yet!-. After battling through darkened corridors with only a flashlight, I finally thought I had gotten away from this demonic horde. I was wrong. Very wrong. The game’s developers then decided to chuck not only zombies at me, but terrorists as well. A deadly combination burrito. Without the cheese.

Jurassic Park. Apparently not a fun place considering all anyone does is run and die.

All of the above to say that I had some pretty intense dreams last night. I dreamed of a zombie apocalypse that was somewhat akin to the movie Jurassic Park. Except this time…all of the golden retrievers died.

Dreams can take us to the wildest of places. Sometimes making sense and other times not. I am thankful not to live in a dream world…the nightmares are far too intense.

What crazy dreams have you had recently?

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