Fiery Actions

As videogames progress as an art and hobby, the level of how much a game lets a player express himself has increased. Awhile back I was playing through Fallout 3 (which I did not finish as the scenario described below freaked me out) and came across a mission that I could just not resist.

I blew up the town…

What had started as an innocent trip to the local watering hole soon turned into a life changing event. The whole thing started when a man approached me about leveling the shanty town of Megaton to the ground. Seems the residents hadn’t been too smart in building the town around an undetonated atomic bomb. For my part, all I had to do was place a detonator on the bomb and get out of Dodge. Easy right? It was. I was actually surprised at how no one noticed me placing the detonator on the bomb. Not even the Church of the Atom fanatics, who were worshiping the weapon at the time I placed the detonator, did not notice me. Detonator in place, I made my way towards Pennington Tower…

Fortified, the tower was actually the remains of an old high rise building. Inside, I soon found out, lived people of wealth who paid for protection and sanctuary from the Capitol Wasteland. I climbed to the top of the tower, stepped out onto a balcony, and was told to detonate the bomb. The horizon was suddenly filled with a blinding flash. Megaton was no more. I had become a murderer. I had blood on my hands.

Save.

Quit Game.

The destruction of Megaton made me seriously consider the action/ consequence system of Fallout 3. You see, I play games to break them; I play games to see what they are made of and then see how far they will let me go. The problem with my gameplay style this time was that I had gone down the road the developers of the game wanted me to. I had done something I would never do in real life. I had killed virtual people in the plume of a fiery mushroom cloud. My past actions lead me to this weeks question:

  • Even though its just a game, when does a game go too far and if so, how far is too far?

Feel free to comment below.

Announcing Something New: JBG Blog

New experiences are a way of life – remember the last time you decided to try some sashimi and regretted it later? – .  In order to further the Johnny B Gamer experience, we have decided to add a section dedicated to blogging. Here you will find links, videos, and thoughts that are not always going to be videogame related. Hopefully this will help facilitate discussion outside of our regularly scheduled content. Enjoy!

When Cloud Fails

Final Fantasy VII, in my opinion, is one of the best games ever made.  For its time, the graphics rocked.  The storyline kept you hunting for answers with great twists.  I’m sad to admit, however, that the game became an obsession for me.  Looking back, I can see how it helped me escape reality and how that became addictive.  It came at a time where I needed to face reality and God and make my faith real.  I was participating in the first in-depth Bible study of my life.  There were times where I had to consciously make the decision to go read my Bible.  At the time, reading the Old Testament in my study seemed rather dull and boring compared to the vivid storyline of FFVII, which I’d consider to be more of a visual and interactive book rather than a video game.  The plot of FFVII has its redemptive value which I hope to write about more at a later time.  Video games are not bad in and of themselves, but in my specific case, they took a negative turn because it took God’s place in my priorities, thoughts, and heart.

I remember when there were commercials on tv for FFVII.  My entire focus became immediately glued to the tv screen every time I as much as thought I heard the music.  I still remember it pretty well.  An announcer described the daring feats, brutal combat, insurmountable odds, “a love that could never be” (that always got me!), and dashing honor you will encounter as you play.  He said something about how you must save the world!  Everyone is counting on you!  And if you fail…  “you can always hit the reset button.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we had one of those?  Ah, to have a reset button!

“Oh man, I shouldn’t have said that!  Let’s reset.”

“Wow!  I can’t believe I did THAT!  I’ll just reset.”

“Now things will never be the same …unless I don’t save today.”

Nope.  We have no such option.  This life is the only shot we have.  We can’t go back even a few seconds to undo anything.  In fact, you’d be surprised to realize how little control you have over your life.  The only control you have is over what you say and do at this exact moment in time.  Sure, you can plan, promise, and make provisions for the future.  Those endeavors can even be wise, keeping in mind that God’s plans stand more firm.  The fact is that the only thing you can change is now.

What shall this sobering reality mean for us then?  That we have to make sure we do everything perfectly and in perfect timing?  No.  Like I said, you’d be surprised at how much you can’t control.  We live in a fallen world and we’ll be blindsided by circumstances we never could have prevented.  I don’t mean for us to become obsessed about every second on the clock, but I do mean for us to consider how much we are allowing ourselves to be taken by mediocrity.  How many Godly things have we put off to do later?  How many times have we tried to do something to better ourselves but haven’t taken the time to complete them?  How much time do we waste doing things that will count for nothing when this life is over?  In essence, how many times have we said to the Lord, “not now.”

Perhaps we fool ourselves thinking our “not now” approach isn’t so bad because it’s not telling the Lord “no.”  We have the intention to do what He’s asked of us.  After all, doesn’t He look at the heart anyway?  If we’re going to lean on that idea, we better take a good, hard look at our hearts.  Do we really want to do that thing for the Lord?  Do we truly desire that as deeply as God desires it?  If not, this message is for you.  Stop putting God off.  No more of this “I can’t do that now, Lord” attitude!  Even if you know you’re not ready for the tasks, He knows your faults and His power is made perfect in weakness.  He will do amazing things with your surrendered heart if you desire Him above all other things.

If your heart is indeed in line with God’s desires and His plan, please don’t let this message freak you out and make you rush God’s timing. Perhaps He is asking you to wait.  But if He’s waiting on you, you may have a problem.  I just ask that we take the time to question ourselves to see if He’s pushing us and whether or not we’re budging.

Consider today.  This is the only today you have.  What have you not done that you need to do?  Be advised – you have no reset button.

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