Author: Ayk Iano

Ayk takes things very seriously, especially fun. Videogames allow him to channel his fervency into a medium that delivers on a wide spectrum of joy — from artistic integrity, narrative engagement, and philosophical scrutiny…to button mashing, number popping, and trophy hunting. He has a lighthearted wife who accompanies him on this journey.
January 22, 2014 / / Essays

Brothers and The Two-Fold Miracle

WARNING: Full spoilers regarding Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ahead. To read an article on the game with more subtlety, check out what M. Joshua Cauller wrote about it.

Ever since I was young, my mother told me that I had an older brother. Sadly, certain unfavorable circumstances eliminated his chance of seeing this world for himself, which eventually left me as the only child of the family.

Being alone had its perks. Yet in retrospect, I realize that I was fairly lost growing up, especially due to the fact that I lived in three different countries during my primary school years. Combine that with a father who was mostly absent, I never had any male role model to look up to — or just a mentor figure that I could talk to — in all my years of childhood and adolescence.

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December 13, 2013 / / Essays

It Can Be for Nothing : The Last of Us

NOTE: This article was originally published on GameChurch. It is solely the author’s intention to re-publish it on Theology Gaming for compilation purposes.

“Remember when he told Abraham to sacrifice his son?” the child asked the crucified Jesus. “Abraham was just about to kill the boy with his knife when God stopped him. So, if he saved Abraham’s son, don’t you think he’d want to save his own?”

If you have seen Martin Scorsese’s film, The Last Temptation of Christ, you would remember its iconic moment when Satan, masquerading as the youthful guardian angel, successfully deceived Jesus away from accomplishing his work on the cross. Though wounded, the Savior was literally saved from his death and continued on with his life, leaving mankind deprived of the salvation that God had planned to bestow unto the lost.

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December 5, 2013 / / Essays

Living with a Spirit — Beyond: Two Souls (Part 2)

Following PART 1 of this study on Beyond: Two Souls, the contrast between Aiden and the Holy Spirit continues…

The Issue of MOTIVE

From watching footage of the game before its release, I have always felt particularly intrigued by “The Party”, a chapter where Jodie takes a break from her confined lifestyle and joins a group of teenagers in a birthday celebration. It is amusing to see how hard she tries to fit in — either by drinking beer, smoking marijuana, or dancing intimately with a boy — but at the end of the day, the condition of interdimensional attachment creates a chasm that impairs their acquaintance.

One thing leads to another, and eventually Jodie is utterly ostracised and thrown into a cupboard under the stairs. Once she escapes with the help of Aiden, however, an option of revenge is available. So I take it on with glee, ready to show those bullies the consequences of messing with the supernatural. I cannot wait to use Aiden and methodically destroy the party.

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December 4, 2013 / / Essays

Living with a Spirit — Beyond: Two Souls (Part 1)

Editor’s Note: This is Ayk Iano’s first article. He’s a cool dude from down under (that is, Australia for us northern hemisphere folk) who likes writing about video games. Enjoy this two-parter!

Evident throughout history, humanity has always been concerned with entities beyond our usual planes of existence. Roles such as shamans and diviners are among civilisation’s oldest professions. Even in today’s science-driven world, this fascination has not subsided. Gallup polls held within the past decade indicate that nearly three in four Americans believe in the occurrence of at least one paranormal phenomenon. There has also been a growing number of paranormal societies and investigators across the globe, not to mention all the attention that is generated by the entertainment and media industry. Real scientists aren’t leaving this alone, either. State-certified research programs have been designed to explore the possibilities of communicating with angels, higher powers, and the deceased. Furthermore, futuristic thinkers are often theorising about transhumanist potentials of extending our beings into realities outside of constraints that currently bind us to the physical world, evolving our species to interact with any interdimensional life bereft of the natural barriers that would separate us now. The prospects are both exciting and terrifying.

Read the postLiving with a Spirit — Beyond: Two Souls (Part 1)