Author: Zachery Oliver
Zachery Oliver, MTS, is the lead writer for Theology Gaming, a blog focused on the integration of games and theological issues. He can be reached at viewtifulzfo at gmail dot com or on Theology Gaming’s Facebook Page.
24 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.
2 Chronicles 32
Often, it is thought that the Old Testament remains the “lesser” of the two books. God sounds and acts completely different between the two narratives, one as a stern and unforgiving bookkeeper of the Law, the other a compassionate guy who wanders around telling indecipherable parables while also telling them to hug their enemies.
Granted, the Old Testament Law seems harsh from our post-Christian perspective. The whole of the legal document places taxing restrictions on human action, everything from marriage to the correct forms of sacrifices. Many of them involve the death penalty, or stoning, or perhaps even becoming a pariah from the community. God’s people lived under those rules because they set them apart as God’s people. They distinguished themselves through the worship of one God, YHWH, who wished for a holy and righteous people to emerge out of Israel. This would involve sacrifice and determination, as well as a healthy dose of grace.
Video Games, Art, and Objective Standards is an exhaustive look at video games, the ambiguities of art, and how they come to rest on objective standards – though maybe not in the way you were thinking. This series intends to show video games are a unique medium that deserves a special criteria and methodological examination. This is part and parcel of my theology as well. I invite you to leave comments on any section below!
- Introduction
- Preliminary Objections (2)
- (Preliminary Assumptions) Defining the Video Game
- Game Studies – Ludology
- Game Studies – Narratology
- Dewey – Understanding the “Live Creature”
- Dewey – Avoiding Abstractions
- Dewey – Video Games as Pragmatic Experiences (2)
- Judging Video Games as “Art” (2) (3)
- Addressing the Critics and Game Studies
- Conclusions
If video games are not art, then they are something better.
– Richard Terrell, Critical Gaming Network
From an exclusivist view on any side, video games are misrepresented in both their content and their essential elements. The idea of video games as “an experience” solves the problems of both sides. Instead of isolation, narratives and rules exist in collaboration to create a unique “experience” within a particular work, both with the artistic intent of the developers and the reception of the players.