Master Chief Versus God: Let the Battle Begin
Let me begin by saying that I don't play the Halo games--I think I'm one of about 6 people on the planet that don't. I just don't dig 'em; first-person shooters aren't my thing (except GoldenEye). But I realize that a lot of people play and enjoy the games, especially the recently released Halo 3. They're insanely popular. So much so that churches are using them as recruitment and teaching tools.
Strange bedfellows, huh? A violent video game and religion. But it's true. The article discusses the use of the video game by youth ministers to reach out to young men and boys, and to get them to come to church and read/study/believe in The Good Word.
Witness the basement on a recent Sunday at the Colorado Community Church in the Englewood area of Denver, where Tim Foster, 12, and Chris Graham, 14, sat in front of three TVs, locked in violent virtual combat as they navigated on-screen characters through lethal gun bursts. Tim explained the games allure: Its just fun blowing people up.
Once they come for the games, Gregg Barbour, the youth minister of the church said, they will stay for his Christian message. We want to make it hard for teenagers to go to hell, Mr. Barbour wrote in a letter to parents at the church.
Well said Tim, well said. And as for Mr. Barbour, I don't know if you keep up with the kids these days, but it seems they're doing everything in their power to go to Hell, as it were. Not like when I was a kid.
But that's the thing: churches want to appear cool and hip and "with it" in order to grab the youth market (any good marketing exec will tell you that), because the children are our future, I suppose. I really don't understand why they want to go after the kids. Don't they already have enough people as it is? Besides, all the kids want is to get laid ASAP, and as often as possible. And last time I checked, that's against nearly every religious doctrine on the planet (I'm unsure about Discordianism--can someone check that?).
On the other hand, they're worried that by sponsoring Halo nights at their churches, they are approving and encouraging violence, and indoctrinating kids with those warped values. Umm, yeah. In that little book called the Bible (and other religious texts, I assume), there's plenty of violence that can outshine Halo: tribes killing tribes, beheadings, sacrifices, et cetera. And ministers encourage belief in these scriptures! But I can understand their worries. It is a tricky balancing act. Do we want more followers or do we want to endorse something that's against our values?
If you want to connect with young teenage boys and drag them into church, free alcohol and pornographic movies would do it, said James Tonkowich, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a nonprofit group that assesses denominational policies. My own take is you can do better than that.
Someone should start a church based on alcohol and porno, IMHO. But I digress. There is a big market in today's youth for these churches, and they want to make the most of it. But they're fighting against a lot of other distractions: other video games, girls, peer pressure, MTV, drugs & alcohol, girls, school, girls, their parents' deteriorating marriage, and girls. Looking at it from that point of view, using Halo 3 as bait to enter into God's House is a clever idea.
David Drexler, youth director at the 200-member nondenominational Country Bible Church in Ashby, Minn., said using Halo to recruit was the most effective thing weve done.
In rural Minnesota, Mr. Drexler said, the church needs something powerful to compete against the lure of less healthy behaviors. We have to find something that these kids are interested in doing that doesnt involve drugs or alcohol or premarital sex. His congregation plans to double to eight its number of TVs, which would allow 32 players to compete at one time.
But the taste isn't at sweet to some people, kinda like artichokes and peanut butter. Many parents and ministers are still debating whether they like it or not.
Daniel R. Heimbach, a professor of Christian ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, believes that churches should reject Halo, in part because it associates thrill and arousal with killing.
To justify whatever killing is involved by saying that its just pixels involved is an illusion, he said.
Focus on the Family, a large evangelical organization, said it was trying to balance the games violent nature with its popularity and the fact that churches are using it anyway. Internally, were still trying to figure out what is our official view on it, said Lisa Anderson, a spokeswoman for the group.
But in today's Enlightened times, we have to wow the kids with all we've got to get them to listen. Just go and watch Transformers. Or listen to Tom Cruise yap about Scientology.
Ken Kenerly, 43, is a pastor who recently started a church in Atlanta and previously started the Family Church in Albuquerque, N.M., where quarterly Halo nights were such a big social event that he had to rent additional big-screen TVs.
Ken Kenerly said he believed that the game could be useful in connecting to young people he once might have reached in more traditional ways, like playing sports. There arent as many kids outdoors as indoors, he said. With gamers, how else can you get into their lives?
John Robison, the current associate pastor at the 300-member Albuquerque church, said parents approached him and were concerned about the Halo games M rating. We explain were using it as a tool to be relatable and relevant, he said, and most people get over it pretty quick.
I guess in the end, you've got to do everything you can to stay afloat, especially in what can be perceived as dark and troubling times. And these churches are doing exactly that, just as they have done many times before, with various methods. I am not condemning nor am I condoning their methods and their messages. I'm just saying that the internal debates on their choices is really interesting. They want to stick to their guns, which is a noble effort, and keep their voices loud and able to be heard. But in today's even-louder, fast-paced, "secular" society, some sacrifices have to be made...a sort-of "deal with the Devil," if you will. We'll see.
Personally, I would've used one of the myriad Mario games. Now there's a classic story of good versus evil. Fuck Bowser.
Bungie Breaks Free From Microsoft
Its theoretically possible that there may be some of you out there who are still unaware that Halo 3, the latest and supposedly final chapter in the ludicrously popular videogame series, has recently become available for purchase.
In which case, Id like to congratulate you for escaping from solitary confinement in a Thai prison, but if you dont mind me saying so, stopping by a local internet café to browse the SG Newswire might not be the best way to celebrate your new-found freedom.
For the rest of you, if Microsofts marketing tsunami hasnt already convinced you to buy one of the three different versions of Halo 3 to play on your new Halo 3-themed Xbox 360 console while you drink Halo 3-flavored Mountain Dew and then impress fellow Halo 3 players by burping loudly into your Halo 3-themed wireless Xbox Live Headset, theyve got one last trick up their sleeves to wring a few more drops of hype from Halo 3 now that its gone from upcoming videogame packed with life-altering awesomeness to tangible shiny disc-shaped object you can be interactively entertained by while Bill Gates takes another swim in his Scrooge McDuck-sized pool of money.
To celebrate the release of Halo 3, Microsoft announced today that they are evolving their relationship with Bungie, the game development studio that created the Halo games. Bungie, who had been in a monogamous relationship with Microsoft since Microsoft bought them in 2000, got the 7 year itch and decided the time was right to take a little break, get back into the swingin independent game developer scene, maybe see some other consoles. Microsoft fell for the its not you, its me line and now only owns a minority stake in Bungie.
Like most major developments in the videogame industry, news of the Microsoft/Bungie split first appeared as an unsourced rumor in an obscure videogame blog. The original article, which paints the reasons for the split in less glowing terms than the eventual Bungie and Microsoft press releases, started a geeksplosion of skeptical postings and articles on other, slightly less obscure videogame websites.
Those of you who have social lives that dont involve bellowing Boom! Headshot! into your headset might not realize how the accuracy of most videogame rumors posted on the internet is on par with broken watches and blind pigs, which makes it all the more surprising that this one turned out to be true.
But before you start daydreaming about how awesome itll be to play Halo 4 with your Wiimote, Microsoft still owns the intellectual property rights to all things Halo. Also, Microsoft will be continuing its long-standing publishing agreement with Bungie for future games, and Bungie claims that they will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsofts platforms.
I just hope this split doesn't further delay the release of my most anticipated Bungie game that doesn't involve the word "Halo", the genre-defining killer app known as Pimps At Sea.
Tuesday Tasting: Girls In Gaming
Each week, Ariel Waldman serves a tasting of the latest in sex and tech.
China Company Bans Men-Role-Playing-Women
Aurora Technology, under Shanda Entertainment in China, has banned men from role playing women in their MMORPG, King of the World. Perhaps burned one too many times for mistakenly hitting on any heroine in sight, the company is requiring that anyone signing up for a female character must be gender-verified by webcam. We're not sure if this is gender "verification", or a clever excuse for pr0n, as there is no sight of a ban on women role playing men. Sources say that this fad should fade, as it takes away the entire point of fantasy games by taking away the ability to be someone else.
Feeling Up Fantasy Female Heroines
Always interested in the intersection between sex and video games, Leigh Alexander gives girl characters in games their annual breast examination this week. Analyzing areolas to lack of underwires, she defends the sometimes over-the-top depiction of females in games:
...the gratuitous endowments and high-cut battle skirts, every little plate of waist-cinching, virtually useless armor and every graphic jiggle is as necessary to the genre as the subtle moan of the shambling undead and the high-powered arsenal of the worlds best shooters. And to shamelessly enjoy and appreciate every bare-skinned brawler does not indicate unfairness or misogyny any more than an appreciation for wrench kills or car thievery indicates real-world sociopathy.
Previously, our lovely Posh Suicide provided her views on the double-D debate.
Halo 3 Is Hot For Your Girlfriend
As one of the few females in attendance of the Halo 3 pre-launch party at Microsoft last night, it's obvious that this game is open to receiving any hype it can. Goofy and definitely geeky, a few game-fans got together to make a music video dedicated to their addiction. Featuring horrible oh-so-90's boy band moves, Joystiq warns that "Halo Nights" won't be something you hit replay on. Regardless, we're curious about the mechanics of having sex with Spartan 117.