GREEDFALL MORALITY IN GAMING
As Christians, we are supposed to work together to make the world a better place. God calls us to help people in need and to bring positivity and hope to our sinful world. We are taught to solve our issues with peace and love, rather than conflict and destruction. There are many game franchises, such as Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto, that outright reject these Christian values in gameplay. However, Greedfall, a game developed by Spiders Games, demonstrates quite the opposite. This newly released action role-playing game reminds me of the importance of these crucial Christian teachings. The game takes place on a newly discovered magical island filled with fantastical creatures. The game roots heavily in 17th century European history, judging from the architecture, costumes, weaponry, and ambiance.
Different factions are competitively trying to colonize this new land, causing conflict as they are hungry for control and power. One of your roles, as the main protagonist who has recently arrived at the island, is to nurture a relationship between all these factions. Another element in the game is the plague-like disease which is causing sickness and death to the people of the island. As the population grows desperate, you have to work alongside the numerous factions to create a cure for this disease. It is up to you to save the inhabitants from succumbing to this disease. The game grants you a great deal of power and freedom, as your decisions influence and can alter the game’s events, allowing you to creatively develop your own story. Given this freedom, your main goal is to ultimately achieve a peaceful coalition throughout the island. Aside from the many invaders you are forced to fight against, the broad message is to establish peace and order. You are essentially working as a servant of God, as you help the indigenous people safety from the foreign invaders. God strongly preaches against war, yet still uses it in some cases. This is clear in Ecclesiastes 3:8, which tells us there is, “A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” In this game, players kill violent people who are threatening the innocent population’s safety. They are also empathetically working towards finding the cure for the fatal plague disease. The many innocent people you’re entrusted with saving are far greater in number than the evil people you must fight against.
Greedfall illustrates the greedy, violent people as evil, and the innocent, somewhat helpless indigenous as good. Players stand up for injustice done to the weak, as they are being attacked by power-hungry colonizers. This is another Christian teaching, seen in Psalm 82:3-4: “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
It seems clear that this game points at early North American history, where colonial settlers treated the indigenous people terribly. In this game, the goal somewhat corrects the un-Christian way North America was colonized—recreating history while upholding moral values. It is a great idea for a game, and has a righteous story, unlike many other video games released these days.
One of your roles, as the main protagonist... is to nurture a relationship between all these factions.