Philosophico-religious musings about video games
Aug 25 '04 (Updated Nov 06 '04)
The Bottom Line Part IV of my video game tetralogy.
This is the last part of my 'Video game tetralogy'; each section is self-sufficient. The first three parts can be accessed here: My life as a video game player, Coleco visions: recollections, observations and anecdotes about the Colecovision and The ten video games I played the most.
What I want to do here might surprise some readers: I'd like to bring up the philosophico-religious implications of video games. Most of my remarks concern NES games because they are the ones I know best. Some of these implications are easy to decipher, but others are not and tend to be strange and offbeat interpretations on my part. This is not intended as an exhaustive, scholarly article, but only as a series of personal observations. I have tried to make it readable for both video game players and those interested in religion.
I wanted to do it because 1) my interest in philosophy and religion has developed at a time when I stopped playing video games, and 2) when I play them today, I notice elements that eluded me in the past. The following paragraphs have been strongly influenced by Mircea Eliade (1907-1986), an historian of religions who showed that religious motifs can be found everywhere in the secular, modern world, if only we know where/how to look for them.
1. General remarks
Game time vs profane time. Game time is somehow parallel to normal time: a player forgets about everyday (profane) matters when he/she plays (this is the only way to give a good performance). This implies a profound identification with the hero and the world of the game, which take over the player's 'normal life' and his/her surroundings. Speaking of his/her performance, the player will say: 'I lost a life…'. Role-playing games especially highlight this desire to be someone else, but it can be noticed in a majority of NES games.
Storylines. Even though most philosophico-religious connotations of NES games are only implicit, some are more obvious: a few NES games feature storylines with clear allusions to mythology (Athena, Kid Icarus, Battle of Olympus, Astyanax…); many others do so more subtly, borrowing classic fairy-tale motifs (a princess must be saved, etc.) or titles (The Legend of Zelda). Many games deal with openly pagan/magical themes, with sorcerers, spells, herbs and more (Solstice, Magician, The Immortal, innumerable role-playing games).
2. Motifs of initiation
A challenge. At the heart of every game lies a challenge, be it in sports, strategy, action-adventure, puzzle or role-playing games. A goal must be reached, either directly or (as is often the case) through a series of levels, stages, trials, tasks, planets, worlds, etc.
Steps of initiation. The player navigates through stages/levels which get more and more difficult as the game progresses; every stage corresponds to a step in a player's quest. The word 'quest' has obvious spiritual undertones and is often used to describe famous role-playing games. Finishing a game is thus akin to completing a personal quest.
The prestige of initiation I. Initiation motifs are omnipresent in NES games. One can find them in passwords, secret codes and passages, riddles, etc. The most telling might be found in the Mario Bros. series. These games have pioneered the warp zones and hidden areas that would later be present in most action-adventure games; these secret places are often accessed under the ground, i.e. where the profane refuses to look.
The prestige of initiation II. Speaking of underground areas: many action games – be they as classic in tone as Super Mario Bros. or as radical as Battletoads – feature levels that take place in subterranean, fiery places. This re-enacts the descensus ad infernos motif which is present in most religious traditions.
The prestige of initiation III. The player has to learn specific patterns to defeat enemies or end-level bosses: the experienced player, having already been through the game (in other words, having already been initiated), has a marked advantage over the newcomer. Some of the most popular of all NES games depend on extremely careful memorization in addition to expert reflexes (the Contra and Ninja Gaiden series being the best examples). For the player who has already beaten a given game, every sign – the movement of an enemy or projectile, a certain sound effect – gains immediate meaning; meaning that will be lost to the profane.
The prestige of initiation IV. A magazine like Nintendo Power is filled with echoes of a religious sect. Here are some clues taken from a 1991 edition: the letters section creates a sense of camaraderie between NES players; elaborate maps reveal secrets and tips; in the Counselors' Corner, the game counsellors divulge tips to help players progress in their quest/initiation; the tricks and codes page is titled 'Classified information' and a 'Top secret' stamp is in evidence; the 'NES achievers' section lists remarkable gaming achievements (the many 'Finished' notices identify players who have successfully completed their quest/initiation and invite others to join them).
3. Philosophical and mystical themes
Reality lies behind mere appearances. In classic NES games such as the Super Mario Bros. and Castlevania series, the player must not trust appearances. A block which seems to be solid can actually be destroyed and reveal an hidden power-up; some obstacles are only illusions destined to fool the player. This is in line with Plato's famous allegory of the cave and Hinduism's doctrine of maya.
The life and death cycle. The player usually has more than one chance to complete his/her task; each failing is a 'death'. Unless all lives and continues have been used, death is always followed by life.
4. Conclusion
I will conclude this piece with notes on two specific games.
Notes on Marble Madness. The game Marble Madness has no true storyline; the player guides a sphere through numerous obstacles (sharp turns, slopes, launching pads, ice, etc.) and has to reach the 'Goal' sign at the end of each level. The sphere was a key symbol for ancient thinkers: it embodies perfection, completeness, autarky (see the fragments of Parmenides and Empedocles). If we take Marble Madness' sphere to be the symbol of the soul, the game gains interesting meanings. Each level can then correspond to the life of a soul: according to most theories of reincarnation, the soul must go through several incarnations before finally earning the right to flee from the body, just as the sphere must navigate through five levels before accomplishing its task in the video game. (N.B.: You can also read my Marble Madness review.)
Notes on Mortal Kombat II. The whole Mortal Kombat phenomenon was fascinating in the mid-1990s, and still is to a certain extent. Much like its predecessor, Mortal Kombat II features digitized fighters battling in violent and bloody encounters. The series' most famous and controversial element is undoubtedly the 'fatalities' : once a fighter has won two rounds, he/she can 'finish' his/her opponent with especially gruesome moves (ripping heads or spines, tearing hearts out, incineration, etc.). The cult that developed around the original Mortal Kombat carried over to the sequel, and I witnessed it firsthand. In fact, I took part in it for a while. In 1994, dozens of people would enter the dimly lit, cave-like arcades and line up to play and/or watch. It was a true procession in which a sacrificial victim died on-screen at every five minutes; these sacrifices were often greeted by the awed whispers of the crowd.
The game's religious implications did not stop there. It also had secret games and characters; some players were convinced that a character from Mortal Kombat, the four-armed Goro, was hidden in Mortal Kombat II – the 'Goro' myth thus developed. The home version of the Mortal Kombat games also had numerous codes, the most celebrated being the blood code of Mortal Kombat for the Sega Genesis.
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Some of my video game reviews:
NES - Battletoads, Dragon's Lair, Marble Madness, The Rocketeer, Swamp Thing.
Genesis - Earthworm Jim, Garfield: Caught in the Act, Mickey Mania, The Pagemaster, Ristar.
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