Would this game be sinful to play?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ResoluteSheep
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

ResoluteSheep

Guest
Hi all,

I’ve just checked with my Priest, and he said that not all violence and gore in video games are sinful and that it really depends on the context. If it is a game where we are fighting to defend our country against the enemy, that would be okay. But if it is a game where the only objective is to steal and kill e.g GTA, then it would be sinful to play it.

How about this game though? - H1Z1: KOTK

It’s a game where players can choose to spawn on a location on a map (using their parachutes to glide down) and from then on, it’s kill everyone until you’re the last one standing to win. There isn’t much gore, except for the occasional blood effects when a bullet hits an enemy. Playing this does not desensitize me to violence. What about the action in itself though? The context is - kill all to remain the last one standing. I don’t play it because I enjoy the act of murder, but rather to test my skills against other players and mainly for the competition, since you have to be rather quick in your shots at the higher levels.

Thoughts?
 
I’d say to seek.guidance from.the priest you spoke.with before.
 
Sounds like a blood sport disguised as a game. Why "kill’ to the last man standing? That in itself is desensitizing. Find a better form of entertainment. Go pray or something. Peace.
 
OP you won’t have peace til you sort out your scruples. What people say on here is just opinion. You have to get to a point of being able to decide for yourself. And no, that doesn’t mean not doing anything you have doubts about.
 
You will likely get 100 different answers to “is such and such a sin?” on here.
If it bothers your conscience to play this game, then discuss it with your priest. He will be better able to take all the circumstances into consideration than strangers on the Internet.
 
ResoluteSheep said:
Hi all,
Playing this does not desensitize me to violence.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
It seems to me studies have been done on this. Playing violent games makes you more prone to violence–whether in the short term or long term, and whether in small things or in large things. I don’t think it’s a sin, but it’s an occasion of sin, and certainly I agree with some other answers–you could be spending your time more wisely!
 
ChibiViolet said:
I don’t think it’s sinful. It’s just a game.
Click to expand...
So is swinging for those who play it.

The perfect answer from Satan himself - Do it, it’s just a ___________.

Whether the game in question is sinful, I like the priest’s answer in that where the focus is on a cause other than killing, such games may be ok.

Versus the focus simply on killing.

Sinfulness can be difficult to determine, but having virtues as a guide, they help us to see that regardless of sinfulness, the games are not leading us toward God.

That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be used, but we must be careful to not put them before God.

Asking a message board is going to get an array of answers, in which we see what we like and think it to be true.
 
Why not play checkers? The object of the game is to take the other guy’s checkers. Maybe that would be fun.
 
My husband is a recreational gamer (as in, not the kind who holes up all weekend), and we’ve had this conversation many times.

The outcomes of studies about the harm violent video games do to the brain are definitely mixed. There was a recent study (can’t find it right now) which showed that violent video games do affect some young people, but not others, and there’s no way to tell ahead of time who will be affected. At that point Husband took a look at his Little’s personal history and finally let me talk him into avoiding first-person shooters when playing with the Little.

When it comes to husband, since this issue isn’t studied so much that we know what’s actually happening when we play, what do we have to go on? Well, first and foremost we know that we learn what we practice. As a teacher and musician, this reality is very present to me, so I take a harder stance than my husband does.

My opinion is that there are times in the real-world where war is necessary, but in games, killing humans isn’t necessary. For heaven’s sake, it’s a game, just make them orcs! Husband does not take such a strong stand, but has decided that he doesn’t want to take the risk of programming himself in certain ways. The more realistic the experience, the more easily it will translate to real life, so within VR (virtual reality) he does choose to limit his first-person-shooter experiences to unrealistic scenarios such as shooting at cartoon characters with a bow-and-arrow. In standard video games, he will play first-person-shooters, but has slowly wandered away from the gory games with blood effects, and more toward those that focus on puzzles and martial arts.

Without a preponderance of scientific evidence either way, all we have in my household are two reasonable people with different opinions. That’s pretty much all you’re going to find here, too.

So - follow the advice of your priest in spirit as well as letter. If you’re asking this question, perhaps you already know the answer? There are plenty of games which allow you to test your skills against other players at high levels. Not all of them involve blood effects…

**
 
Fascinating – according to Wikipedia, there are two different games under this “H1Z1” banner – one is a survival game which emphasizes mutual cooperation rather than mindless PVP combat to survive in a hostile environment (called “H1Z1: Just Survive”) and this one (the KOTK apparently stands for “King of the Kill”), which seems to be more or less “kill everyone else and be the last man standing”. While there aren;t any explicit Church teachings I know of saying it’s directly sinful, it still to me seems kinda iffy.

Personally, I’d just stick with BattleTech. Go and fight for the Free Worlds League or Federated Suns and make something of your life! 😃 :bluelite:
 
Pat_Payne said:
Personally, I’d just stick with BattleTech. Go and fight for the Free Worlds League or Federated Suns and make something of your life! 😃 :bluelite:
Click to expand...
Don’t waste your life. Play these video games instead! :rotfl:
 
mVitus said:
Don’t waste your life. Play these video games instead! :rotfl:
Click to expand...
I must protest! Battletech isn’t a video game. It’s a tabletop wargame.

Mechwarrior is a video game. Totally different, outside of the shared universe, mechanical designs and fluff… what was the question again? 😛
 
There’s a huge difference between playing a tabletop game in person with others and a game on a screen. In Player vs Player or Player vs Computer, I don’t think kill 'em all is a good idea. In real life, in combat, that might occur in order to save yourself and comrades. I’m seeing waaaay too many games that focus on the dark. This type of “fantasy” environment is not something I’d want in my head.

Be social. Checkers or Monopoly would be better choices. Or a board game that involves opponents or challenges, with or without miniature figures.

Ed
 
Playing KotK is not a sin. What is a sin however is playing KotK when you could be playing PUBG instead
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top