12/16/2023 0 Comments World record devil daggersThis, of course, despite the fact that the place of eternal death and separation from God should be a horrifying, undesirable prospect. If games about hell keep selling enough to make it a viable subject matter, then something about hell must resonate with players. Yet, ultimately, as for why it’s avoided as a gaming setting, I think the truth bears a deeper examination than just people thinking it’s dull or misunderstanding heaven altogether. A more serious examination of the Bible’s conception of heaven might just yield some surprises (not many clouds and harps there, for one thing). Honestly, I believe heaven may be a more complex, rewarding subject than most would-be designers and developers would think. This doesn’t make for a very compelling gaming experience, right? Even as developers continue to explore gaming concepts that don’t center on violence, you can understand why some settings present more excitement than others. Heaven is a place that has no challenges nor enemies, no difficulty or conflict. There is an easier answer, of course: It’s boring. But maybe it’s just too difficult to convey such depth of emotional, spiritual resonance. As a place of deep joy and satisfaction, you’d think presenting that sort of feeling to a player would be a supreme achievement. Heaven should be an appealing factor for anyone, this environment of complete contentment and security. The question is: Why? Why is Heaven So Rare and Hell So Common? Even if you dismiss the anecdotal evidence, empirical results bear out hell’s superior popularity to heaven: Searching the Steam store for term “hell” currently returns 74 pages of results, compared to 17 for term “heaven.” GiantBomb’s wiki for categories of games shows 7 pages of results for games with hell as a location, while those featuring heaven return 2 pages. If you’ve been playing video games for any amount of time, you probably associate demonic beings as an enemy type right alongside mutant bugs and street thugs. By now, I am sure video games are contributing to the pop-cultural understanding of hell, just as they themselves were first informed by pop culture’s interpretation. Readers can likely think of more examples. Another tactic is to include just a stage or two with a hell design: You can skate into Satan’s mouth in Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, defeat King Yama of the Underworld in Spelunky, and explore planet Heck on the second level of Earthworm Jim. Cuphead’s story is about making a deal with the devil. Popular properties such as Devil May Cry and Saints Row incorporate hell in their plot. Some selections are more overt with the theme, such as indie titles Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit and Devil Daggers, while others don’t deal with hell directly but flirt with the sensation of it, such as seen in The Binding of Isaac or Darkest Dungeon. I haven’t played recent critical hit Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, but apparently it features a trip to Viking hell. So maybe heaven is rare in our video games because the concept of a place of perfect peace and joy sounds like an alien conceptĭoom hardly holds a monopoly on video games taking a trip to Hades, however. And the signature demons, all grotesque and terrifying, hissing and roaring and gnashing their teeth. No signs of hope or God or love to be found. Labyrinthine corridors through hostile terrain. The Doom games offer a truly hellish vision: Fire and brimstone, shadows and darkness. You may be familiar with Doom, for instance – the 1993 original became a cultural touchstone, and at press time gamers are looking forward to a new installment, Doom Eternal. There are entire brands that hinge on hellscapes. Still, representations of heaven are rare in gaming. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, loosely based on the apocryphal Book of Enoch, had players moving in and out of the heavenly realm. The Elysium Fields show up in the God of War series, while the Diablo franchise has its High Heavens. Maybe that endgame sequence in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, in which Link travels to a peaceful field surrounding a lone tree? I’m sure some JRPGs have explored their own visions of celestial realms. I don’t think they are presented as a serious depiction of the in-universe afterlife nonetheless, they are the first example that comes to mind when I try to remember video games giving us a heavenly setting. Other Mario titles have their own versions of Coin Heaven, but the idea is the same throughout: A low-pressure space, free of enemies, in which the player can gain coins toward extra lives without any threats. If the player finds a Magic Note Block in Super Mario Bros 3, they can jump on it to enter Coin Heaven.
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