As part of a BBC documentary series Games Britannia Dicing with Destiny is a fascinating look at the historical importance of games in British culture, from the days of the Romans to more modern inventions. Narrated by Benjamin Woolley, it covers a wide range of board games with an interesting focus on an aspect of gaming that I had rarely considered previously - the spiritual side of games.
As a Christian this was naturally fascinating, for as far as I was aware, many Christians are fairly hostile to a lot of gaming culture, and as was mentioned in the documentary, the connection to gambling has never been seen in a positive light by the church. I hardly need to mention the great controversy over table top RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons, and my parents rarely see more than just violence in many of the computer games I play.
This documentary highlighted a couple of instances however where games were not only accepted by Christians, but actively encouraged in everyday life. The game based on the Gospels, however tenuously linked the connection actually is, was particularly interesting to me, using mechanics as a metaphor is something I have been studying for a while now, and the possibilities to expand on this concept in more modern games have still to really be touched upon by most of the games industry.
The crudely scratched game boards on the pews of the ancient churches made me wonder whether the very recent rise of mobile gaming was actually anything all that new. The games and format may have changed, but the very human reasons we play them has not. I'm not sure my Pastor would appreciate the congregation breaking out their phones for a quick game of angry birds during the sermon.
The origin of Snakes and Ladders was a revelation to me, having only played the commercial modern versions, it becomes apparent to me that a lot of the enjoyment of the original was embedded in it's meaning, and that by removing the spiritual aspect it loses it's appeal becoming a game based solely on the luck of the die moving pieces toward a goal.
The concept of the 'luck' of the dice roll from the religious aspect of leaving the outcome to God (the casting of lots happens frequently in both the old and new testaments for example) was also mentioned in this documentary and the connection to why gambling with dice was so greatly abhorred by the Church also made an interesting point I had never really considered.
I guess that my main takeaway from this documentary episode was the change of my perspective on gaming, and the potential to incorporate greater depth and meaning to simple mechanics through a shift in context. I'll certainly be looking at ways I can improve my own game designs in this way.
In my next blog post I'll be looking at two ancient games that I've played recently, and my attempts at analysing them from a modern perspective.
