But really it's just a video game and they aren't trying to anything but make a fun game with gods inspired from well-known places.
If Hindu gods were excluded all together before the complaint, would their be one about the discrimination of Hinduism as a relgion and why isn't it good enough to be represented in the game?
lol +1 Hi-Rez Studios. Personally, I hope they use Jesus Christ as a character in their game. He could be a healer-tank hybrid. He could fill a support role, curing blindness and resurrecting dead players... but he should also be one helluva tank, cuz we all know what kind of beating JC can take. If he dies early in the game, he should auto-resurrect 3 minutes later, and then promptly leave the game for the rest of the match.
I would love to see a company or celebrity who has offended a group of people to tell them to get over it. It's sacred to you, fine, it's not sacred to everyone. I can't believe in this day and age people still get upset about others making fun of their religion. It's a game and it includes religions from the spectrum of human beliefs. I would consider the developers respectful because they are actually acknowledging the legitimacy of that religion on the course of human events.
Hard not to offend anyone these days. Too many people feel empowered by the can't hurt anyone's feelings brigade that has inundated our society. It is a game, nothing whatsoever to do with a religion.
I agree 100% and loved Todd's responce to the issue.
Wel lthat would NOT be a fair argument.That is like saying it is ok to put porn and sell drugs and have pictures displaying sexual violence inside a game because >>>"it is just a game"?
if you are going to use religeous concepts within a game,then you should just stand up for the why you are doing it never use the "just a game" excuse for an argument.
I am definitely not a religeous expert by any stretch but i imagine that factions get angry over misusing religeon to display violence or any other degrading act.I feel they do deserve some slack ,after all the world is seriously losing moral values badly by the day.
I do not know much about Smite to know how they are using the concept,so i can't say if they are perhaps stepping on bad ground using the loose term >>"Just gaming".I know the game is just a battlegrounds ,i guess one simple small map where everyone goes nuts.I notice a statue or something that players try to destroy,is that the deity?Or is Deity just a imaginable fictation where by players belong to one to get buffs?
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Right... where was this group when the SMT series rehashed every single Hindi god as Personae, or when Atlus used the chakaras as locations for Digital Devil Saga, or every single time a Final Fantasy game releases with summons/guardianforces/espers... whatever the hell they wanna call in in each round?
Way to be picky and choose the right time for exposure, assholes.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
I would love to see a company or celebrity who has offended a group of people to tell them to get over it. It's sacred to you, fine, it's not sacred to everyone. I can't believe in this day and age people still get upset about others making fun of their religion. It's a game and it includes religions from the spectrum of human beliefs. I would consider the developers respectful because they are actually acknowledging the legitimacy of that religion on the course of human events.
What do you mean "in this day and age people still get upset"? In "this day and age" you cant say or do ANYTHING that would offend another person without having to worry about a lawsuit, complaint, or a suicide bomber showing up on your doorstep. Fact is, no matter what you do, what you say, what your intent is, its going to piss someone off.
Whilst I'm not too concerned with people complaining about their religion being mocked etc. What I do take issue with is the fact that as far as I'm concerned Hi-rez are hypocritical on this issue - it's highly unlikely they'll include any overt Islamic or Christian imagery in SMITE for the reasons mentioned previously in this thread - if they do I'll happily admit I'm wrong.
By all means use whatever Gods and religious figures you want, paint and portray them whatever way you like, just play it down when one religious group complains when it's highly likely you're avoiding some religions for fear of possible outbursts.
Also the guy writing the response doesn't really address the issues, he just glosses over the entire thing, so all the God's in the game could possibly be considered Hindu (a questionable notion at best) that doesn't really answer their points about images of still-worshipped deities being used in a way that is clearly for monetary gain (i.e. a video game).
As I said before, I'm not personally taking issue with the "depicting religious figures" thing, I'm all for people creating whatever the hell they want - free speech and all that - but it just seems like Hi-rez are:
a) a little hypocritical
b) dodging the actual complaint by responding in an incredibly vague manner.
hi rez think putting jesus in the game would be too offensive but they have no problem offending hindus i guess..hypocrites
While true to a point, putting the archangel Michael in would be more appropriate.
There is NO miracle patch.
95% of what you see in beta won't change by launch.
Hope is not a stategy. ______________________________ "This kind of topic is like one of those little cartoon boxes held up by a stick on a string, with a piece of meat under it. In other words, bait."
I would love to see a company or celebrity who has offended a group of people to tell them to get over it. It's sacred to you, fine, it's not sacred to everyone. I can't believe in this day and age people still get upset about others making fun of their religion. It's a game and it includes religions from the spectrum of human beliefs. I would consider the developers respectful because they are actually acknowledging the legitimacy of that religion on the course of human events.
What do you mean "in this day and age people still get upset"? In "this day and age" you cant say or do ANYTHING that would offend another person without having to worry about a lawsuit, complaint, or a suicide bomber showing up on your doorstep. Fact is, no matter what you do, what you say, what your intent is, its going to piss someone off.
I am hoping this day and age is marked by the progression of Enlightenment values. But you are correct, people being butthurt is a fact of life these days. They need more to worry about, take their minds off of silly things.
I'm Catholic and I feel a bit eerie imagining Jesus Christ in a battle arena type game. It's not because I don't like seeing Jesus put into a game, in fact, I've had some rough designs for biblical themed adventure RPGs. It's just that the Jesus that was portrayed in the Bible is first and foremost a human, and secondly a very peaceful person. His personality just doesn't fit for this type of game IMO. The most wrathful I've seen of him is when he overturned the vendors' stands at the temple...
I guess the more fitting entries for this game would be the ArchAngels of Heaven. I can also imagine Yahweh to be participating, but he's OP...unlike the ones from Greek mythologies, where each God only has certain specialties.
i think they are being too sensitive ....the world is going to have a diversity of opinions on a wide range of issues....such is life... this is yet another subtle demand that people pay the same reverance for their dieties that they do.
I don't flip out every time i see someone make fun of my personal beliefs in the media be it in games or movies because i am not seeking to have my views reflected back to me , i have choices as a consumer If i don't like some show or some game for whatever reason i can choose not to participate.
Ultimatley if you don't play the game it doesn't affect you how any particular hindu figure is portrayed. If someone is not insulting you personally for what you believe who cares. I freequently see ideas i find important mocked in the media but do i get all bent out of shape, and arange a boycot or look for someone to sue, hell no i am too busy living my life to worry about if someone out there doesn't agree with me....
I find his response to be very rude. He just basically told the Hindus "screw you and your opinions." Their religion is no less important than anyother religion. If he's going to use their gods he needs to use ALL of the gods, indlucing god and Jesus himself. Otherwise he's being a giant hypocrite.
I find his response to be very rude. He just basically told the Hindus "screw you and your opinions." Their religion is no less important than anyother religion. If he's going to use their gods he needs to use ALL of the gods, indlucing god and Jesus himself. Otherwise he's being a giant hypocrite.
I don't think anything he said was all that insulting, but trying to philosophise and then say "ponder that a minute" is just asking for it. There wouldn't even be a brief pause before a zealot yells "Rabble! Rabble, Rabble!".
As for Jesus/God being a playable deity, it simply doesn't work because using Jesus would be akind to putting Buddha or Ghandi in a battle arena game. Unless the theme of the game is 'total irony' it simply doesn't work. Plus, all hindu gods have tons of visual representations in books and murals, while the visual ideal of God and angels were ripped from visual representations of Zeus and Nike, respectively. The former already being in-game.
Uh oh, I done it now, ain't I?
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
i hate when game developers screw their own games because a specific group of people that wont even play the game complain about a feature of said game. There have been many cases like this but Todd is the one with the best answer and actually leaving their game intact.
I'm still waiting for them to include deities from Abrahamic religions. There's really no reason to exclude them when there's deities from other active religions in the game. Why should Islam and Christianity be exempt?
Mainly because Abrahamic religious figures like Jesus, Muhammad or Allah are too broad in the scope of their powers to fit into the niche neccesary to be a character in a game like this. However, if you dig deeper into Jewish and Islamic mythology (in contrast to religion) you'll find characters like Lillith and the Angel of Death who work brillianly as video game characters.
I find his response to be very rude. He just basically told the Hindus "screw you and your opinions." Their religion is no less important than anyother religion. If he's going to use their gods he needs to use ALL of the gods, indlucing god and Jesus himself. Otherwise he's being a giant hypocrite.
Can you explain why their religion should be exempt from a game? They don't own their religion - no one does. They don't have a copyright on those Gods and cannot control how they are portrayed. Furthermore, you know what happens when someone gets offended? Nothing. They can choose to be upset or ignore the game and move on with their lives.
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Really? I mean REALLY? Just make a dam fun game.I would not care if they add MMORPG.Com Staff into it as a Ban hammer God...
I retired retroactively..Haha
No way around that one.
But really it's just a video game and they aren't trying to anything but make a fun game with gods inspired from well-known places.
If Hindu gods were excluded all together before the complaint, would their be one about the discrimination of Hinduism as a relgion and why isn't it good enough to be represented in the game?
Holy crap! WANT! I wish I had upvotes to give you.
20 bucks says that jesus going to be a support character!
How -DARE- they?! Next the Easter Bunny and Santa will be included! I swear, if they add leprechauns, I'm going to tell Jesus on them!
lol +1 Hi-Rez Studios. Personally, I hope they use Jesus Christ as a character in their game. He could be a healer-tank hybrid. He could fill a support role, curing blindness and resurrecting dead players... but he should also be one helluva tank, cuz we all know what kind of beating JC can take. If he dies early in the game, he should auto-resurrect 3 minutes later, and then promptly leave the game for the rest of the match.
Silly religious people, they never stop amusing me.
I would love to see a company or celebrity who has offended a group of people to tell them to get over it. It's sacred to you, fine, it's not sacred to everyone. I can't believe in this day and age people still get upset about others making fun of their religion. It's a game and it includes religions from the spectrum of human beliefs. I would consider the developers respectful because they are actually acknowledging the legitimacy of that religion on the course of human events.
This really does make me think though... how long do you think before a buddy jesus skin comes out?
Wel lthat would NOT be a fair argument.That is like saying it is ok to put porn and sell drugs and have pictures displaying sexual violence inside a game because >>>"it is just a game"?
if you are going to use religeous concepts within a game,then you should just stand up for the why you are doing it never use the "just a game" excuse for an argument.
I am definitely not a religeous expert by any stretch but i imagine that factions get angry over misusing religeon to display violence or any other degrading act.I feel they do deserve some slack ,after all the world is seriously losing moral values badly by the day.
I do not know much about Smite to know how they are using the concept,so i can't say if they are perhaps stepping on bad ground using the loose term >>"Just gaming".I know the game is just a battlegrounds ,i guess one simple small map where everyone goes nuts.I notice a statue or something that players try to destroy,is that the deity?Or is Deity just a imaginable fictation where by players belong to one to get buffs?
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Right... where was this group when the SMT series rehashed every single Hindi god as Personae, or when Atlus used the chakaras as locations for Digital Devil Saga, or every single time a Final Fantasy game releases with summons/guardianforces/espers... whatever the hell they wanna call in in each round?
Way to be picky and choose the right time for exposure, assholes.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
What do you mean "in this day and age people still get upset"? In "this day and age" you cant say or do ANYTHING that would offend another person without having to worry about a lawsuit, complaint, or a suicide bomber showing up on your doorstep. Fact is, no matter what you do, what you say, what your intent is, its going to piss someone off.
Whilst I'm not too concerned with people complaining about their religion being mocked etc. What I do take issue with is the fact that as far as I'm concerned Hi-rez are hypocritical on this issue - it's highly unlikely they'll include any overt Islamic or Christian imagery in SMITE for the reasons mentioned previously in this thread - if they do I'll happily admit I'm wrong.
By all means use whatever Gods and religious figures you want, paint and portray them whatever way you like, just play it down when one religious group complains when it's highly likely you're avoiding some religions for fear of possible outbursts.
Also the guy writing the response doesn't really address the issues, he just glosses over the entire thing, so all the God's in the game could possibly be considered Hindu (a questionable notion at best) that doesn't really answer their points about images of still-worshipped deities being used in a way that is clearly for monetary gain (i.e. a video game).
As I said before, I'm not personally taking issue with the "depicting religious figures" thing, I'm all for people creating whatever the hell they want - free speech and all that - but it just seems like Hi-rez are:
a) a little hypocritical
b) dodging the actual complaint by responding in an incredibly vague manner.
hi rez think putting jesus in the game would be too offensive but they have no problem offending hindus i guess..hypocrites
While true to a point, putting the archangel Michael in would be more appropriate.
There is NO miracle patch.
95% of what you see in beta won't change by launch.
Hope is not a stategy.
______________________________
"This kind of topic is like one of those little cartoon boxes held up by a stick on a string, with a piece of meat under it. In other words, bait."
Those ppl should stop playing GAMES and stick to real lfie.
I am hoping this day and age is marked by the progression of Enlightenment values. But you are correct, people being butthurt is a fact of life these days. They need more to worry about, take their minds off of silly things.
I'm Catholic and I feel a bit eerie imagining Jesus Christ in a battle arena type game. It's not because I don't like seeing Jesus put into a game, in fact, I've had some rough designs for biblical themed adventure RPGs. It's just that the Jesus that was portrayed in the Bible is first and foremost a human, and secondly a very peaceful person. His personality just doesn't fit for this type of game IMO. The most wrathful I've seen of him is when he overturned the vendors' stands at the temple...
I guess the more fitting entries for this game would be the ArchAngels of Heaven. I can also imagine Yahweh to be participating, but he's OP...unlike the ones from Greek mythologies, where each God only has certain specialties.
Also the name Jesus Christ doesn't fit.
i think they are being too sensitive ....the world is going to have a diversity of opinions on a wide range of issues....such is life... this is yet another subtle demand that people pay the same reverance for their dieties that they do.
I don't flip out every time i see someone make fun of my personal beliefs in the media be it in games or movies because i am not seeking to have my views reflected back to me , i have choices as a consumer If i don't like some show or some game for whatever reason i can choose not to participate.
Ultimatley if you don't play the game it doesn't affect you how any particular hindu figure is portrayed. If someone is not insulting you personally for what you believe who cares. I freequently see ideas i find important mocked in the media but do i get all bent out of shape, and arange a boycot or look for someone to sue, hell no i am too busy living my life to worry about if someone out there doesn't agree with me....
I find his response to be very rude. He just basically told the Hindus "screw you and your opinions." Their religion is no less important than anyother religion. If he's going to use their gods he needs to use ALL of the gods, indlucing god and Jesus himself. Otherwise he's being a giant hypocrite.
Smile
I don't think anything he said was all that insulting, but trying to philosophise and then say "ponder that a minute" is just asking for it. There wouldn't even be a brief pause before a zealot yells "Rabble! Rabble, Rabble!".
As for Jesus/God being a playable deity, it simply doesn't work because using Jesus would be akind to putting Buddha or Ghandi in a battle arena game. Unless the theme of the game is 'total irony' it simply doesn't work. Plus, all hindu gods have tons of visual representations in books and murals, while the visual ideal of God and angels were ripped from visual representations of Zeus and Nike, respectively. The former already being in-game.
Uh oh, I done it now, ain't I?
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Well said Mister Todd Harris.
i hate when game developers screw their own games because a specific group of people that wont even play the game complain about a feature of said game. There have been many cases like this but Todd is the one with the best answer and actually leaving their game intact.
Mainly because Abrahamic religious figures like Jesus, Muhammad or Allah are too broad in the scope of their powers to fit into the niche neccesary to be a character in a game like this. However, if you dig deeper into Jewish and Islamic mythology (in contrast to religion) you'll find characters like Lillith and the Angel of Death who work brillianly as video game characters.
Can you explain why their religion should be exempt from a game? They don't own their religion - no one does. They don't have a copyright on those Gods and cannot control how they are portrayed. Furthermore, you know what happens when someone gets offended? Nothing. They can choose to be upset or ignore the game and move on with their lives.