Video games have been around for so long that a parent and child may both remember playing some version of a Super Mario game as children. From the arcades that were born in the early 70s, to the games we see now in the internet age, the video game industry has grown exponentially and is now a regularly occurring facet of today’s culture. With how available entertainment is to us today, Christians need to practice prudence in choosing what to allow into our lives and video games are no exception. I write this strategy guide to give you the tips, tricks and tools that you’ll find useful when thinking about how video games factor into your own, or into your children’s, lives.
First: “Do you need video games in your life?” Easy answer: No. But replace video games with any other entertaining thing and the answer remains the same. God gives us what we need, and can give us plenty more besides what we need. Toys and games are gifts from God, just as food and clothing are. He asks us to use these worldly gifts wisely. These gifts can be twisted into sin, or they can give God glory. For this guide I will be assuming that we are living as Jesus warns in Luke 21:34 “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.” and as Paul states plainly, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
In order to understand why someone might want to play video games, it helps to look at why God gives us games in the first place. Short answer: He loves us as His children, and games allow us to shine in a way that even we can plainly see.
Why we play games (including video games)
When God created us, He made us in His image and likeness, giving us a body that is capable of amazing feats of strength and dexterity, and a soul that is capable of even more amazing displays of intellect and imagination. This body-and-soul combo is ready to live and interact and love, and so the games that we play give an outlet for these desires. Most every game, including video games, involves some amount of each of the following traits. I’ll be using some example video games to illustrate.
Physical Skill: In sports this is obvious, but physical skill is needed in video games just the same. Dexterity is typically the focus. Executing the moves available in Street Fighter requires precision and timing and can even require the building up of muscle memory. Even with simpler controls, leaping across great chasms in Mario or Celeste is a skill that takes practice. Being able to execute and even compete (either against a human opponent or the game itself) with our body is satisfying, especially when there is sufficient challenge.
Intellectual Skill: Every game presents a problem that desires a solution, a solution that the player can give. Sometimes the problem is a puzzle, like clearing rows of blocks with odd shapes in Tetris. Sometimes the problem is more a brain-teaser that requires some exploring in the game, like finding keys to the locked doors in The Legend of Zelda or Metroid. Finding patterns and solutions is an incredible feeling that most every game provides.
Creative Skill: The capability and the desire we have to express ourselves and to create is one of the main reasons why Minecraft and Roblox became so immensely popular. Even within games that are not focused on making something in the game (of which there are many), how a player chooses to play can provide avenues for expression that “paint” using the controls of the game, like stringing together tricks in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, or making up entirely new ways to play king-of-the-hill in Super Smash Bros.
Goal-oriented Relationships: Finally, when we play a game, we either like to play with others, or we want to get better at the game, or both. So many games build up communities around them, and these communities provide an easy conversation starter that can not only lead to growing in skill, but can also be the spark of lasting relationships. Games that have an online multiplayer presence, like the team-based multiplayer battle arena game League of Legends, clearly encourage interaction. Other games that have no online connection will still find fans and players going online to share their experiences and to assist each other in finding new strategies or things to do in the game.
This is all to say that video games can be good, and a way of experiencing the gifts that God has given us in a way that builds our confidence, prompts interaction with others, and inspires us to take what we’ve learned and give back to God and our brothers and sisters in love…or it could build up our pride, give us bad friends, and lead us to a more selfish way of life. Which leads us to:
Choosing video games wisely
Whether you are choosing a game for yourself or are judging the games that your children are playing, we are still called to use the gifts of reason that God has given us to focus on all that is good (Philippians 4:8), and to reject what leads us away from Him. Just as we scrutinize movies and books, we can tell the objective goodness of a game by its moral quality and its ability to lead us to higher things.
Moral Quality: A game that focuses on immoral things should be avoided. Most games have some level of violence, like defeating enemies to rescue a princess. If this violence is something that is glorified, then the game itself may not be worth spending time on. Games that emphasize realism, showcasing the brutality of battle and human frailty, should be avoided out of respect of God’s creation of man, which He made not for death or destruction, but for life and to flourish. For similar reasons, any game that objectifies the human person, or glorifies other immoral acts is, at best, worthless and harmful at worst.
Sometimes this can be woven into the gameplay itself. For example, Among Us focuses on some players deceiving the others in order to win. Many games of the first-person shooter genre turn the actions of soldiers in a war into a game for players to have fun in. The Grand Theft Auto series focuses on the players breaking the laws in the game to complete tasks. Other times the mechanics of the game can mimic or blatantly utilize addictive cycles akin to gambling. The list goes on.
Even if the gameplay itself is not problematic, the story of the game can present all the same issues that immorality in books and movies do. That said, sometimes the story is not the focus of a game, which can lead to a game with a good story being marred by gameplay that is more obviously against Christian ideals. The opposite can also happen: A game that is fun to play that is brought lower because of the story that frames it.
In any case, determining what is in a game is not difficult to do. Many games are rated, complete with warnings. Even if they are not, usually information can be found online about the game in question.
Especially with games with an online presence, the community that surrounds a game can also be a factor in determining which games to play or be exposed to. The role of community and relationships will be explored a little later.
Human Quality: In other words, can anything be learned or taken from the game that will help us to grow as human persons? A game that assists us in developing our problem-solving skills could be seen as good to play. This is especially true if the game provides incentives to improve and to strive for excellence. Research can be done into any of the above-mentioned games in order to improve in skill, all to be found on the internet. However, all of this is only truly good if these skills are then brought back into one’s own life. Doing research to figure out the fastest way to beat world 1-1 in Super Mario Bros. is fine, but using those same skills to research and develop other areas of one’s life is better.
Finally, does the game promote thinking of higher things? Perhaps in a future article I can explore examples of this that I’ve encountered. I’ll share a brief one here. In Celeste, the story actively explores the effects and sufferings of depression and anxiety, while the gameplay not only expresses that through the challenges placed before the player, but also subtly encourages the player to keep going. The cooperation of story and gameplay makes for a compelling game and one that is not hard to apply to one’s own life.
In our decisions regarding what to allow into our lives, we have the challenge of weighing things that are not purely good nor purely evil. Video games can have good qualities and detrimental ones, which means that as a player (or as the parent of one) we need to determine if the good qualities outweigh the drawbacks. All of the games that I have listed are not necessarily recommended for all players, even games that are rated “E for Everyone.” The Moral and Human qualities of a game need to be considered, but if playing Mario leads the player to wrathful behavior, then the player either needs to grow in self-control (i.e. take a break) or the occasion of sin – the game – needs to be removed, at least until there’s evidence that the vice isn’t a problem.
Video games, personal growth, and evangelization
Due to the fact that there is a potential for goodness in games, a question that can arise is: “Can video games be used to evangelize?” This question is a bit loaded, so let’s break it down.
Can games lead to personal growth? Potentially, yes. The right game at the right time can open someone up to new ideas and also give them an environment to practice virtue. That said, the game on its own is likely not going to achieve this. The good qualities of the game are going to build on the foundation that the player already has. This foundation is a combination of their personality, their needs, their circumstances, and many other things. The relationships that the player has outside the game, and the relationships built because of the game are essential to the positive effect of a game in someone’s life.
What if they’re playing on their own? Games are fun, and can be good on their own, as said above, but sometimes we can become worried about the time spent on these things. Proper care should be taken that the time spent playing games is at a healthy level. Beyond that, the experiences that they receive from games are ones that they can then take with them to begin conversations with others. Often, there is something new to learn in the game that other people might know, and this is where the community surrounding a game starts to be more noticeable, even if that community is connected largely online.
Can games be used to evangelize? Just as before, potentially yes, but on their own, not likely. Evangelization is the act of introducing (or reintroducing) someone to a relationship with Jesus. This relationship is built on believing in Jesus’s words and His work, which itself is an act of faith. Faith is not something that can be physically observed or pointed to. Games rely on physically observable things, and so concepts like faith and spirituality don’t apply well to games. Sometimes the story of the game can present what faith looks like or even present the Christian message well, but even then such a story is only going to land and take root if the player then takes steps on their own to enter into a relationship with Jesus. Failing that, they would need a relationship with another person to walk with them. A game might bring such a relationship together, but the game itself likely will not evangelize better than the friendship can.
The effect of community: The people that we meet because we play a game can be one of the ways that God brings us friendships, companions for the journey through this life. These relationships then can help us to grow in faith, to grow in virtue, and in our relationship with Jesus. Discerning what kind of people a game generally attracts can be useful, but ultimately it is in these interactions and relationships with other players that will allow us to practice Christian virtue and to evangelize. Oftentimes these conversations will not take place within the game itself. The game provides the common ground to meet, the relationship can then grow from that, and it is good for us to make sure that the relationships that we form from this common interest are leading us to our true goal: life with God.
Video games are here now, use them well
I encourage you to think critically about the place of any entertainment in your life, including video games. They can be a source of stagnation and vice, but, under God’s care, can be a way to lift us up. Super Smash Bros. and Earthbound are responsible (from an earthly standpoint) for giving me the three friends I needed to make it through grade school, high school and college. Moments in Zelda fueled my prayer, even though that game is not trying to be Christian. God used these tools to draw me closer to Him, and in turn (often through trial and error) I try to use these tools to reach others. Ultimately, God gives us games so that we may grow as His children and return to Him as our center. If we strive to enjoy the games that we have, and to bring what we have gained from that experience from the game into the relationship we have with God and the relationships with others that God has blessed us with, then we are practicing virtue. If games bring us together, then we can bring each other to Christ.
‘EXTRA STAGE!’
There isn’t a patron saint of video games (yet), but there’s definitely one I think is in pole position to take it, as well as some other party members to turn to in times of need.
Blessed Carlo Acutis: This young man’s life was definitely filled with joy and suffering in many ways. Definitely look into his life in full, but he was known to enjoy games like Pokemon and others. That said, his first love was our Lord in the Eucharist, and chose to limit his playtime to an hour a week as a spiritual discipline. He wanted to play more, but devoted himself to this limit out of love. “What good would it be for a human being to win a thousand battles if he is incapable of conquering his very self?”
St. Teresa of Avila: This Carmelite mystic gives us a wonderful example of applying the rules and lessons learned from a game (in this case, Chess) to the spiritual life. Here’s an excerpt: “It is the queen which gives the king most trouble in this game and all the other pieces support her. There is no queen who can beat this [Divine] King as well as humility can; for humility brought Him down from Heaven into the Virgin’s womb and with humility we can draw Him into our souls by a single hair.”
Pope St. John Paul II: Among his many writings, we learn of his love of soccer, skiing, and hiking, and he would speak many times of how these worldly things should always be directed back to God by growing in virtue and in thanksgiving. “It is a fitting occasion to give thanks to God for the gift of sport, in which the human person exercises his body, intellect and will, recognizing these abilities as so many gifts of his Creator.”
Fr. Beardslee is co-chaplain of St. Pius X High School in Lincoln. Among many duties, he is the sponsor of the Super Smash Bros. Club. He also hosts a livestream on Sundays at 7 p.m. as a place for Catholics to watch a game and ask him questions. www.twitch.tv/fr_samuel_beardslee
