Grand Theft Alfreido

It is highly unusual that I would post a follow-up to a blog entry I wrote not even a week ago, but this warrants special mention. My Spore spreads lies post quoted a site called Anti-Spore which supposedly was written by a devout Christian woman with a serious bug up her ass about Spore’s anti-creationist views. Well, turns out it was an elaborate rick-roll. I’m willing to admit they had me going for a ride, but I still stand by my views for anyone who wishes to call out Spore’s fundamental values as anything other than a fun, exciting video game.

With every game which contains a socially or politically charged view or overtone, whether it be the main focus of the game like protecting a black United States senator from attack (not drawing comparisons to anyone here), a simple stereotype being echoed like a gay character having a high-pitched, feminine voice or is just over-the-top violent… there’s always some group out there ready to pounce on the game and tear it a new publicity asshole, proclaiming it to be more vile than the propaganda Joseph Stalin used to spew during the height of the Soviet Union. The latest victim of this unbelievable hate is Spore. Don’t let your kids near it, parents, it may fill their head with deviant thoughts!

For those who need a quick brief on what the game is, Spore is a computer game for the PC which involves you taking control of a spore that has crash-landed on a planet, and guiding it through the levels of evolution. It begins as a small creature with a simple need to feed, but evolves into a living entity which eventually forms into colonies, civilizations and finally empires. The game allows you to customize the look and anatomy of the creature, giving it colours, giving it limbs, giving it weapons and so on. If you need a better look at the game, check out the link above. But on with the topic at hand…

I’ve seen two groups independently rise up to take a snap at what I believe is a harmless and overly fun computer game… the atheists and the creationists. The atheists bag the game out for the gamer play as a “god” character, and the creationists hate the game because it undermines their “God” by promoting the theory of evolution. Well, excuse me for being blunt, but you’re all a bunch of fucking tools who are taking this game way too literally.

Let’s start off by dissecting the atheist group’s concern about this game. It is never actually stated anywhere in the game that you are playing God. Indeed, through a majority of the game, you are actually taking control of a single, physical entity. The only sections where you take control of more than one entity is during the tribal and civilization evolution levels. However, you are still never referred as a God. You could easily be regarded as an unseen leader or mayor. Religion in the game is limited to the space level from memory. When interacting with various empires, they sometimes state they are followers of certain religions, however, your character never states they are religious and certainly doesn’t force you to take on some religion. So the atheists have nothing to worry about… it appears the main character is atheist too.

In terms of the creationists’ worries however, I feel their worries are even more vitrolic and asinine. I was reading a website today with bemusement called Anti Spore. I’m not sure if the blogger is for real on that site (I wouldn’t be surprised if it was someone trying to earn a quick buck from all the controversy - they even have Google Ads on there) but I’m operating under the assumption they are. The site claims that EA and Will Wright is anti-creationalist since it promotes the theory of evolution and doesn’t introduce religion into it. I find that claim to be quite affronting and immature. Aside from the obvious fact that this person is trying in vain to push his or her own religious beliefs on to everyone else, they are claiming that EA is actively trying to destroy creationalism. That is ridiculous - they have a taken a middle ground by not referencing any real religions at all, and they are not forcing the evolution view upon anyone. The evolution view is used as a gameplay derivative to make the game more interesting as you continue through, it is providing a different genre of game with every level. If you creationalists don’t like the ideas expressed in the game - don’t fucking play it - it’s that simple. The game isn’t forcing its view on you - you shouldn’t be trying to force your own view on it.