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Buddhist Video Games?
MindGate
United States Veteran
If someone were to make a Buddhist themed video game, what would it be about? 
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Comments
You go first.
You have to keep your fingers on the number pad because once in a while, at a random time, a number flashes in the middle of the disk and you have to type in what this number was.
You level up the longer you can go without missing a number.
There you go, simple game to practice concentration for hours on end.
Actually, I love what the developer thatgamecompany is doing. Very unique. Peaceful, meditative games. Wonderful stuff really.
http://thatgamecompany.com/
You could have some kind of situation. Say your a detective or a counselor etc. And clients come with problems and you have a text interface and decision tree. I don't believe the problem of non-linearity has been solved in video games but with a lot of labor you could make it branching.
An example you could read about is The Witcher which is a violent video game, but there are multiple solutions and story resolution.
Just make the action thinking instead of killing.
http://gaygamer.net/2006/10/my_hindu_shooter.html
More likely to make a real video game would probably be something Buddhist themed but not necessarily in line with Buddhist principles. A friend of mine did some concept art on a similar theme for his degree show. He had such games as Shaolin Smackdown (WWF in robes) and Dalai Lama: Escape from Tibet (a non-shooty stealth and acrobatics game - I kid you not!).
I have to admit that I like to play Civilization, a game that could easily be given a Buddhist twist.
http://secondlife.com/destination/kannonji-zen-retreat?sourceid=0910-facebook-spirit-buddhist&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=adheadline&utm_campaign=spirit-buddhist
Cooking Mama is non-violent, Katamari Damacy makes you look at the bigger picture (hee*hee*)
in what format do these "zen discussion meetings" take place? it is text or like skype?
i really don't have the time anyways, i was just curious.
Going back into my childhood, I LOVED my N64, they are still rocking today I think. It was far ahead of it's time.
As for buddhist computer games, I think if there was one ever made it would be more along the lines of something to help you meditate or relax and be peaceful, rather than roaming around doing tasks. It would obviously be a gimmick anyway..
At the time it does feel like a drug that wants to pull me back into those delusional escapist vice.
I will resist from doing it again in the future!
I meant everything but the "Catholic" part lol!
whatever video game you're playing is a buddhist game.
edited to be slightly less intentionally offensive than the original wording.
It's not really a game but an Ai incarnation of Chogyam Trungpa. You can talk to him and ask him questions and have him talk back. What I did was scan some of his books into a database and then use my Ai to parse the data.
I don't have it around anymore unfortunately. I do but it's not compiled. I might just clean him up and upload him sometime.
It was fun talking to him. It was very creepy... especially because it wasn't that bad. The Ai actually creates a matrix of relationships on all the topics he talks about.
Anyway check this site in the near future...
http://graitmind.com/chogyam.htm
Wow, that looks fascinating. If you ever get around to cleaning it up and compiling it, I would certainly like to check it out.
Also, I'm kinda surprised nobody mentioned the DharmaGames website. It has quite a few Buddhist-inspired flash games on it. Check it out at http://www.dharmagames.org/
It all becomes very non-Buddhist, though, at the point when you get them into the swimming pool and then remove the ladder so that they can't get out. Inevitability of death, anyone?
It's not my thing anymore though. Now when I play games I enjoy casual games. I actually don't play too many video games anymore. But the last ones I enjoyed were God of War 3, and Red Dead Redemption.
It's based on an Asura
Asuras WIKI
The game reminds me of some sort of Buddhist version of God of War. :P
I hesitate to link to this at risk of seeming like an electronic carpetbagger, but here is a free game I made in my final semester of undergrad: http://www.kongregate.com/games/devwil/dhp129
It's named Dhp129, which is an abbreviation for the 129th verse of the Dhammapada, of course. It promotes vegetarianism by juxtaposing meat consumption and production.
I think games have a unique ability to spread the dharma, because what is a game if not a demonstration of cause and effect? The player provides some input; the game processes it and returns output. To put it in the logical, computer-friendly terms that a game programmer must be literate with, so much of Buddhism is based on if...then statements. You can sort of express the four noble truths in a short, abstract algorithm! :P
if (life == dukkha) {
dukkha = clinging;
if (clinging) {
clinging = false;
}
Noble8FPath.walk();
}
edit: aw shucks. the formatting of my super-kinda-almost-clever algorithm gets ruined.
Games can also be great opportunities for mindfulness. Any game that requires sharp concentration has potential to be healthy Buddhist exercise, in my opinion.
This isn't to say games can't be terribly, terribly unhealthy. Even meditation can be unhealthy, though. Bob Thurman is always pointing out that meditation, if not properly conditioned, can make things a lot worse. Similarly, playing Call of Duty with no interest other than belittling your opponents, or losing your family's rent money at the blackjack table are decidedly unhealthy gaming activities.
My own interests are in expressing Buddhist truths by interactive means, so that lends itself to non-violent games (which are pretty uncommon) and games that dissolve the player-ego, which is really troublesome when looking at games from a Buddhist perspective. If you're playing something as simple as Pong, the game is such that it's really hard to remove yourself from a "me (who has x amount of points) versus..." mindset, which is obviously counterproductive to a Buddhist discipline.
I do think it's possible to play games, even competitive ones, without getting dangerously involved in one's own ego. I believe there are a number of games that Korean monks and nuns traditionally play on holidays, so games themselves can't be so bad!
But I see video games as useless distractions unless they are done in moderation.
As for violence in videogames, I can't say I've experienced any negative effects due to exposure to it, in my life thus far.
In fact I think there are a lot of myths surrounding violence.