A Few Thoughts about Religion, Faith and Treating Fellows With Love

I originally posted this as part of a Facebook comment on a friend's post, who believed that all religion was wrong and was the cause of the present violence. 

I probably wouldn't go that far. But I have some experiences of a kind of extremism in my own life that I recognised and rejected. People ask me why terrorists make me sad, instead of angry. They're a little bit surprised when I say I understand the kind of thinking and teaching that creates them. I feel sorry for them, for the people and teaching they've been surrounded with their entire life. I feel sorry that they've dedicated their life on the basis of a lot of lies they were told, that basing decisions on religion, not humanity, would make their lives and world better in the long term. I'm going to call out a lot of behaviour, not just violence. So if you consider yourself a devout anything, be warned: this post is about you.

I don't have a problem with religion. I especially don't have a problem with faith. It can be great thing and has inspired many people to great art and actions. What really becomes a problem is that part of a which religion encourages you to involve other people around you. That's what should really stop. When you are basing actions not on what you think would be good for people around you, but instead on what you think are the wishes of some otherworldly entity you cannot produce or define clearly, that is a problem.

Let me highlight this with a more personal experience. Years ago i considered myself a devout Christian. I was married and we had a lot of support and friends in churches whereever we lived. I would have considered these people loving and peaceful.

When that marriage fell apart - due to my actions, I accept. Decisions made as a reaction to lots of other stuff that was wrong in that relationship - I only received messages of hate, judgement and unsupport (if that's a word - whatever the opposite of support is, that's what I experienced). The "friends" that I believed I had vanished overnight. That religion taught me one thing - if you don't tow the line of the group wishes of our community, you're on your own.

I walked away from my religion and my faith because I saw two things. Firstly, it was encouraging people to act based on what they thought God wanted them to do. This wasn't their own instinct. Vague religious texts and partisan preaching taught us to second guess our own reactions. This is how to turn a good person into a monster. You put aside your own feelings and thoughts and act according to a kind of "second personality." That makes it easy to justify extremism. When you're overcoming your own misgivings and acting according to someone else's wishes, it becomes duty. You think you're growing brave, devout, pious. In actual fact you're betraying everything that made you a good person: your conscience and responsibility to fellow humans. What did my old friends care if my marriage was over? It shouldn't have affected theirs (Unless, I suppose, it highlighted failings in their own relationships they weren't prepared to tackle.) They were acting out and quoting bible passages because they felt a responsibility on themselves to react in a certain way. not with love, but with law.

It didn't bring me closer to god. It changed me and drove me away from "faith" for good. It highlighted a second factor for me. I saw that I too had been capable and culpable of basing my decisions on an undefinable set of rules to which I felt I needed to adhere. I would say that I only got married at 20 in the first place because of religious teaching. I would also stay I only stayed in that marriage for as long as I did, despite the misery that relationship caused us both, because I felt my religion called me to stay in it. Those weren't common sense behaviours.

So I guess what I'm saying is, blowing people up or shooting them is part of the same behaviour as picketing abortion clinics, sending hate mail or even being judgemental about other people's life choices. You aren't helping anyone by telling them they're living their life wrong and should do it according to a set of rules you think are correct. If you're acting towards strangers in a way that is uncaring and that you wouldn't apply to your friends and family, that's bad; that's hypocrisy. Alternatively, if you would treat your friends your family that way, what the hell is wrong with you?

In summary, faith is fine as long as it brings you comfort, support and strength. As soon as it becomes something you need to apply to other people, it generally brings hate, pain and worse.

So yeah. Be free to believe whatever you like. But whether it's in violence, or just the day to day application of your views to other peoples lives: feel free to keep it to yourself.

New Audio Drama Series Announced for Chaos Reborn

The Radio Theatre Workshop has announced a partnership with Snapshot Games to create a range of new full-cast audio dramas, based on the fantasy combat game Chaos Reborn. The first releases are planned for early 2015. The new series of audio adventures will explore the diverse environments and characters and provide an experience which complements the game.

Former producer of Escape Velocity and director of the acclaimed Elite: Dangerous audiobooks Christopher Jarvis said, “We're massive fans of Julian Gollop's game and it's amazing to work alongside the developers, because we get access to all the art and sound effects, which enable us to create something really faithful. This will mean that fans of the Chaos Reborn game can keep enjoying the experience even when they're away from their PCs.”

SnapshotGames CEO Julian Gollop said, “The prospect of high quality audio drama based in the universe of Chaos Reborn is tremendously exciting. Exploring the universe of Chaos Reborn through drama will greatly enrich players' experience of the game.”

The next step for the series is to secure costs for actors and production and The Radio Theatre Workshop has a crowdfund project here.

Christopher Jarvis said, “It isn't just for the gamers. They'll enjoy hearing the game world expanded with great actors and exciting stories, while audio drama fans will get a wholly untapped fantasy setting to explore. It has everything: giants, unicorns, magic trees, dragons, goblins, vampires and, of course, battling wizards. Bringing that all together is an amazing challenge and a privilege.”

About Snapshot Games: Snapshot Games was founded in 2013 by Julian Gollop (XCOM/UFO, Laser Squad, Rebelstar, Ghost Recon, Shadow Wars) and David Kaye (Achaea, Gaming Insiders), to  develop video games in the tradition of Julian Gollop’s earlier titles with modern, high quality presentation and multiplayer and social features. The company’s first title is Chaos Reborn, a sequel to the classic Chaos game first published in 1985. It was successfully funded via Kickstarter in April 2014. www.snapshotgames.com

About The Radio Theatre Workshop: The Radio Theatre Workshop was founded in 2013 by Christopher Jarvis as an end-to-end production studio for audio drama and audiobooks, specialising in full sound effects treatment and musical score. Their flagship podcast serial  Escape Velocity became a huge hit with gamers and audio fans alike and the RTW have gone on to receive critical acclaim for a range of official Elite: Dangerous audiobooks. www.radiotheatreworkshop.com

Top 5 Tips for Enjoying Zelda Triforce Heroes (and why it isn't like a threesome)

I've been enjoying The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes on the Nintendo 3DS for about a week. I've mostly been playing online with strangers, since between running my Kickstarter for Full-Cast Audio Drama based on Chaos Reborn and looking after my daughter, one or two quick dungeon raids every couple of hours is the best I can fit in.

The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes is a game which takes some of the basic puzzles from The Legend of Zelda series and splits the tools for completion between three players. A co-op game, it requires teams to work together by combining skills, picking up each others' avatars to for a totem and communication using only 8 simple emoticons.

The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes - Communication Panel

I've had some good games and I've had some bad games. It strikes me that the best way to make Triforce Heroes a great experience starts with looking at your own behaviour. What should we called this Zelda etiquette? I wanted something snappy, like "Tri-fiquette", but that's terrible. I thought maybe Etiqulink", but I'm not sure it's even pronounceable. I'm settling with "Zeldiquette." Zeldiquette, as a phrase describing good behaviour in Triforce Heroes is only irksome to me for the same reason as my irritation at this game being called "The Legend of Zelda." ZELDA IS NOT EVEN IN IT!

That aside, here are my 5 tips for good Zeldiquette.

Good Zeldiquette

5. Veiled Communication is Actually Part of the Game

I've read a lot of reviews of The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes which completely miss the point. Take this quote from Arcade Sushi

Really this game is only held back by limited communication options when playing with strangers. 

Limited communication is at the heart of this game. Have you ever played charades and thought, "well, it's a good game, but surely it would be better if the players spoke"? Nope. If there were voice or text communication in Triforce Heroes then gameplay would boil down to more experienced players leading you through each level step-by-step. There's no fun in being told the solution. That's grinding.

One of the most interesting games of recent years was Journey. That did an exceptionally good job of matching you with random internet co-op buddies and giving you limited communication ability. Triforce Heroes is similar.

Guiding other players to a solution

There's a lot of satisfaction in working it out for yourself, which is why the 8 emoticons available in each level are a good way of providing basic communication to work as a team, without robbing you of gameplay. There's a great feeling of accomplishment from figuring out a complex bit of a level together. It's just as fun if you know the solution and help guide your team to success using only the simplest of language tools.

4. Wheaton's Law Applies

In Triforce Heroes, you only get one chance to make a good impression.

Here's an equation:

• We all want to try playing The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes online with strangers at some point.
• None of us wants to get matched with a pain in the ass.
• The game makes it very easy to add players to a permanent blocklist.

The maths for that is very easy. If you behave rudely, every player you meet will block you on your first meeting. If that happens a lot, you're going to find yourself waiting in the lobby for connections for a very long time, because none of the regular players will want to play with you.

If you want to come across as friendly, remember to wave hello at your new team-mates when they join. No-one knows what to make of a player who stays silent, throws you at the starting Triforce and yells "Let's Go!" over and over.

Using the emoticons to celebrate success and good effort

3. It's The Opposite of a Threesome

I've heard lots of jokes on Facebook and other places about Triforce Heroes and threesomes. It's a fun gag for gamers who don't want to admit how attracted they are to each other. But there is a big difference between this game and a menage-a-trois and that is: the person in the middle is having the least fun.

However you organise a sexual threesome, the person in the middle is generally having the best time. But, when you form a three person totem in Triforce Heroes, spare a thought for the player in the middle. They don't get to use movement controls or items. They are willing passengers until such a time as the three-story target has been hit.

Forming a three-player totem to reach a high object

So, be nice. Everybody wants a chance to play. Being carried around a level by someone else is no fun. Put your co-op buddies down safely after they've helped with an objective.

2. There Can Be Multiple Solutions

I've done it myself. Another player and I are throwing icons at each other from opposite sides of a ravine, both yelling about how to reach the last balloon floating over the chasm.

The fact is, many of the puzzles in The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes can be overcome in multiple ways, given the tools at hand. I may favour wearing the Big Bomb Outfit and blasting the hell out of anything that moves (including other players) but someone else might have worked out that the same target can be hit from a ledge a little way over.

Tackling a boss together

So, rather that stubbornly following a tried and true path you know to work, why not listen to your fellow players and try what they are suggesting? Even if their approach doesn't work, it's much more enjoyable to try an idea and see the results than to have someone shout a solution over you, again and again. Unless it's against the timer, what do you really have to lose?

1. Above All, Be Patient

Good advice for all aspects of life, it's especially valuable when playing The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes. If, like me, you're attempting your seventh run at Moblin Base to try and get a Sweet Shroom because for some reason your last few attempts have won you the Gohma's Eye six times in a row (the probability of which being a maddening 0.14%!). then it's fair to say you probably know the level pretty well.

Passing a active bomb between players

Here's a thought: One of your online party might not know the level at all. This might be their first visit. Continually spamming the "NO!" icon and throwing them around the level isn't going to be the best gameplay for you or your new buddy. Given time, they'd probably even figure out the level on their own, so be patient, try to use the emoticons helpfully and give them space to work it out. Be extra patient if you're on a time-challenge map with someone who didn't vote for it - it's not the best way to experience a level first time.

Christopher Jarvis is a writer, audio drama producer and co-host on the LaveRadio.com podcast and is best known for creating the science fiction series Elite: Escape Velocity. He is an avid gamer and is currently running a Kickstarter for Full-Cast Audio Drama based on the game Chaos Reborn.