RELIGIOUS MOTIVES IN THE FIELD OF VIDEO GAMES

ABSTRACT

This article examines the influence of religious beliefs on the field of entertainment, in particular computer video games, what motives were inspired by the creators and what questions were raised.

Keywords: God, Greek mythology, religion, video games, Zoroastrianism.

The modern world of culture and art is so diverse and changeable that it is very problematic to characterize it. The rapid flow of information from various sources often leads a person's consciousness into a state of psychological discomfort and chaos. Therefore, it is fundamentally important to consider the issue of religious motives in modern culture and art in order to understand how religion is able to set the framework and interests of a new generation. After all, religion has at all times had a significant impact on public consciousness and worldview. In earlier times, before the revolution, the religious worldview was the only one that existed, regulating all spheres of human life and society. After the revolution, the atheistic worldview became dominant, but religion, even under a ban, did not cease to exist. The reason for this is a certain tendency of the human spirit to search for a higher spiritual principle. Man is always looking to the sky, looking for the search for meaning and being.

However, there is an aspect of mass culture that allows everyone to experience legendary moments in history, live a life of being chosen, become anointed by God, or live the life of God, and these are video games. So for consideration I would like to take "Prince of Persia 2008", for the plot of which Zoroastrianism was taken, one of the first monotheistic religions. It is believed that this belief originated in XVIII century BC. On the territory of modern Iran and Afghanistan. Its founder, Zarathustra (aka Zarathustra, aka Zarathustra), was given the revelation of Ahura Mazda in the form of the Avesta-the holy scripture. The Prophet preached faith in one God, condemned strife and violence between people, praised purity and creative work. A distinctive feature of Zoroastrianism in relation to other religions is that there is no missionary practice in it, adherents of this teaching believe that anyone can be saved, even if they do not profess Zoroastrianism: it is enough to lead a righteous life. They also believe that the world was originally created perfect and pure, so in this religion there are no ascetic practices and rituals of mortification of the body: fasting, hermitages, monasticism[1]. One of the obligatory rituals of Zoroastrianism is the observance of cleanliness, which can be violated by contact with defiling objects, such as human corpses, as well as diseases, bad thoughts, words or actions. The defiled person must undergo a complex cleansing ritual. In Prince of Persia, we do just that - we clean up the filth of a fairytale city. Ahriman, aka Angra-Manyu, brought darkness into this world, a sticky substance that infects everything it reaches. The land around the darkness becomes black and lifeless. After cleaning, it disappears, and something more pleasant appears in its place. The ritual of purification returns the world to its original appearance: grass begins to grow on bare stones, flowers bloom; if you look closely, you can see a rainbow in the background. The air around him is also different: lighter and more transparent. And in the cleaned place, the sun is shining again. Also in the game there are "Seeds of light" appearing in the cleared areas of the city, which must be collected to advance in the game. Interesting fact: according to Manichaeism, one of the sects that broke away from Zoroastrianism, "particles of light" are the souls of people who need to be saved.

In this video game, we take part in the fight between good and evil and help in clearing the city of darkness, so that it does not get away and consume the whole world.

Many of us are familiar with ancient Greek mythology, with the Olympian gods, with heroes who were demigods and performed great feats like Hercules, Achilles, Perseus. Some people imagined themselves in their places or sometimes their opponents, that they could defeat the great ones, and this opportunity is provided by a series of games "God of War", in which we witness the battle of Zeus 'son Kratos, also referred to as the"Ghost of Sparta". The main character takes revenge on the divine relatives for the death of the family, in the aftermath of the murder of Ares, he replaces the defeated god of war. Later, after killing all the Olympian gods and titans, he leaves Greece. he image of Kratos in the game is different than in mythology. The first difference is its origin: in the video game Kratos is a demigod son of Zeus and a Spartan woman; according to the beliefs of the Hellenes, Kratos is a younger titan son of Pallas and Styx. The second difference is that the mythological Kratos was a servant and helper of Zeus, not a son and opponent. It is interesting that in translation from the ancient Greek Kartos (Κράτος) means strength, power, might[2]. In this series of games, there are also examples of reinterpretation. So in "God of War 2018"one of the main characters is Atreus, who also goes by the middle name Loki. According to the cosmogony of this fictional universe Atreus was conceived between a Greek demigod who became the god of war, Kratos, and a Jotun named Laufey, Kotoruyu he called her Faye. However in Norse mythology Loki is a cunning trickster from Norse mythology. His father is the Jotun giant Farbauti, and his mother is Laufei. Along with the giantess Angrboga, Loki is the father of Hel, Jormungand and Fenrir. In Greek mythology, Atreus (pronounced AY-trius or AY-trooss, rather than a-TRAY-us as in the game) was a king of Mycenae, son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. However, Kratos decided to name his son Atreus because of the young Spartan soldier he commanded. The soldier retained hope even in the darkest of times and sacrificed himself in battle to save his comrades.

It also provides us with a lot of details to further understand the story: On a mural in Jotunheim, Kratos ' name is written as Farbauti (ᚠᚨᚱᛒᚨᚢᛏᛁ), which is the name of Loki's father in the myths. Upon learning of his divinity, Atreus asks his father if he can transform into an animal such as a wolf; Loki in mythology is infamous for transforming into various animals and other creatures. Atreus causes Baldur's death by destroying the spell with a fragment of mistletoe arrow; Loki causes Baldur's death by giving the blind god Heru a mistletoe arrow and then tricking him into shooting Baldur. Mimir says that Jormungand somehow recognizes Atreus; Jormungand is the son of Loki in the myths. When Atreus confronts Mimir, saying that this is impossible, Mimir replies that the serpent could be talking about the future, as it is said that the collision between Jormungander and Thor during Ragnarok will be so disastrous that it will split Yggdrasil and send the World Serpent back. in time, before your own birth. Freya's comment about a snake appearing mysteriously once in the Lake of Nine seems to support this theory. The Sanctuary Jotnara confirms that Jormungand is the son of Loki and Angrboga.

Thus, having got acquainted with the excellent history of the fictional world, we also got acquainted with Greek mythology, as well as with Scandinavian mythology, but with a reinterpretation of the main events.

Summing up all of the above, we can note, that the influence of religious teachings was extensive and does not decrease gradually moving to other aspects of mass culture. On the one hand, it may seem that this is not a very good trend, since something like dissemination and agitation can be seen in this, which is perceived by many with some suspicion, but no there is nothing wrong with telling people about certain stages of the development of human culture in different territories of the planet.

References:

1. Зубов А.Б. Доисторические и внеисторические религии // азбука веры. – Режим доступа: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/religiovedenie/doistoricheskie-i-vneistoricheskie-religii/
2. Мифы и легенды народов мира. Т. 1. / Немировский А.И. – М.: Литература, Мир книги, 2004.- 496 с.