I have been questioned on occasion about my connection with PC games as a Christian and have given plenty of thought about the moral issues associated with them.

There is one thing in particular about certain PC games that bother me and has kept me going as a mapper. Anyone that spends some time playing these games will find out sooner or later that there are lots of references to satan and demonic forces. I'm not actually talking about the fight between good and evil that's portrayed in games but about games that seem to promote the idea that the player should use the forces of evil to win! In most cases I think this is just used as a gimmick and nothing more, but with some there is more than meets the eye. Whatever the motivation for this, its something as a Christian I feel obliged to fight against, especially when a lot of these people simply don't know the consequences of entertaining such things. It would not be right for me, in any way to try to stop people from producing this kind of work if they like, that's what free will is for, so that you have a choice. But, if satan can be represented and promoted then so can Jesus. You will find that in almost all of my work for level design, there are references to Jesus and Bible scripture. I have tried to present the gospel as best I can and have no shame in doing so. I believe that in every field of human life, Jesus wants a witness in there to show people that there is another way. For that reason mainly, I continue to create levels for Unreal.

It is true that games such as "Unreal" tend to show a certain amount of violence which often involves shooting a graphical representation of a human being. Some would say that the violence is over the top. I believe it is shallow to look directly at games such as these and think of them as the primary causes for increased violence and corruption in real life. The same argument has been used against certain violent films in the past and it is certainly true that many crimes reflect the ideas and concepts portrayed in these films and games.

But, the real question is, do the games and their content actually cause the violence in real life? Do they encourage it in anyway? And even if they don't, is it right that I who claim to be a born again Christian, should be involved in something that apparently condones it?

It is not my belief that PC games are the cause of real violence. As a Christian I believe that the cause of real violence comes from within each person. However "good" many of us like to fool ourselves into thinking we are, we are all basically self-centred and are not capable of living a fully holy or righteous life. Most of us have difficulty living up to the standards we set for ourselves let alone the standards that God's nature requires (come on, be honest about it!). In some people this "human flaw" shows up more than others, and in extreme cases with the right circumstances you'll have someone with a problem so bad that you could actually have a murderer! Such a person does not necessarily need something like a PC game as a medium to commit such a crime, something somewhere is bound to turn up that they will use to "express" themselves sooner or later. You must recognise and deal with the root of a problem and not its symptom.

Don't get me wrong, I don't condone violence in video games, but as long as they are around and human beings are around you will find violence contained in them. I see violent games as perhaps a way that some people express what's happening inside them without actually causing pain to someone else. They might not even recognise that that's what they're doing.

Actually, I don't believe that what most people call violence is in itself "evil". You will find that there are many accounts in the Bible where God had actually told his people to put whole cities to death! It is the "motivation" for violence that needs to be questioned. No-one questions the moralities of going to war against Adolph Hitler when he began his campaign do they? (Perhaps a strange minority). That's because, although there was a lot of violence, it was used to put a stop to what is evil and bring about a better quality of life. That is the correct motivation.

In games such as Unreal, it is true that violence serves no other purpose than to meet the desires of certain people who may get a kick from it. Personally, I enjoy it because the environments looks so beautiful and I have a thing for sci-fi. The colours, textures, sounds and general feel of it is gorgeous. I don't get a kick from killing people, but I do enjoy friendly competition and a challenge. That is why I like it and combined with my reasoning earlier, that's why I make maps for it! Not to condone violence, but simply to use it the same way that many others do, and that is to express myself and my values through it.