Friday, August 14, 2009

Gaming and the Paranormal, incompatible much?

Out of boredom really, I decided to look back at one reason why a certain forum moderator didn't want me and my Wiccan wife to join them: because she felt that we were gamers and, with the bad experience they had with gamer members before, didn't feel we should be there.  Well, if that's their miff with gamers so be it, but then I'm thinking, what's wrong with a practitioner who just so happens to be a computer gamer, or vice versa?

Firemaiden, a friend of mine, said that she thought that gaming would serve as the idea framework to give the gamer an idea on how the paranormal works.  Nice thought and theory, but sadly even for me it doesn't really hold much credit, as most games are not just fiction-based but totally on the creative side, feeding off the fantasy genre often and not holding much'reality' on the paranormal, if at all.

Personally, I'd like to think of it simply as this: gaming and paranormal may be related from time to time, but a hobby veering towards self-gratification and enjoyment is still totally different from a belief system and the search for wisdom and clarity within the universe (and beyond).  The gaming industry may have some roots in the paranormal in the sense that ideas and rumors circulating within, or related to, the supernatural would be the inspiration that designers (and perhaps gamers) would feed upon, but ultimately it's still the individual's desire to learn, study and develop as a wiccan, druid, satanist, or what not that would determine whether or not they would be such... regardless if their hobby is gaming or not.

As noted earlier, one issue with the typical 'gamer' is that they have preconceived notions about the supernatural from their main if not only source of knowledge: computer games.  If it was the sort that was inspired by actual paranormal knowledge well and good, but sadly almost all computer games are very far-fetched from anything even remotely supernatural... and most of the said supernatural info is from Catholicism (either actual information or skewered propaganda [a.k.a. either the Bible or demonizing non-Christian pantheons/spirits/what not]).  With no ill intent towards Blizzard Co. I'd still say that the worst source for knowledge or inspiration regarding anything beyond the stereotypical info on the supernatural would be their games -- especially World of Warcraft -- as even though they are keyed off popular genres and such, pretty much everything they have in there is pretty much found in their fantasy world exclusively.

I love playing computer games, and I also play a bit of tabletop games like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons myself.  However, that does not, in any way, invalidate my being a spellcaster, a spell crafter, a Tarot card reader, and a self-proclaimed magus.  Just because you play computer games, or join a rock band, or go to work, or have a family, doesn't make you any less of a practitioner of New Age philosophy/crafts, does it?  It's true that some of it may influence your ability to divine, or cast spells, or even your belief system as a whole, but unless you base your belief system around it -- in which case, I'd say you probably need help there, just to see things a bit more clearly -- you'll probably still view Wicca as Wicca, and not something disguised as such, and so on.


Instead of calling it a framework of knowledge, I'd rather call games just as they are: a form of entertainment during your spare time.