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[Sort Of Off Topic]Spore and ID Continued

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Eryn Brown of The New Republic contacted Bill in regards to whether “there been much other talk about the game[Spore] in ID circles”. Except for the post made here on UD I have not heard much mention of it although that’s most likely due to the game not being available yet. In my reply to Eryn I did note that I thought “there were some comparisons that could be made with Spore. For example, the modular design mentioned by Marc Kirschner can be compared to the animation system of Spore, where various sub-components will dynamically adjust to fit together and function as a new whole.”

There have been some comments by gamers on this topic (mostly derogatory):

http://www.g4tv.com/e32006/heatindex/7/Spore.html

http://www.gamechronicles.com/features/e32k6/bosa.htm

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/10/2250233

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/5/11/3930

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/profile/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-24548011&user=Dyslexic_Chaos

This will be a quick one, but I thought it would be worth blogging about.

As most of you know, Wwill Wright, the creator or The Sims and Sim City, among others, will be coming out with a new game, Spore, near the beginning of 2007. The game is probably one of the largest undertakings in the history of games, as you control organisms from the single cell phase, all the way to colonizing entire planets with your created civilizations.

One thing got me thinking though. Like all of his games, this one will probably be rated T for Teen at max, correct? I would, of course, agree with that rating, as at it’s worst, it would have some violence with creatures eating other creatures. But that’s not what I think might cause some Christian groups to worry and make a spectacle out of it.

What I worry is that the entire game is based around the Theory of Evolution. Now, that, of course, usually wouldn’t warrant an M rating by any means. But, what if some Christian groups, who base their beliefs on Intelligent Design, chastise the game for trying to exact this theory onto their children? Think that’s just nuts. PvP brought a similar subject to my attention:

http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=20060518

Yes, it seems farfetched, but some peoples faith can be shaken that easily. I mean, if a book can do it, where you’re simply a spectator, why not a game, where you’re forced to assist in the possible blasphemy. Personally, I’m not a religious person, but I would certainly never persecute anyone for their beliefs. But, I can see how some may see this game as a bad influence of sorts. Will this force the game to open with a warning along the lines of “This game is based on the Theory of Evolution, which has not been proven”. Maybe a warning like this may graze the cover of the box? Just a quick thought, and I’m probably just over-thinking things.

Please post your comments and thoughts, as they are all greatly appreciated. Until next time, this has been another Choas Theory ( I just realized how funny it was I was ranting about Evolution and Intelligent Design in my blog titles “Chaos Theories”).

http://www.skepticality.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1157&sid=088ff1d87248e7a889a80524d5fda2d6

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/blog/node/91

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/14/1515200

Check out the comments below; there are 2 mini-discussions of relevance.

http://www.computingunplugged.com/issuesprint/issue200605/00001766.html

The proponents of intelligent design are either going to love or hate Will Wright.

http://underthesun.robstel.co.uk/?p=582

VGCats ID

Obviously it’s in the context of a joke and it includes lop-sided caricatures of a typical debate but it does at least show that people are indeed noting Spore’s relevance to ID and the scientific controversy surrounding it.

Otherwise I haven’t noticed much discussion among serious ID proponents (except here and ARN). While some may scoff and say “it’s just a game”, using entertainment as a vehicle to communicate ideas to a new audience is not a new concept. So perhaps getting a discussion going would be a good move?

Comments
I recall talking to some of my Telic Thoughts compadres about the game. As I recall, we all said something to the effect of, it should help show how ID is not incompatible with evolution simpliciter. There was also a post from PZ Myers a while back, trying to clear up any confusion that Spore had anything to do with evolution, which PZ assures us is undirected.Deuce
June 19, 2006
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Could potentially be a fun game and an opportunity for communities to explore the ID/Evolution debate. If we can't become Kryptonians in real life, hopefully I can make them in the digital world with Spore http://www.spore.com/Apoptosis
June 19, 2006
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