Just about everybody likes something new, right? At least, I think most people do - not everybody, not everything new - but there's something about trying/reading/buying/checking out new stuff that most people respond to positively. It's why we love opening presents of Christmas morning, why we enjoy exploring the new arrivals at the bookstore or library - it's why we buy car fresheners that attempt to recreate a "New Car Smell." We like new. Inviting. Unspoiled. A fresh adventure.
Over Christmas break, I was looking for a time-killer and discovered a game app for my phone. It's one of several available with a similar premise: you are in charge of a village/kingdom/outpost/space exploration/band of merry men. Your task is to build up that [whatever it is] through a series of maneuvers, progressing in rank, all the while reaching toward some ultimate goal - sell the farm and merchant goods/conquer other kingdoms and monsters/settle the barren lands/find a new planet/defeat the Sheriff of Nottingham. A sound premise, whatever the vehicle. It speaks to a near-universal impulse to create and nurture and conquer and rule - admit it, you've felt each of those to varying degrees at different times in your life. The game formalizes those goals and provides the framework to accomplish each of them, at least in theory.
So I began game play.
In the beginning, everything is carefully scripted. The "guiding spirit" of the game literally directs a new player through the various tasks that must be accomplished, in their proper order, to advance the player (usually in the form of an avatar whom the player gets to design, name and equip) up through ranks of power and importance. At this stage, 2 things are important to notice: the steps must be executed in the proper order - in fact, there is often little choice in what to do next, and the actions are clearly labeled; also, there is usually some sort of protection placed on the new character (i.e., immunity from attack by another player) for a defined period while this development occurs. The side effect of these 2 factors is that advancement occurs relatively quickly and without any real risk to the player.
As I played through, I began to reflect on how this process is a lot like the way many are introduced to religion.
[I want to take a quick moment and acknowledge that this is by no means a perfect, or even complete - and definitely not universal - analogy. There are many ways one can be introduced to a spiritual life, and I certainly do not wish to diminish any of them. Even for those methods that align with this comparison, I'd like to make it clear that I am not impugning anyone's (or any church's) religious methodology. I am, however, interested in the ways in which these phenomena (and other related interest-based groups) often develop along similar paths. I look forward to others' experiences and observations.]
Often, when joining a formal body of faith, there is a carefully designed set of structures - rituals even - set in place to guide the initiate through early membership; think baptism, religious education, some sort of confirmation or formal membership initiation. They lay out the basics of the faith and allow the new member or inquirer to get a sense of how the group operates, what the rules (beliefs and doctrines) are, what behaviors are expected. The schedule and structure of many of these types of events keeps the newbie interested and moving along through the process, with milestones to mark new levels of understanding and expression. She or he is therefore wrapped in the full attention of the group and celebrated, which help grow the bond of the group.
Sometimes though, what this process doesn't allow for, in either the religious group or in the gaming group, is for a lot of free-form questioning. Remember, the goal is to keep moving along in levels of strength (of knowledge or power), which helps the group overall, and deviation from that progression can hamper that movement. The sense of accomplishment and welcome to the group will mitigate most effects of the rigidity, at least at these early stages, but as I learned, there are greater risks further down the line.
At this point, a couple days into my rapid rise, I was feeling pretty good: I was getting a sense of what I was supposed to do without needing a direct prompt for each action, and I was beginning to connect with some of the other players.
From there it continued to be fun, but I also began to encounter new challenges as I rose up the ranks. Check out what happens next in Part 2.
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