Religion in VNs?

[Rozume]

I'm considering adding religious motifs, particularly Buddhist, in my VN even though it's not particularly religious themed. I was wondering what are your thoughts on having religion in VNs? Would you play a VN with religious themes/motifs?

[Asceai]

sure, why not.
Drawing on some mix of Shinto and Buddhism for a 'japanese horror' (supernatural) story, or other religions for themes in a relatively common way of going about this in VNs, but it would be nice to see something a bit more in-depth. I appreciated the way Christianity was used in Purple Software's Hatsukoi Sacrament, even if the main reason it was used was to set up the story's gimmick. It was still pretty nice though.

[MaiMai]

There's a difference between making a religious statement (which the average audience finds lame and preachy) and using religious motifs/themes. The latter is used a TON (and thus actually more tolerable) especially in anime/manga/VNs that have a particular fondness for Christian/Catholic motifs without actually saying anything or actually being outright offensive about the religion it represents.

So yeah, it's okay.

[trooper6]

Depends on the religion and depends on how it is done.

Ursula K. LeGuin's book The Lathe of Heaven is full of subtle Taoist philosophy and I love that novel. But I'm not going to be reading The Left Behind Series any time soon. I'm not going to be happy with anything particularly evangelical or judge-y or religiously moralizing--especially when that moralizing ends up being conservative and resistant to things like feminism.

That said, if it were important for you to make a VN about how sex before marriage and gay people a d equality between men and women in the public sphere are sinful things, for example, you should follow your voice. I won't play it. But I think a creator should do the work they want to do, as opposed to trying to please all audiences...an impossible task.

[Asceai]

That said, if it were important for you to make a VN about how sex before marriage and gay people a d equality between men and women in the public sphere are sinful things, for example, you should follow your voice. I won't play it. But I think a creator should do the work they want to do, as opposed to trying to please all audiences...an impossible task.

As long as it's a yuri eroge, that should be okay. I guess it would be sort of like mini's Shojokyuu. =P

Actually, Hatsukoi Sacrament is another good thing to bring up again. It's pretty heavy-handed with the Christian stuff and all the characters are pretty devout, but all the sex in that eroge is pre-marital and nobody even mentions anything... kind of a hilarious disconnect, but it's also true that different people are likely to get different things out of their faith or emphasise different things in it and see the message of forgiveness and being good to others being more important than the negatives.

[Green Glasses Girl]

Anything goes, and I think most people would be down for it. It can be symbolism that just scratches the surface or goes into greater depth. I guess it depends on the plot. It also depends if you have an agenda, and if you do, how you approach it. Motifs and discussion can be enlightening.

What IS important is research. If you're going to implement something, whether it be religion, nationality, politics, culture, etc., for the love of all things good, do an insane amount of research first. I cannot stress that enough!

[Taleweaver]

You may want to play "The Thirteenth Year", one of my VNs directly revolving around the role of religion in the lives of man. How does religion shape man? How does man shape religion? And what good and bad can come from it? That's what my VN's about - maybe helpful if you're planning to write a similarly-themed story.

[Caveat Lector]

Sure, why not? I wouldn't mind seeing religion discussed in more depth more often in VNs, or more religious motifs (though between the two, I'd personally prefer the former). I remember religion being discussed in Date Warp on one of the guys' paths, and it was very well-balanced. The important thing is to handle the subject with maturity, respect, depth, and relevancy.

Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing something with Buddhist themes and symbolism in it. The result would be very intriguing.

[Wissa]

When religious motifs are used without meaning, it comes across as the author just wanting the illusion of complexity without real research. A lot of anime does this and I find it off putting.
Then again, if that religion is part of the setting, but not too involved in the plot, then seeing those motifs around shouldn't be a problem.

You could use religion in a 'preachy' (or critical) way and still get a way with it--as in His Dark Materials and Narnia. I think that worked because they added really great fantasy elements to the world/religion in the books. Just be aware you might be ticking some people off.

[Peach]

What comes to mind there is also the stereotypisation of religion in games and media. How often have we seen that Catholics Are Evil or The Priest Is Corrupt? This is a thing you should, in my opinion, watch out for much more than some harmless meaningful or not meaningful symbolism. I love symbolism in games, the real problem comes when you show a depiction of religion, especially if it is a "living" religion, that is clearly shoved into a certain role. That said, if you really want that evil priest, characterization and emphasis on "this is just this individual and not the whole organization/everyone who believes in it" can do a great deal to help prevent issues. (point in case: Kotomine Kirei from Fate Stay/Night)

Sorry, this strayed a bit from the original posters question - I don´t know how you guys handle these cases?

[xxstrangesoulxx]

I don't think I would mind a VN having religion. And yes I would play VNs with religious themes/motifs. And I'm sure there are others, that haven't commented here, that think so to.

The important thing is to handle the subject with maturity, respect, depth, and relevancy.

I pretty much agree with Caveat Lector on this.

Personally, I have a interest in Buddhism. Adding Buddhism to a game would be pretty neat to see.

[kaeruranawa]

Religion is a really big part of the lives of everyone. I don't mean that everyone is deep in it, but more that religious ideals impact everyone's lives in more ways than one.

Religion makes a big impact on a person. I think a character should at least have their religious preferences known to the writer, and the writer should know how these preferences have made impacts on their life. Some two (rather extreme and on opposite sides of the spectrum) examples:
Example: Someone who is gay is raised by parents whose religion talks badly about gay people, and ends up disliking the religion he was raised with because it made him feel uncomfortable (which is a total understatement) with himself.
Example: Someone who was addicted to drugs is able to quit and get their life back after having contact with a priest who believed in them, and ends up being extremely religious because they believe it was the reason they could turn around.

I'm personally fine with well-researched and well handled motifs, symbolism and references/allusions, but it's when people are telling me that I should believe something and get preachy with it I get turned off (mostly all of the time, when it gets into this territory it's often poorly handled).

[Hazel-Bun]

Please just do research and it's coolbeans with me. Being religious myself, nothing irks me more then when my God or any spiritual being is used for cheap laughs or to look "cool and edgy" for "cool and edgy's" sake haha

Kind of like the overt Catholic "motifs" in a lot of anime that I just shake my head at. Being preached to doesn't phase me. If anything, if that's what you're going for, a good sermon gets me pumped and thinking more than anything else. But if you're just going for ambience or hinting at the culture, that's cool too.