Hinduister retter kritisk øye mot Beyond Good & Evil 2

Religiøse temaer er noe mange spillutviklere viker langt unna av frykt for å støte noen eller bare ikke reflektere dem på en god nok måte. De fleste Assassin's Creed-spill starter med en melding om at de er laget av personer med ulike religioner, kjønn og syn på saker, så det er tydelig at de ønsker å være forsiktige. Dette er ikke så rart når enkelte trossamfunnet sperrer opp ørene med en gang de ser tegn fra religionen sin i spill. Blant annet sendte Raja Zed, en talsmann for hinduister, ut en pressemelding hvor han ba Sony og Naughty Dog være respektfulle mot religionen deres i Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, og nå har tiden kommet for en ny melding.

Zed har nemlig sendt ut en pressemeldigen hvor han nå ber Ubisoft å behandle hinduismen med respekt i Beyond Good & Evil 2. Han ønsker at spillet skal reflektere religionen på en realistisk måte, og ikke ha sin egne, fantasifulle utgave av den. Det presiseres uansett at de tror at Ubisofts talentfulle utviklere vil gjøre en god jobb med dette, men at de bare ønsker å gjøre selskapet oppmerksom på disse ønskene.

Jeg kan selvsagt forstå at religioner ønsker å bli fremstilt på en rettferdig og realistisk måte, men er det bare jeg som synes det begynner å gå litt langt når de sender ut "advarsler" hele tiden? Du kan lese hele pressemeldingen under bildet, og si dine tanker i kommentarfeltet.

"Concerned about trivialization; Hindus are urging French video game publisher Ubisoft to depict Hindu deities, temples, traditions, terminology and concepts with respect and accuracy in upcoming video-game "Beyond Good and Evil 2".

In this action-adventure video game to be published by Ubisoft, Hinduism is reportedly going to play a pivotal role in the narrative, with images and references related to Hinduism, while it explores Ganesha City named after highly revered Hindu deity Lord Ganesha.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, hoped that the final product of this video-game would showcase the Hinduism concepts, traditions, objects, terminology and deities authentically; matching their characterization as portrayed in ancient Hindu scriptures, instead of giving its own fantasized or re-imagined version.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted that Hindus wholeheartedly welcomed entertainment industry to immerse in Hinduism, but taking it seriously and respectfully; as refashioning of Hinduism scriptures, symbols, traditions, concepts, terminology and deities for mercantile greed was likely to hurt the sentiments of devotees; and misrepresentation created confusion among non-Hindus about Hinduism. Insensitive handling of faith traditions sometimes resulted in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols.

With seasoned and skillful professionals at the helm in Ubisoft, we did not expect any problem, Rajan Zed said and added that they were just urging for more sensitivity towards faith traditions and careful handling of Hindu concepts and terminology.

Zed further said that Hindus were for free speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the devotees. Video-game makers should be more sensitive while handling faith related subjects, as these games were a powerful medium which left lasting impact on the unsuspecting minds of highly impressionable children, teens and other young people, Zed added.

If Ubisoft or other video-games developers needed any expertise on Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought, he or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide the resources, Rajan Zed stated."