BioShock Infinite's religious themes led dev to consider quitting

Much as I despise religion and the fact that regardless of which branch of idiocy you follow the words are always distorted to mean whatever the protagonist wants them to mean... it's an easy way of creating conflict for a game.

More lives have been lost through religious wars than any other over the course of history, and even though there is not one hint of evidence to prove the existence of any God it will continue to do so.

But then the developer said "wait a second, I've got bills to pay." Then he closed Microsoft Word and got back to work.

@fireandcarnage "erm it's kinda a given that if a religion would tell you the other religion is wrong because if it wasn't wrong they why would you follow said religion, you'd follow ther other instead, it's kinda like science you can't agree on two contradicting hypotheses and if they don't contradict there isn't a point in having two"

First of all, bravo on getting through almost 1400 comments before getting to me. Second, religion is nothing like science, and in fact, they are practically diametrically opposed to one another. Third, I said nothing about following a religion, but was only pointing out that if there are 100 religions all believing that they are the only true religion, the other 99 are dead wrong (assuming one of them is in fact spot on). Chances are stacked in favor of a religion being false. That is the point I was making, not whether or not religions should denounce, or discredit the other.

I think they are just rising a hype for the game. Otherwise, the guy is just freaking moron and there is nothing more further we could comment about it. Just a waste of the fresh air and space......

Offends the extremely religious? Sounds like my kind of game then.

Lame that this guy threatening to quit caused the writer to cave though.

Without more details about the scene and why it offended him, i think it's wrong to make any kind of judgements. The interview got me more curious about the game I hope the themes are deeply explored in the game and not just a paintjob.

what a freaking loser. i cannot stand people that take offense at every conceivable opportunity. be religios but respect others more casual inclinations and perspectives towards religion. if you cannot find humor and appreciate others views on your religion, go find a cave to live in.

Personally, i believe religion is a very valuable tool as a crutch for week people to lean on as they stumble through life with no idea how to be a good person. and I've spent 40 years listening patiently while these fools tell me i'm going to hell for not believing the same things as them. But as soon as I share my personal feelings about religion and god, they get offended.

If Levine were not such a public, high profile leader in the gaming world, i assure you - hed tell this moron to take a hike. but he has to take a different road as he cannot afford someone to make a PR mess out of it.

$50 says the employee is muslim. They have no problem stoning women to death in the streets for having the audacity to be a rape victim... but god forbid a game offend them.

I can imagine Levine having an introverted epiphany, nodding and oblivious as he stared into the eyes of his venting employee. "You're not fired because I'm a genius."

Im not trying to sound like that guy but...I would have just let him quit. I can bring anyone else in to take that guys place. He has no problem creating a game where you just kill a bunch of people but something religious offended him? I don't care if people worship whatever or choose to be hypocritical CHristians, Catholics Atheist or whatever. Just dont bring that shit into the workplace or onto other people who usually don't talk about that shit socially anyway. Its dumb and it pretty much messes up the vibe of the whole team.

The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about ...

Thanks for sharing the story Eddie Makuch. It just goes to show that when two people sit and sensibly reason, that they can create understanding and tear down the emotional and irrational prejudices that litter our world today. (see discussion, on any comment thread anywhere)

The developer was part of the team because of his programming skills, not his religious beliefs.

I wonder if the scene was changed.

So Mr. Levine, upon hearing that one of his team was offended by a moment in the game, because he was a religious person, went up to him and had a long, thoughtful talk with him, seeking to find in a civil matter the cause for the issue and both men walked out with a better understanding of each other, the Christian decided to stay and Levine got to understand the importance of the notion of forgiveness for Christians and religious people in general, a notion he admits not having prior experiance understanding and may just end up make the end of the game even more powerful.

Screw that! We all know the proper way to deal with a religous person is to call them primitive/stupid and cast them out! How dare Levine treat them like a person!

Seriously though Levine showed more understanding and open-mindedness then I'd say 90% of the internet right there.

To the person (or people) who said religious people are not intelligent. A few religious people: Gerhard Ertl (who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry; he is still living)) Charles Townes (who won the Nobel Prize in physics) he is still living; Robert Bakker (who discovered that some dinosaurs were warm blooded, not cold blooded) he is still living; William Phillips (who won the Nobel Prize in physics) he is still living. And historically, Pascal, Copernicus (who discovered the sun, not the Earth, is at the center of the solar system); Kepler (discovered the laws of plantary motion), Isaac Newton (of gravity fame); Max Planck (Nobel prize in physics); and Heisenberg (of uncertainty principle fame).

The list goes on and on, of both living and dead intellectuals and scientists.

Every single time religion gets mixed up in something, things get so ridiculously funny......xD

Really looking forward to this. I'm expecting a lot from the story-side of things.

Glad they delayed the game as much as they did. Gives them more time to polish it. Irrational Games seems to care about what they give their consumers.

Wow a lot of hate around these parts :P