http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3169311I laugh at the pettiness of this author.
More to the point, here's what i've noticed.
Based on video game demonstrations and text files, It would seem that the following is true about religion's role in spore:
1. Religious focused planets focus on "making their citizens happy" more than Economic or military.
2. It is impossible in spore to lack a religion without being corporate or military oppressors (iow, if you want a benevolent society, you're stuck with religion)
3. Religious planets use "miracles" to convert other planets.
And my reactions to each:
1. This is a simplistic game mechanic.
2. This is unusual for science fiction, seeing as how advanced atheistic societies are a common sci fi theme (Vulcans, anyone?).
Again, simplistic game mechanic, but a very limiting one.
3. Don't see what the issue is. Its no different than "Age of Mythology", where you could ask Zeus to summon a thunder bolt or Poseidon to summon an earthquake. This isn't neccessarily favoring religion, since the technique could easily be compared with other organizations that use religion as a tool of conquest, be it in sci fi (Stargate's Goa' uld and Ori) or in reality (the Inquisition and the Crusades).
My concern from a gamer's perspective isn't that they have religion in the game, or that they have "miracles" as conversion tools. My concern is that the game past tribal might be constricting if you only have such a small selection of lifestyles. This would be easily remedied by adding new species personality paths, such as diplomatic or logical. Since sci fi includes atheist motifs almost as often as it includes religious ones, it would seem incomplete not to include them.
Thoughts?
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