MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The Universal Society of Hinduism has called on game studio Hi-Rez to remove Hindu divinites from god game SMITE.
The game gives players a pantheon of playable gods to choose from in an online arena battle.
The USH president, Rajan Zed, has demanded that the game remove all Hindu gods from the game, claiming their treatment relegates them to a triviality.
Whereas the game gives players control of the gods, Zed says the faithful adherent places themselves in the hands of the deities.
According to the Alpharetta Miltion-Patch, Zed believes that giving a user control of Hindu gods degenerates them and the faith of devotees, and says the gods were meant to be revered in temples and shrines, not reduced to the status of characters in a game.
"SMITE includes deities inspired from a diverse and ever expanding set of pantheons including Greek, Chinese, Egyptian, and Norse," said Hi-Rez chief operating officer Todd Harris.
"Hinduism, being one of the world’s oldest, largest and most diverse traditions, also provides inspiration toward deities in our game."
"In fact, given Hinduism’s concept of a single truth with multiple physical manifestations one could validly interpret ALL the gods within SMITE to be Hindu. And all gods outside of SMITE as well. Ponder that for a minute. Anyway, going forward SMITE will include even more deities, not fewer."
Zed says he welcomes the entertainment industry to immerse itself in Hinduism, so long as it does so with respect.
