Outer Ogling
Seeing God's attributes displayed through Outer Wilds
Spoiler Alert! If you ever plan on playing Outer Wilds, play it first, then read this essay. It is an amazing game about discovery. The less you know going in, the better.
The fire crackles, the marshmallow turns, the harmonica plays, and the smoke drifts upward into the heavens. I take it all in--the music, the scenery, the starry sky--and I smile in content as my four eyelids close. I've been here before; I'll be here again; but maybe next cycle I'll piece the puzzle together of this alien, but oh so familiar, world. The Outer Wilds, a game about exploring a small, unknown solar system, displays God's glory, goodness, and guidance.
First, the Outer Wilds miniature solar system displays God's greatness and glory by mimicking His design. As in earth's system, the game's planets, comets, and satellites orbit their sun by gravitational pull, allowing the player to watch the planets’ circular dance while sitting in the comforting glow of a crackling fireplace. Players can appreciate a smaller version of God’s real expanse that He "stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing." Job 26:7
The game mimicks God's design by connecting plot and puzzles with the time and location of each spinning world. When players arrive at the right place at the right time, they find answers to the mysteries of the universe. Similarly, Jesus "upholds all things by the word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3, NASB). Christ holds everything at the right place and time to support life and allow humans to see God's handiwork.
Outer Wilds displays the beauty and awe of creation. Players can view waterspouts twisting across a planet, geysers spraying up water from the deep, mini-volcanoes spitting rocks into space, distant stars exploding into sparkles, and comets streaking across the sky. The visual feast helps players connect with King David's words about God in Psalm 8:1 & 3.
"LORD, our Lord,How majestic is Your name in all the earth,You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,The moon and the stars, which You have set in place;"
Second, not only does the game display God's greatness, it also highlights His goodness. As 1 Timothy 4:4 says, "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude" (NASB); God made the world so that man can live, work, breathe, and see God's beautiful craftsmanship. God gave humanity the material and abilities to create and discover through technology. In the game, the player uses spectrometers, space ships, translators, and drones to uncover secrets and succeed in their mission. God wants people to sub-create from His earth as Psalm 8:6 says:
"You have him rule over the works of Your hands;You have put everything under his feet," (NASB).
When used well, technology is a beautiful thing. Using the quantum secret, *Spoiler Alert* the player creates a new beautiful universe out of the ashes of the old one. Humanity uses technology to ease suffering and help life flourish. Technology helps Christians to follow the words of Paul "to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need" (1 Th 4:10–12, NASB). Because of God’s goodness, humanity can create and enjoy beautiful things like the aliens in the game.
Third, Outer Wilds’ gameplay points to God's guidance by encouraging exploration. God wants people to find Him. Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him" (NASB). God guides and rewards people who seek Him. In the game the player attempts to avert a disaster by exploring the solar system, discovering a lost race, and finding clues. What starts out as an array of general pieces of information eventually forms a web that rewards the player with success. On planet earth, God has left secrets for men to find. Solomon says in Proverbs 25:2, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter" (NASB). As the developers left clues for players to piece together, God created physics, logic, biology, etc. for humanity to explore. God has given mankind all the pieces of the puzzle that they need to find Him.
Through mimicking creation, using technology, and encouraging exploration, Outer Wilds displays God's greatness, goodness, and guidance. Whether you go out yourself, sit by a campfire, roast a marshmallow, and play a harmonica while staring upwards as the smoke mixes into the starlight, or viewing God's handiwork from a phone, video game, painting, or film, praise God for his wonderful attributes and the work of His hands.