Popular Culture
In the Dungeons & Dragons third-edition fantasy role-playing game, the Seven deadly sins and the Seven heavenly virtues each made an appearance as the philosophical Cleric Domains, providing the option to exemplify the moral/ethical conflict of these ideals, rather than abstract ideology or tenets of a deity. They were originally featured in two separate issues of the Dragon Magazine (Issue #323 & Issue #355), but later on were collected and released in Dragon Compendium (-Volume 1-) hard-cover anniversary-edition published by Paizo Publishing.
In White Wolf Game Studio's newer World of Darkness role-playing game, both the Seven deadly sins and the Seven heavenly virtues constitute required attributes of each player character in game mechanics. A character acting in accordance with his or her defining Virtue or Vice traits are rewarded, but the reward is greater for fulfilling the Virtue than for indulging in the Vice. The 49 possible Virtue/Vice combinations are not used as 'character types', but do appear as categories of disguises used by the Guardians of the Veil.
In the Paradox Interactive game, Crusader Kings II, various events and actions cause the player character to gain or lose one of the 7 virtues or vices. Having many virtues holds strategic interest and helps to further the player's ambitions. Players can also mentor children to teach them the virtues or (if they choose) vices. These character traits play a large part in the game, which is based around appeasing the Papacy and the Holy Crusades.
In 2012, contemporary author Jess C Scott covered the Seven deadly sins and the Seven heavenly virtues in two separate anthologies. The Self anthology is a short story collection which links personal spiritual growth to each of the Seven heavenly virtues.
In the end of May 2012, an expansion to the independent video game The Binding of Isaac (video game) titled 'Wrath of the Lamb' contained bosses with names of the Seven deadly sins of which the protagonist of the game, Isaac, had to defeat them, then gained an item sometimes related to the vices and virtues.
Read more about this topic: Seven Virtues
Famous quotes containing the words popular culture, popular and/or culture:
“Like other secret lovers, many speak mockingly about popular culture to conceal their passion for it.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“We live under continual threat of two equally fearful, but seemingly opposed, destinies: unremitting banality and inconceivable terror. It is fantasy, served out in large rations by the popular arts, which allows most people to cope with these twin specters.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“The problem of culture is seldom grasped correctly. The goal of a culture is not the greatest possible happiness of a people, nor is it the unhindered development of all their talents; instead, culture shows itself in the correct proportion of these developments. Its aim points beyond earthly happiness: the production of great works is the aim of culture.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)