Finding God in From Dust

Written by Brock Poulsen, brockst4r Saturday, 01 October 2011 11:00

It might seem like a simple matter to find God in a "god game," but it might not be where you think.

One could assume that in a god-game, the player takes on those godly attributes, and is thus the place to look for symbolism regarding God. However, in my experience, who or whatever the player has control over is the place to look for symbolism regarding our human experience. It is usually the game itself that provides the symbol for God and His place in our lives. From Dust is no different in this respect. As is often the case, God can be found by looking in the humblest place; the lowly natives.

From Dust tasks the player, controlling the spiritual entity "the Breath," with leading a group of natives to different areas, manipulating nature and the elements to achieve various goals. The Breath can pick up and move small amounts of water, earth, and other materials to create paths on which the natives can travel. As they travel to their destinations, they will plant trees and other plants, beautifying the game world.

As the player guides these people, the player can request that they activate totems that change various aspects of the game. These totems in some cases grant additional abilities to the Breath, and sometimes have extraordinary power over the elements, far beyond the Breath's abilities.  The simple natives become an incredible benevolent force.

In much the same way, when we rearrange our lives and our environments with God's purposes in mind, we invite Him to improve our lives. He can give us strength beyond our own capacity, and cause miracles beyond any we could imagine. God also creates beauty in our lives merely by His influence and presence.

The key is that we must invite Him to make these changes. God has the power to do all things, but will not act where His influence is unwelcome or unwanted. Much like the Breath, we must do the work and create the path so that God can work his miracles.