Am I Going to Hell for Working as a Game Developer?

Sunset at the beach

I’ve been spending a lot of time binge-watching "The Good Place" lately, a show where people are sent to a good or bad place based on their actions while they are alive. It’s essentially a modern take on the concepts of heaven and hell. Personally, I think it’s one of the best TV shows ever made because I enjoy philosophy.

Lately, though, it’s made me think about my own ethical dilemmas. I work as a developer in the entertainment game industry, and sometimes I wonder if my job is actually benefiting society. Are we just encouraging people to spend their time and money on something that might not be good for them? Are we fostering selfish behaviors and contributing to negative consequences?

But then, I remind myself that my goal is to create engaging and enjoyable software. I want people to love what I create and find happiness in it. It’s not my intention to make them waste their time and money. In my defense, creating something that brings joy is already a positive contribution.

Beyond that, I take pride in working hard to support myself and my family, making an honest living. I strive not to be a burden on society but rather to live a fulfilling life, providing for those I love. This, in itself, feels like a plus point in my book.

People do have free will to choose whether to spend their time and money on games or not. From a business perspective, it’s still just selling a product. If being a seller were a sin, then "The Good Place" is wrong about the last person going to heaven 500 years ago. It would have been much earlier, before humans even invented trade during the hunter-gatherer era.

I think I’m scared of the idea of going to hell, but going to heaven doesn’t seem that special either. At the end of the show it becomes clear that even if you end up in heaven, you eventually learn that the real moral of the story is that heaven isn’t about being in a place. It’s about time—precious time spent doing things you enjoy and finding fulfillment in those moments. Whether it's being with loved ones or playing games?

Popular posts from this blog

ERROR 1348 Column Password Is Not Updatable When Updating MySQL Root Password

How To Create Spring Boot Project Using Netbeans

Spring Kafka - How to use ReplyingKafkaTemplate send and reply synchronously