theoreticalpunch

I thought developers were required to put in single player modes, or at least the ability to play alone, into their games, even if it detracts from gameplay (e.g., Journey) BECAUSE they'll lose a lot of customers if they force the player to only play online...or maybe that's just Sony. In which case, Sony is sounding a heck of a lot smarter than Microsoft.

Awesomenauts (for 3 friends) and Guns of Icarus Online (up to 4 can man a ship) can be quite fun. They're both for PC and Mac, don't let the wiki confuse you (I played both with friends on different operating systems, while I played on Windows). Guns of Icarus Online can be a miss, though, since the community isn't that large for it, but that's probably because the game is a bit of a work in progress. Still, I've had fun whenever I played it. Either way, I think something else would be a better investment now, and wait for these games (if they look interesting to you) for when they go on sale.

It seems like what would have been my recommendations are already on the list, but I'm still glad I came—I'll be sure to check out some of these others that I haven't yet tried.

I am ashamed though that probably Canabalt HD is probably the Android game I've played the most, but that's probably because it's the easiest to pull up when you're standing and waiting in line for something, or to pass back and forth between friends.

@paul_tillich: You're welcome, I hope you find it useful. Oh, and I forgot to mention, but I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to reading more.

I believe you might find this article (http://janemcgonigal.com/2013/03/27/there-is-no-escape-designing-videogames-for-maximum-real-life-impact/) to be interesting and relevant to what you've posted here. It doesn't speak specifically about religion, but it does contain the idea about how players approach games impacting how it affects them, I think you'll find it resonates quite well with some of your points.

I'd definitely be interested in reading what you have to say, Paul_Tillich. Its been a while since I've played Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss, but if I recall correctly, I think those games might have had some interesting things to look at, as far as religion and science goes. Or perhaps they only seemed that way to an ignoramus like me.

Use the Giant Bomb wiki frequently to look up random facts, figured I might as well get an account and try to be more sociable. We'll see how that goes.

Call me Sam. Play all sorts of games, but prefer the ones with lots of choices and player-centric narrative.