OMWord! Christian games!

[Nanor]

An example Christian game:

See the awesome website. It's like biblical and stuff.

The storyline is an interpretation of the Bible concerning the end days. A worldwide cult organization is gaining control of the planet and is planning to incarcerate Christians who do not join them. The Tribulation Knights aim is to prevent that. The missions range from gathering intelligence to releasing fellow operatives from interrogation cells, to saving groups of incarcerated citizens from the clutches of the powerful Enforcers.

GamePlay:
Tribulation Knights features stealth as one of the most important and critical aspects of gameplay. What truly sets Tribulation Knights apart from other games on the market are its game rules. Shooting and killing of game characters is absent from this game. A high tech slingshot is one of the primary tools available to a Knight and it is used to take out surveillance and alarm systems. An on-screen partner provides critical information in your time of need.

A HIGH TECH SLINGSHOT! BFG9000 YUO HAVE BEEN DETHRONED.


Seriously, is the Christian faith hurting itself through these releases? What would actually WORK to attract people to their faith, or on the other hand, would this actually work?

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Another Doom clone? Dangit!

You really can't help but laugh at some of this guff, it is quite tacky it's unreal. However, why can't the Christian faith use videogames as a medium? For example, the US Army dabbled with it in a bid to encourage recruitment. Now, tell me how that is different. Both 'factions' (for want of a better phrase) looking to encourage and promote interest in their causes, both using videogames as a medium and yet one is accepted and the other isn't.
Maybe the most worrying thing is, the one that is accepted is the one that is most likely to encourage killing (you could argue that point, of course, but an army game vs. friendship and compassion kind of speaks for itself).

That said, it is a ridiculous notion in terms of members of the Christian faith sinking to the depths of immaturity and fronting a videogame as a method of catchment. Kind of have to bear in mind, though, that this is one individuals method of arousing interest and that the Christian faith as a whole may (and probably will) shirk at its release.

 

[Nanor]

The way I see it, is that the Christian 'faction' thought, the US Army seems to be having success with their video game, so they're probably thinking, sure, let's just make a game and that'll attract the peoples. Of course you can't just make a game and expect it to attract people. The way I see it, the Church is too unattractive. Not even a super slingshot could attract me.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

But maybe if I put on my menacing 11th-century armour with a bright red and white cross and held a sword to your neck, maybe then you'd find it a bit more attractive

No but seriously, why wouldn't it interest people. Like you said, the US Army is having success with their videogame, so it might be a good plan to release a videogame and try to appeal to a populace they've never been able to reach before.
I would say that if they release the game into the somewhat anti-Christian market of Britain then they will have little to no success, but if mid-western America with it's roots still firmly grounded in a good Christian upbringing get their hands on it, it might spread itself around a bit. The Middle-East might present a bit of a skinny market though
Do you not feel any kind of religious beckoning when you watch one of those epic Bible-based movies? Ben-Hur? For me they really do conjure up a sense of pride and belonging, but I'm Christian so maybe that's just me Point is, maybe it'll have an effect you weren't expecting. Probably won't, but might.

I wouldn't even look at it in terms of 'attraction' either, or even recruitment as I put it, but spreading the good word.

 

[Nanor]

The US Army is having sucess because in their game, you get to blow stuff up, which appeals to the market of todays children. Basically, a high-tech slingshot doesn't appeal to them. But I agree with your theory that Mid-Western Americans might like it.

A crusade game would be fun, though.

 

[BiG D]

Drop the America's Army comparison for a moment.

There are plenty of games based on books and movies. And at the risk of causing ye olde debate, games based on history.

What makes this any different?

 

[Pestcontrol]

What makes this any different?

This game attempts to create unique appeal to a target audience who like the book it's based upon rather a lot. That makes me suspicious as it calls into question whether it'll be a good game or not when it's selling point is "christian" rather than "good game".

 

[BiG D]

Once again: how is that different than any other book or movie licensed game?

 

[Pestcontrol]

Because it uses is as a selling point rather than a creative source.

 

[BiG D]

Most licenses do just that, and end up sucking in the end. With a few notable exceptions, of course.

Star Trek games are a good example. There are a few good ones, of course, but the vast majority are utter crap being sold simply because there are people who will buy anything Trek.

 

[Pestcontrol]

I was thinking about star-trek when i wrote my answer. I may have to take it back. The question now has become which is more common, base your game off something else as a selling point or for creative inspiration? It's a fuzzy line too..

 

[BiG D]

Surely you can be inspiried by something without using trademarked material, no?