Prompt's TechBlog
And all the teenagers of the earth
shall bewail themselves...
05 June 2006
Posted by Dave Wilby
A burgeoning community of Christian and 'family-friendly' game developers (in America, obviously) is trying to lure kids away from the sinful practice of fragging and onto the righteous path of zero-gore video action.
When it comes to launching a new video game brand, there's no disguising the fact that huge bloody mounds of violence, sex and profanity still sell like nothing else can. However, Christian game developers are now busier than ever creating spiritual games bereft of such blood curdling images and controversy. (This despite that whole crucifixion fixation thing of course. And the crusades. Oh and that poor fatted calf...) But it appears teenagers aren't quite as naive as software companies had hoped, and can sniff out a wholesome game and blow it out of the water the millisecond it appears on the scope of their BFGs.
It seems Left Behind Games could be Christian video-gaming's very own saviour, however. Later this year it releases Eternal Forces, a New York action adventure that sees soldiers pitted against demons. Brilliantly, as well as a strict no-blood rule, characters will also lose energy if players swear in-game!
Troy Lyndon of Left Behind Games told the BBC: "There is warfare, the Bible is full of warfare, so are all the other great games that are on the market. Naturally speaking we've got new elements like spirit points, which are fantastic in that as you do good your spirit points go up; as you pray, your soldiers are more prepared for battle."
A Christian video game typically costs about $1m (GBP530,000) to produce, about five times less than a video game aimed at the mass market, but that's largely because until now they've been developed solely for the PC market. This of course means the Christian message is rocketing over the heads of that vast majority of potential teenage converts who choose a console as their entertainment weapon of choice. So will it work? Does the video game industry need Christians to help it tone down the sex and gore-fest and save our souls? Or does the church need video gaming even more as a new recruitment channel to help prop-up dwindling congregations? Or, can we just write the whole phenomenon off as more Da Vinci Code inspired tech-news waffle? Do let us know what you think...
tags: christian video games | moral values | video game censorship
When it comes to launching a new video game brand, there's no disguising the fact that huge bloody mounds of violence, sex and profanity still sell like nothing else can. However, Christian game developers are now busier than ever creating spiritual games bereft of such blood curdling images and controversy. (This despite that whole crucifixion fixation thing of course. And the crusades. Oh and that poor fatted calf...) But it appears teenagers aren't quite as naive as software companies had hoped, and can sniff out a wholesome game and blow it out of the water the millisecond it appears on the scope of their BFGs.
It seems Left Behind Games could be Christian video-gaming's very own saviour, however. Later this year it releases Eternal Forces, a New York action adventure that sees soldiers pitted against demons. Brilliantly, as well as a strict no-blood rule, characters will also lose energy if players swear in-game!
Troy Lyndon of Left Behind Games told the BBC: "There is warfare, the Bible is full of warfare, so are all the other great games that are on the market. Naturally speaking we've got new elements like spirit points, which are fantastic in that as you do good your spirit points go up; as you pray, your soldiers are more prepared for battle."
A Christian video game typically costs about $1m (GBP530,000) to produce, about five times less than a video game aimed at the mass market, but that's largely because until now they've been developed solely for the PC market. This of course means the Christian message is rocketing over the heads of that vast majority of potential teenage converts who choose a console as their entertainment weapon of choice. So will it work? Does the video game industry need Christians to help it tone down the sex and gore-fest and save our souls? Or does the church need video gaming even more as a new recruitment channel to help prop-up dwindling congregations? Or, can we just write the whole phenomenon off as more Da Vinci Code inspired tech-news waffle? Do let us know what you think...
tags: christian video games | moral values | video game censorship
# posted by Dave Wilby at 11:52 AM 
Comments:
Isn't it kinda sad that they're making Christian games about war, instead of making Christian games about peace? Many great games have no violence (eg Tetris, Parappa the Rapper, Guitar Hero, Elektroplankton). If they think they need to use war in their games (and worse still, suggest that being religious helps you be a better fighter), they're not being creative enough.
<< Home