How Much Is "Good" Christian Games Needed?

Breakaway_republic · Feb 7, 2010

I'm just going to say, We DO NOT NEED "More Good" Christian games, But MORE CHRISTIANS making good games. Simple as that.

CyberPaladin · Feb 8, 2010

Guys to be blunt at this point we don't need more good Christian we need a good Christian heck we haven't even had one medicore Christian video game yet getting over that hurdle would be an improvement.

Tek7 · Feb 8, 2010

Azureknight 773 said:
Hey! This thread is quite interesting, like why not we Christians then make an extremely awesome video game out there where in it has an animation graphic like anime with a story set in the future but loaded with Christianity in it?

In short? Budget.

If you agree that a role-playing game is the ideal framework to tell a story that promotes Christian values, then you would have to assemble several talented staff members (writers, artists, programmers, testers, etc.) to create a RPG that would reflect positively on Christianity.

Development costs for larger-scale titles continue to increase. A smaller-scale RPG on a platform on which it's less expensive to develop games (e.g. Nintendo DS) might be a more feasible approach, but there would still be some very difficult obstacles along that path, including the current state of the US economy.

I don't doubt there are Christian writers and artists out there who could make an amazing game that glorifies God (some of them may already be working in the industry, as my previous post suggested), but bringing them together and convincing them to work together on a new video game at sub-standard salaries (which would likely be necessary as it may would range from difficult to impossible to find investors for such a venture) strikes me as extraordinarily difficult.

I'm not saying it's impossible to create an outspoken pro-Christianity game that's also fun and engaging to play, but there are several obstacles in the way.

CyberPaladin · Feb 8, 2010

Tek7 said:
In short? Budget.

If you agree that a role-playing game is the ideal framework to tell a story that promotes Christian values, then you would have to assemble several talented staff members (writers, artists, programmers, testers, etc.) to create a RPG that would reflect positively on Christianity.

Development costs for larger-scale titles continue to increase. A smaller-scale RPG on a platform on which it's less expensive to develop games (e.g. Nintendo DS) might be a more feasible approach, but there would still be some very difficult obstacles along that path, including the current state of the US economy.

I don't doubt there are Christian writers and artists out there who could make an amazing game that glorifies God (some of them may already be working in the industry, as my previous post suggested), but bringing them together and convincing them to work together on a new video game at sub-standard salaries (which would likely be necessary as it may would range from difficult to impossible to find investors for such a venture) strikes me as extraordinarily difficult.

I'm not saying it's impossible to create an outspoken pro-Christianity game that's also fun and engaging to play, but there are several obstacles in the way.

I agree with you video games have become big business and with production cost in the millions not being uncommon it's not something that's going to be easy to break into anymore. Besides that I imagine many Christians who are in the industry wouldn't want to be part of a Christian video game development team at this point given the garbage game that have been produced in the past.

JamesAH · Feb 10, 2010

I would like a game that has you playing an Archangel coming down to earth and into Hell destroying demons that gotten lose from Hell and sending them back by destroying them.

Be it a FPS or third person style.

JamesAH · Feb 10, 2010

CyberPaladin said:
Guys to be blunt at this point we don't need more good Christian we need a good Christian heck we haven't even had one medicore Christian video game yet getting over that hurdle would be an improvement.

We need more good Christians than Christian video games

WadeWilson · Feb 11, 2010

JamesAH said:
I would like a game that has you playing an Archangel coming down to earth and into Hell destroying demons that gotten lose from Hell and sending them back by destroying them.

Be it a FPS or third person style.

The problem with that is some christians would be offended by the 'satanic imagery'. I mean, that is basicalyl the premise of many games, Devil May Cry series, Diablo series, Bayonetta, Darksiders, and many others, where you must hunt down demons that got loose.

I think it would difficult to create a fun, deep game mechanic based on christian ideals. Many people [not me] would say promoting violence, (which is the core mechanic for virtually all non-puzzle video games) is un-christian. So basically, if you were to create a game appealing to all christians, it would have to be a bible/christian flavored puzzle game. Like Exodus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(video_game) I played that game alot. But it was basically a re-flavor of Color Dreams.

But personally, I've never found that playing "non-christian" video games ever impeded my walk as a christian.

Wackotic · Feb 16, 2010

I don't think they are needed. I think games can and should and do teach values that agree with Christian values (in general). I can think of older RPGs which teach these values and have truly motivated me in returning to my faith and growing in it (FFIV for one).

I am not against Christian games by any means, but it could easily do more harm than good, but I would not mind seeing overtly Christian elements incorporated. Though with Christian games, it would be easy for people who are Christians and people who are non-Christians to criticize the game for or for not portraying the faith in a way that matches requirements XYZ, even if it was a great game, and that would just further discredit the faith, potentially, as people, Christian or not cannot all be pleased and it seems to still be very common for very well meaning Christians to ridicule anything trying to be Christian that doesn't fit their mold of what Christianity should be, so for that, I say no.

The best, imo, would to allude to some overt elements of the faith and allude to the rest using allegory because there are smart people who will get it and may be more open to the faith by seeing and experiencing something which makes them experience aspects of our faith more directly and without so much prejudging a game because it bears a label of Christianity which could turn them off right away.

And as said, for marketing reasons, the likelihood of a good Christian game, especially in this global economy, is about zilch. Wouldn't sell, though surprisingly things which allude to Judeo-Christian elements and themes more subtley tend to grab attention for being familiar but not so defined to where people will think to draw connections and may be positively influenced. I have no citation for that, but it is a trend I have noticed in some more popular games and other entertainment.

Cabal · Feb 21, 2010

I think if a game is ever put out that accurately reflects the Christian walk successfully it will depend largely on which Christian groups are behind it.

To put it bluntly, the kind of Left-Behind "this is right and this is most definitely wrong" black-and-white mentality isn't going to go down well with most games - moral choice systems in contemporary games are polarised enough as it is. If Bioware can't get away with it, a game with religious overtones attempted to break into the market sure isn't.

NiobiumTragedy · Feb 21, 2010

Which Bioware game are you referring to?

Cabal · Feb 21, 2010

NiobiumTragedy said:
Which Bioware game are you referring to?

Well, I pretty much meant any game that has "moral choice" in it - which usually comes down to the equivalent of being Superman or eating babies. In a fictional setting, that's just about tolerable, if horribly unsubtle.

Do that with a Christian theme though and you'll get a pretty strong backlash like Left Behind did.

Spoonbill · Mar 11, 2010

I recon it could be done.

God of War (loosely) focuses on Greek Mythology. Why could a game not be made that follows (loosely) on Christian mythology?

You could play a totally badass angel. Perhaps Michael (he was the most badass of all the angels), ala God of War, and you could slay demons and such. Plus it would be OK for it to be ultra gory because the Bible doesnt hold back on gore.

JamesAH · Mar 11, 2010

Spoonbill said:
I recon it could be done.

God of War (loosely) focuses on Greek Mythology. Why could a game not be made that follows (loosely) on Christian mythology?

You could play a totally badass angel. Perhaps Michael (he was the most badass of all the angels), ala God of War, and you could slay demons and such. Plus it would be OK for it to be ultra gory because the Bible doesnt hold back on gore.

Christianity is not a mythology.

And I know of only 2 games that deal with Christian themes:

Dante's Inferno
Darksiders

NiobiumTragedy · Mar 12, 2010

Spoonbill said:
I recon it could be done.

God of War (loosely) focuses on Greek Mythology. Why could a game not be made that follows (loosely) on Christian mythology?

You could play a totally badass angel. Perhaps Michael (he was the most badass of all the angels), ala God of War, and you could slay demons and such. Plus it would be OK for it to be ultra gory because the Bible doesnt hold back on gore.

Then you would have backlash from the Christian community much like you saw with Left Behind.

Oddi725 · Mar 13, 2010

Look at Lord Of The Rings. Tolkien, a Born-Again Christian, wrote a book that non-Christians would enjoy even though its full of Christian elements. It was his way of putting a little of his Salt in the non-believer's world. We can make video games that everyone enjoys with Christian elements involved. In fact, Halo does just that in many ways. It would be great to make a game that directly refers to God, but thats not necessary either. We just need GOOD people making GOOD games. Look at it this way, I play NCAA 2010 a lot. Does it say anything about God? No. Would I play it with Jesus or would Jesus be offended? He'd play it with me. Therefore, I think its absolutely fine. Obviously its better if it directly preaches about God, but if you would use the product(movie, game, book, song, band) around Jesus without an 'awkward' moment happening, theres nothing wrong.

Spoonbill · Mar 18, 2010

JamesAH said:
Christianity is not a mythology.

Everyone knows that parts of the bible are not meant to be taken literally. Talking snakes? Eating fruit that makes you self-aware? Creation in 6 days?

If you took everything the Bible said literally, it could be classified as mythology. Taking it literally makes as much sense as any other mythology (Greek, Roman etc.)

Im not bashing the Bible, I am just saying it speaks metaphorically quite often, if you took these metaphors literally, you would have a mythology.

Azureknight 773 · Mar 19, 2010

Tek7 said:
In short? Budget.

If you agree that a role-playing game is the ideal framework to tell a story that promotes Christian values, then you would have to assemble several talented staff members (writers, artists, programmers, testers, etc.) to create a RPG that would reflect positively on Christianity.

Development costs for larger-scale titles continue to increase. A smaller-scale RPG on a platform on which it's less expensive to develop games (e.g. Nintendo DS) might be a more feasible approach, but there would still be some very difficult obstacles along that path, including the current state of the US economy.

I don't doubt there are Christian writers and artists out there who could make an amazing game that glorifies God (some of them may already be working in the industry, as my previous post suggested), but bringing them together and convincing them to work together on a new video game at sub-standard salaries (which would likely be necessary as it may would range from difficult to impossible to find investors for such a venture) strikes me as extraordinarily difficult.

I'm not saying it's impossible to create an outspoken pro-Christianity game that's also fun and engaging to play, but there are several obstacles in the way.

Budgetary reasons? Yes that is a problem though for former games such as "Contra", "Mario", "Tetris" and a lot more back then costs lesser in terms of budget as to compare with today's "God of War", "Red Alert 3", "StarCraft 2" and a lot more awesome titles out there.

JamesAH said:
I would like a game that has you playing an Archangel coming down to earth and into Hell destroying demons that gotten lose from Hell and sending them back by destroying them.

Be it a FPS or third person style.

This sounds cool! But it would be too generic given with the current generation of gamers right now who wanted something this and that.

Another way to enjoy this is that we could use the "Touhou Engine" with permission from ZUN. However, all goes back to the budget and the people willing to do it which makes it "It sucks! Not enough people and resources" unless it could go through.

I am not being pessimistic here but being aware and judging from today's economic issues and stuffs makes things a bit unsure but it is written "Trust in the Lord". So shall it be done by a handfuls to a certain fleet of people.

Spoonbill said:
I recon it could be done.

God of War (loosely) focuses on Greek Mythology. Why could a game not be made that follows (loosely) on Christian mythology?

You could play a totally badass angel. Perhaps Michael (he was the most badass of all the angels), ala God of War, and you could slay demons and such. Plus it would be OK for it to be ultra gory because the Bible doesnt hold back on gore.

To the underlined words: I got to say that you are wrong my fellow CF member. To be honest, Christianity is never a mythology for proofs laid in various churches clearly stated that it isn't. Whether you check N.E.W.S., the Holy Bible itself clearly professes that this isn't.

As to the bolded words: That is awesome, I too had that in mind but then do we have enough budget? Then comes the Purists and Haters Association Inc. who comes into the territories and starts to hammer the game due to comments like "Dude! This is a pure blatant ripoff!" or "These Christians are really desparate are they?" and a lot more to the point of bashing it. Although in your latter sentences, I accept that the Holy Bible didn't hold back on gore for instance, the countless wars, the slaying of the innocents back in the days of Moses and of Christ, the slaying of the martyrs and a lot more. Those scenes are so violent that one must never forget also, the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ all the way to the Cross.

JamesAH said:
Christianity is not a mythology.

And I know of only 2 games that deal with Christian themes:

Dante's Inferno
Darksiders

True. I approve this.

Spoonbill said:
Everyone knows that parts of the bible are not meant to be taken literally. Talking snakes? Eating fruit that makes you self-aware? Creation in 6 days?

If you took everything the Bible said literally, it could be classified as mythology. Taking it literally makes as much sense as any other mythology (Greek, Roman etc.)

Im not bashing the Bible, I am just saying it speaks metaphorically quite often, if you took these metaphors literally, you would have a mythology.

Well said in your points there and that I love it for the wisdom and truth that the Lord has given to you.

mikeTHPS† · Mar 29, 2010

I have a few idea's for how to have some Christianity in video games. Heres one idea:

Imagine your in some kind of city setting like in the GTA games. You could have just a random street preacher on the corner of the street who when you walk up to him, will preach you the gospel ray comfort style. He can ask you if you ever told a lie or stolen etc and you press yes on the screen, and then he presents you the gospel. The whole game might still be a sin filled GTA game, but it could be a nice little way to sneak the gospel in there for people who just feel like exploring the city.

NiobiumTragedy · Mar 30, 2010

mikeTHPS;54389511 said:
I have a few idea's for how to have some Christianity in video games. Heres one idea:

Imagine your in some kind of city setting like in the GTA games. You could have just a random street preacher on the corner of the street who when you walk up to him, will preach you the gospel ray comfort style. He can ask you if you ever told a lie or stolen etc and you press yes on the screen, and then he presents you the gospel. The whole game might still be a sin filled GTA game, but it could be a nice little way to sneak the gospel in there for people who just feel like exploring the city.

Can I shoot the street preacher?

mikeTHPS† · Mar 30, 2010

NiobiumTragedy said:
Can I shoot the street preacher?

Yes, but God will protect him from the bullet

How Much Is "Good" Christian Games Needed?

How Much Are Christians Video Games Needed?

Majorly Needed! We Need To Be a Rival Of Secular Games!

Somewhat Needed. We Just need better christian video games.

Not Needed. We don't need any christian video games.

Not at all!, Christian games suck and I don't want any in any stores I shop at.

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