Idea for a game

[rocklobster]

I just got an idea for a game that I was wondering if any of you would play. In the game, you play an angel who helps people by either giving them advice, saving them from imminent danger, or fighting demons, or maybe all three. You would be able fly and use either a sword or bow. I think this would be an excellent Christian-based game that would interest even non-believers.

[Stephen]

Something tells me this game would sell maybe 50 copies. And maybe if it was lucky, end up being buried with the ET cartridges.

[mechana2015]

Most of these concepts have been attempted as parts of different games and roundly rejected, often as the weakest parts of said games. The best you could hope for is a sort of spider man knock off with projectile weaponry, and without some serious development chops it would end up being pretty aweful, especially since the mechanics for the weapons you named are typically iffy, especially with a flying element.

Rescue games are not pupular in the US, period. There have been several and they fell clean off the map rather quickly.

Advising people would just fail because either it would be drastically one sided 'click here to tell person to do right thing' or you'd have to make a choice to tell people to do the right thing or the wrong thing which sort of collapses the whole Christian side of the game since angels arn't amoral like that in most interpretations.

So pretty much in the end you get Oblivion (or Doom with arrows) with less moral latitude, making it either boring, or uninteresting to christians, or non christians, or more likely, both, unless it was made by a company with serious money, time and a willingness to work very closely with theologians, strong writers and other people to keep it from being tossed out as sacrilegious (and yet that still would be likely due to the somewhat fractured state of Christianity, someone would be bound to be angry) and yet manage to produce something entertaining to play.

Rating would also inherently be an issue.

[Sanderson]

What we need is a Christian version of God of War, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, etc. You play as a burly archangel that's wearing armor that has that over the top look to it that World of Warcraft armor sets have (bulky, big shoulder pads, etc.). Obviously, you fight demons. The game has to be rated M. Since it's rated M and has demons, it'll have pentagrams, violence, blood and gore, naked succubuses, blasphemy (said by the demos), etc.

Most of these concepts have been attempted as parts of different games and roundly rejected, often as the weakest parts of said games. The best you could hope for is a sort of spider man knock off with projectile weaponry, and without some serious development chops it would end up being pretty aweful, especially since the mechanics for the weapons you named are typically iffy, especially with a flying element.

Rescue games are not pupular in the US, period. There have been several and they fell clean off the map rather quickly.

Advising people would just fail because either it would be drastically one sided 'click here to tell person to do right thing' or you'd have to make a choice to tell people to do the right thing or the wrong thing which sort of collapses the whole Christian side of the game since angels arn't amoral like that in most interpretations.

So pretty much in the end you get Oblivion (or Doom with arrows) with less moral latitude, making it either boring, or uninteresting to christians, or non christians, or more likely, both, unless it was made by a company with serious money, time and a willingness to work very closely with theologians, strong writers and other people to keep it from being tossed out as sacrilegious (and yet that still would be likely due to the somewhat fractured state of Christianity, someone would be bound to be angry) and yet manage to produce something entertaining to play.

Rating would also inherently be an issue.

The character you play as shouldn't do any rescuing. That's the guardian angels job, you do the dirty work.

About moral latitude. When you're in Heaven, it should feel like a family friendly Christian game that's rated E (that happens to be well written, good dialog, etc.). When you go to Earth, it changes to being as bad as a M rated game can be.

[Stephen]

I would kinda view this like I view movies and music...I don't need my entertainment to be Christian. I don't watch only Christian TV, movies, etc. Thus the idea of a Christian game just does not interest me very much.


Although we could make a GTA where after you jack a persons car you toss a tract on them before speeding off. Wait. What?

[Radical Dreamer]

What we need is a Christian version of

This is where so so so so SO many different Christian entertainment groups go wrong. What we need is originality--not Christianized spinoffs of the latest fads.

I would kinda view this like I view movies and music...I don't need my entertainment to be Christian. I don't watch only Christian TV, movies, etc. Thus the idea of a Christian game just does not interest me very much.

This.

Although we could make a GTA where after you jack a persons car you toss a tract on them before speeding off. Wait. What?

ROFL, Amazing. XD

[Jingo Jaden]

If anything the christian entertaiment community need to come up with something original and inspired. Most of the entertaiment they produce nowadays are bad secular spinoff attempts which does not even pass the smell test.

I am nearly ceartain the only way to get the christian community anywhere close to the mainstream entertaiment these days is if Jesus could put some of the old blacksmiths/war strategians back to life and have them act as game designers. They made some awesome armor and some awesome war strategy back in the day and I am sure they could pitch in with some more creativity. Of course, this is not going to happen.

If I could have one type of christian game out........ I think I would have liked a horror game or a strategy game. Something that could inspire instead of just putting 40 polygons togheter and calling it a day. At either rate, I doubt we will be seeing much bright highlights anytime soon. The highest score I have seen gamespot give a christian game is 3,4 and that sums it all up. That game is left behind which I am sure could inspire some debate. Most of the other games are either board games, that aside, we have a half-finished mecha game and the bible adventure series. Oh, and we got a guitar hero version too.

At either rate, don't think the game idea would work. I think the christian market need to at least acknowlegde that there are people over 7 years of age that wants something different than your average boardgame.

[Radical Dreamer]

As an addition to my earlier post, I'd like to point out that Christian entertainment, should it exist, should be focused more on a Christian worldview than Christian imagery. It would make a lot of a difference in the quality of the work, I'd think. Just take a look at Lord of the Rings. Not an explicitly Christian work, but it emanates the Christian worldview rather well, and is considered a classic work of literature in most circles.

[Scarecrow]

I agree... focus on the worldview rather than imagery. And if you're gonna have imagery, at least make it clever and not forced. I think Christians who want to go into making games should just go in to make games and thats it. Don't try to make a Christian game... just a game, and their views will shine through regardless. I don't see Christians trying to become Christian dentists etc so why people feel the need to be a Christian videogame maker is beyond me. Just set out to make a game and see what it turns out in the end. Same goes for writing or anything. Everytime you intend to make your story Christian, you automatically place yourself in a box and it seems to cut off any creative flow cause you're trying so hard to make it Christian rather than just let what comes naturally.

[Sanderson]

I would kinda view this like I view movies and music...I don't need my entertainment to be Christian. I don't watch only Christian TV, movies, etc. Thus the idea of a Christian game just does not interest me very much.

Yeah, I don't pay attention to Christian movies, music and what not either. The problem with Christian media like we have is that Christians only watch it because it's "Christian". People who make this media need to ask themselves "if this wasn't Christian, would I still watch / listen to it?" Let's take "satanic" music for example, like Black Sabbath, I'm not satanic, yet I still listen to it, because it's great music.

This is where so so so so SO many different Christian entertainment groups go wrong. What we need is originality--not Christianized spinoffs of the latest fads.

You're right.

I'd like to point out that Christian entertainment, should it exist, should be focused more on a Christian worldview than Christian imagery.

I think I know what you mean. A Christian movie shouldn't be Christian, but it should be a movie about a Christian. Kind of like the whole thing with Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction. Instead of Pulp Fiction being a Christian or Atheist movie and picking a side, it doesn't pick a side. It sort of leaves it up to the audience if God stopped the bullets or not.

[mouse1992]

I think it should be just Christian allegory instead of a explicit Christian theme in the game.

[mechana2015]

About moral latitude. When you're in Heaven, it should feel like a family friendly Christian game that's rated E (that happens to be well written, good dialog, etc.). When you go to Earth, it changes to being as bad as a M rated game can be.

What you described there wasn't really moral latitude (in my view at least) but more 'tone' of the game. Morality implies a sort of choice, not an environmental status.

The issue I had with moral latitude would be about the idea of giving advise to characters, one of the gameplay elements proposed. You could not really have a deep conversational section of the story if this were put into place,no matter what the writing. In fallout 3 you can respond to prompts many ways during conversations. Some ways are misleading, and you can choose to lie, obscure the truth or persuade people to do things that may be harmful to them, and take actions that are inherently good or evil.

Unless choice is given to fall (a rather poor choice, theologically and possibly gameplay wise) you'd only have choices that were really the right answer for everything. There would be really, no choice. This is fine in a black and white, good vs evil, blast 'em up, shoot 'em up game, but falls rather flat if an interactive element is introduced and then limited to "do the right thing" statements and actions. With the choices available for an angelic being, if characters don't listen to you and do stupid stuff anyways, then you feel useless. If they always listen to you, it feels pointless.

[Raiden no Kishi]

Unfortunately, much of what I have to say is at least somewhat redundant, but maybe I can contribute something new.

I'm going to go ahead and say that "Christian themes" should be minimized as a general rule in Christian-created entertainment (I'm not entirely sold on applying "Christian" as a label to entertainment), since it is incredibly easy to make them overbearing and detrimental to the narrative. In addition, it limits the number of people who will be open to your story. While there is a call for media with explicit Christian themes, they should be handled with care in order that their significance is not cheapened.

@mouse1992: Allegory is generally pretty explicit, actually.

On a second note, ideas should NEVER begin with "Let's make a Christian version of . . ." EVER. All that does is further the disgusting reputation American Christendom has accumulated for displaying a severe lack of creativity and for being content merely to produce lackluster copies of popular mainstream media. This has already contributed heavily to American society's reluctance to take Christians and Christianity seriously. We should be doing everything we can to REVERSE this trend, not to further it.

God can be honored by creating great works of art in all media. However, originality is an essential component of all great art. If we do not embrace originality, we cannot create great art.

.rai//