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PlayStations of the Cross
theodp writes "Is there a place amid the witches, warlocks and diabolical monsters for Christian video games? The NY Times reports companies like Brethren Entertainment ('Entertaining for Eternity'), Digital Praise ('Glorifying God Through Interactive Media'), and N'Lightning believe that there is a market in faith-based video games. If the idea of Christian first-person shooters seems unlikely, so too did the idea of Christian pop music, which accounted for 7% of the total pop-music market and sold 43+ million albums last year."
I am totally non-religious, I could care less about worshiping anything. After signing up with a subscription based music service (Rhapsody), I found it shocking that christian pop/rock/hiphop sounded this good.
In fact, I have turned my view 180 degrees. I used to think religious folks never stop whinning about gangsta/satanic industrial music and video games etc. Now I seriously think they deserve a chance to be marketed.
Fusion of differing systems of belief, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous.
As much as one might long to go ad fontes -- to the wellspring, Christianity as we know it in the West is irretrievably commingled with the violent, demon haunted world view of the northern tribes it filtered through. Certain elements of the ancient first and second century viewpoint can be recaptured, such as proximate parousia (the belief in the imminent Secnd Coming), but somehow they come out with more than a soupçon of Ragnarok in them.
So, we have the violent fantasy of divinely sanctioned holy war, in which, drawing the sword in the name of the Prince of Peace, indulging one's blood lust is not only sinless, but a positive good.
For most, Holy War is of course a metaphor. But where there is a metaphor, be certain that some will take it literally. Games are only games of course, except when they are indoctrination. That's difference between a Christian FPS and, say, GTA, which although it is disgusting in my opinion, is also harmless because it is meant to be, and is understood to be an absurd view of the world.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I am a Christian and I look forward to seeing high-quality Christian-themed games (even those including forms of violence), but to really create a new market that doesn't simply compete for shelf-space with other FPS titles, wouldn't a new gaming paradigm be a better opportunity?
For that matter, there are other game types that could be well suited to spreading the Word of God that don't require killing someone or something such as puzzle, adventure, strategy, simulation, etc.
I am not arguing that a Christian game should be void of violence, but these Christian game developers should not lock themselves into the mode of thinking that the only way to develop a hugely popular title is to compete directly with other hugely popular titles such as other FPS titles with gratuitous violence.
So violence is OK, but looking at things from other perspectives is not? Again I don't think these guys should make this assumption across the board. Let someone play the role of Satan; however, if this is a faith-based/Christian game that is to teach a certain message, then I would assume playing that role would provide the opportunity to teach the lesson of why playing that role is not as desirable as it initially seems.But I know few Christians that ever consider that, since it would be inconvenient.
You know mostly lazy Christians.
Read the Old Testament for the more violent epics. Consider this for a video game:
You are recruited into the king's army. You fight battle after battle, each one more challenging than the last. Eventually, you have more political clout than the king himself because you're such a great war hero. The king then tries to kill you, but his own son betrays him and helps you flee. Actually, I forget what happened between the fleeing and the king's death (feel free to look it up, it should be in the books of Samuel), but eventually you return and are crowned king yourself. You fight more battles, further establish your kingdom. You raise your son to be a great leader after you. Etc. Etc.
If done well, such things could make for pretty good video games. And that's just one character in one religion (or one combined source of a couple religions).
http://publicvoidlife.blogspot.com
Well, there really is no "best way to convert people," but that's another discusstion entirely.
You do have a good point, though. When one thinks "Christian game" one thinks of the life of Christ himself, who was entirely non-violent (I mostly see him as a teacher more than anything else) and inevitably had to meet a bloody demise here on Earth. (Yes, I believe in Christ and I believe in his victory and that it has simply yet to come to fruition here on Earth, but that again is another discussion entirely.)
That's why I've pointed out the Old Testament, particularly the stories of David, in a couple posts in this thread. That's really where the shoot-em-up action can be found.
Sure, there's plenty of post-Christ violence as well, such as with the Romans or later in the dark ages, but that stuff would honestly be more difficult for a game. What would you do in a game against the Roman Empire, slowly wear it down over 300 years or more? As for the dark ages, you risk offending other cultures a bit too much and the game would get red-taped into oblivion. But who would be offended by the more ancient battles? Does anyone really claim to be descended from the Amakalites these days?
http://publicvoidlife.blogspot.com
Wrong religion. You want Jihad.
The first Crusades were actually a Christian response to the sack and desecration of the Hagia Sophia by Muslims and the slaughter of Coptic Christians in the areas around Jerusalem.
You can tell a great deal about the character of a man by observing those who hate him.
The big problem with the Christian subculture is that it is very ivory-toweristic. Meaning that when I was in youth group in high school, we were discouraged from listening to non-christian music, which means "not from a Christian label". Instead of training ourselves to discerns what's right and wrong in the world and actively engage it, we wall ourselves into our own world and make it sinful to engage with anything else.
That's just bad reasoning and you'll find it all over American Christianity, and it's a big reason I don't go to Christian bookstores anymore. I get this feeling that there are some people at the top making big bucks by building this subculture of isolationism and labeling all secular media as evil.
And honestly most Christian music sounds tripe and disingenuine to me. (not all, just most).
...So I've been listening to alot of U2 lately.
Too bad that when the crusaders got to Jerusalem, they too killed the Coptic Christians for not recognizing the Pope.
The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
What the hell? Some guy takes my name and forces me to be CrazyJim2 and then goes and copies all of my great game ideas, and I'm the troll? As if! However, CrazyJim has a point. I used to be top rated in Warcraft 3, but then I found out the IEEE was trying to subvert me through that game. That's why I'm designing a game with Tekken-like third person FPS action that will bring people together. Using my scientific computing skills, I found out that if properly implemented True A.I. will research bees and God and build me a spaceship toget out of this horrible place. Until then, I will keep designing my game. I am currently implementing these cool swords with rockets in the hilt. If Sony really wanted to make money they'd publish my game.
"But theres things mightier than a sword, and there are things mightier than pens. Guns and rap." - CrazyJim1
In fact, it was the Eastern half of the Church! It wasn't some splinter group, the Church had divided itself in half when Rome fell, and they both recognized each other. In fact, 9 years latter, Bishop of Constantinople was placed second to the Pope!
After the Pope learned of the first attack, when the man the Crusaders were paid to put on the throne was put there, the Pope forbid them from attacking again, which they did anyway when that man died.
Not only did they attack it again, but they then burned the city. After they had conquered it.
The Fourth Crusade has to go down in history as the most absurd of the Crusades. Watch the Church...attack itself! Let's convert those Catholics to Catholics!
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
That's one of the more frightening posts I've read on Slashdot. You do realize that the point of Revelation (singular, not plural) was not to give a play-by-play of the End Times, but rather to give Christians at the time hope for the future, as their present wasn't so good? Metaphor plays a huge role in the book, which is natural since it's a transcription of a vision. Visions are rarely taken at face value in the rest of the Bible, so why should this one be different? Or will Christ truly have a sword sticking out of his mouth, too?
>Christ isn't going to pull any punches and will slaughter millions and millions of non-believers.
I would like to know how you can reconcile the idea of an all-good all-loving God who individually created each person on this planet and cared enough to die for them and your statement about his slaughtering of those selfsame people. This inconsistency alone should give you a clue that something about your beliefs doesn't line up.
>Christ tells us to treat each other fairly. Christ taught us to love each other. However he is the final Judge and fair isn't going to enter into the picture.
If I were not a Christian reading this, the statement above would give me even less of a reason to listen to those who are. Why would I want to follow a god who acts as a final judge and throws fairness out the window? You seem to be referring to the God of Chaos or something...
I realize this is supposed to be about games, but statements like those in your post reflect exactly what's wrong with Christians today - Christ taught a doctrine of love and we've replaced it with bigotry, exclusivism, and hate.
I can handle the ridicule and mockery that the Slashdot crowd heaps upon Christians because I know that most of it doesn't apply to me. What I can't handle is other Christians acting out the horrible caricatures that they are continually compared to.
Please revisit the Gospels and concentrate on Jesus' teachings. They're the most central to the faith, and yet they always seem to be overshadowed by a lust for death and self-righteousness.
Your brain is not a computer.