http://www.christiangaming.com/ Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:39:01 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 /component/content/64?task=view#josc6 It frustrates me every time I go down the electronics isle in wal-mart. nearly every title depicts a six-pack-bazooka-wielding-army-man with a girl in a revealing outfit and bodies littered everywhere; or some similar dynamic. Its hard to find titles with at least acceptable content; forget Christian. But do Christians over learn this lesson? Left Behind: Eternal Forces was a fail in both Christian and secular circles. In the secular world- partly because it dawned a "Christian" face, and partly because it was a terribly buggy title. In Christian circles, because it reflected the principles of radical islam: Join our side, or die. And did I mention it was terribly buggy? I think it did more damage to Christian gaming than it did advance it! But, I also think that Christians avoiding combat entirely is a mistake. The Bible has a lot of blood in it. The Bible has 9 explicit references to the cutting off of a head, 5 explicit references to the cutting off of limbs and various human body parts, 3 references to the poking out of eyes, 270 references to the word [i]kill[/i], 12 references to the killing of [b]children[/b]... the list goes on. so where exactly [i]is[/i] the line? who do we decide? the bible gives it to us in black and white in Phillipians 4:8: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Noble. Pure. Right. Christian games should represent these principles. Honor. Chivalry. Love. Prayer. Commitment. Thats what I should get out of a Christian game. these are the character values missing from todays culture [b]because[/b] of what the mainstream media outlets have done to gaming. Some might say: But we\'ve already seen that this stuff doesn\'t sell! Of course it doesn\'t. Because there is little to no innovation in the industry. To quote NBC\'s Jennifer London: [quote](The Christian gaming industry needs to) convince consumers Christian games are more than a Sunday school lesson in the living room.[/quote] David\'s story in 2 Samuel is perfect for a video game. But it instantly turns the typical game player off because they are now expecting a bad game with a pushy message. So why not rethink the setting? What about putting the story in a Sci-Fi setting? Goliath doesn\'t have to be a human. Why not make the philistines another species? And on the loading screen for each chapter, put the passage of the Bible this chapter is based on! and why not put a pamphlet on the inside fold of the game? And does david have to [b]kill[/b] anyone? why not drop the blood in the combat and make him just knock them out like in Batman: Arkham Asylum. these kind of ideas are what can finally bring Christ back into the media. But the key is to keep the heart of the teams behind them focused on the face of Jesus Christ. :) MirariSoftware Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:39:05 +0100