What Jesus would play on PSP?
Check out this article from WIRED about the new wave of religious video games that will be hitting the shelves by this Christmas. Most are for the PC but some are aiming to be console titles before long. Here is a description of one of the games:
In the adventure game Timothy and Titus, from Australian startup White Knight Games, players assume the roles of the two disciples of St. Paul who spread the gospel throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Instead of the health and weapons points used in other role-playing games, players collect love, hope and faith points to power their missions. When they meet foes, instead of fragging them as in Halo 2, the disciples earn their halos by praying for them or using the "finger of God" to drive out evil spirits. According to White Knight managing director Laurence Escalante, who came up with the game's premise, future versions may allow players to use force against adversaries. "I would like to see people be able to decide their actions, even if they are wrong," Escalante said, adding that using violence would not help players win the game.
Hey I’m all for it. Although this isn’t my type of game, anyone can publish any game they want over here in the US of A.
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Religous based games have rarely done good in any of the markets they have been released for. Especially in the console market where such games that have been made that many people cannot believe they actually exist. On the Sega Genesis, there were two religious games released that I did not know existed until I purchased a copy of the Video Game Bible and found them listed within. I blieve the NES may of also had one or two religous games released as well, but I have to check that out myself. Even games that were released to the PC in the 80’s did not sell well at all in religious book stores, since many who did frequent the book store felt that it would not be worthwhile since there was a slight stigmatism about video games in general in the mid and early 80’s where I lived. The owner of the store said that the games sold so slowly that he stopped bringing them in and was trying to clear them out.
Then there is the flip side of the coin where people who have developed games that have religous content within them, but other find it offensive because it questions, criticizes, or shows it in a dark context. But do not people who feel that religious games based on biblical events find them offensive as well becuase that is not their beliefs or something they want forced on their children because of their beliefs and deem it offensive in turn, but are not give the same rights to have the material place where not everyone has access to it…but does because the game has a rating of g or everyone by the ESRB, but no mention of their being religous content some may find offensive even though it has a kiddies rating.
Religous game are something of a tough sell and a touchy subject. Diablo 2 had a lot of pentagrams in it in Diablos palace, and people claimed Satanism and found it offensive on a religous level. Many who played and Blizzard as well knew that was not the case and that it was used for effect since the Diablo creature was a demon and pentagrams are normally associated with demons in modern society. It was not promoting Satanism. If this kind of push exists by religious groups and right-wingers then I suggest that games based directly on religous texts and so forth be sold online direct from the developer since it promotes a one-side view of religion.
I will finish with saying one last thing…would religous groups and right-wingers be up in arms over a video game based on one of the more violent aspects of the bible? The killing of Abel by Kain, anything from revelations, or the slaying of Goliath by David…all of which contain violence as the final soultion or outcome. Would they state that is offensive and try and prevent the game from being sold?