Religious games and their Impact

[Elin]

So that's what became of the voice actors in Chaos Wars.

[crusher]

Religious games have no impact. /Thread

[Slacker Magician]

hehe, thats great, me too btw, (plz dont call me dude i hate that word for no reason )
anyway, i think u are right about that, cuz at the end we will grow and realize that, those are games only, but some dosent ... DUH !!!

Say what, dude?

And this:

Religious games have no impact. /Thread

[The Almighty MegaMan]

Here's a 'good' example of a video-game used for 'spreading the word of God' - Bibleman:A Fight For Faith



Notice the total crapiness of it.

I believe, and I also believe that's a game that shouldn't even have been thought of, let alone done and published.

Never in a better situation: OH, MY GOD.

[Baumshlager]

I believe, and I also believe that's a game that shouldn't even have been thought of, let alone done and published.

Never in a better situation: OH, MY GOD.

Then you probably won't like the fact that a quick google search revealed that there is a whole franchise of this Bibleman stuff
including movies and action-figures.

[Nemkoon]

Religious games have no impact. /Thread

[Mindofwonders]

Well, I'm a Christian and I played since Atari...

And I never got mislead that I could have magic, level up and fly.
I just play pretend.
As for my beliefs...hmm...its more like when I learn about God more then I see stuff in video games I go "Oh! I get it!"
Going any further...I guess I'm glad God didn't make any monsters or super powers a reality(we're just way too messed up for any 'extra' things lol)

As for why Christian Games or anything produced by Christian Organizations turns out bad (Most of the time)...
Too little money. Money usually goes to poor people and so other stuff takes a back seat...
Unless you find creative people in churches willing to go on less pay than usual (aka my family) then it can be nice.

There are just way too many poor people and it grows...

Edit: Whoops I thought it was July on the last post... hahaha!

[Drageuth]

You thought the last post was in the future...?

Jesus would frown upon your use of time traveling magicks.

[Mindofwonders]

Yeah, I didn't really see the 29th part too,
How careless of me lol!

[Devi]

There hasn't been a single game based on religion that's been very good. Doesn't help that they were either poor pirate style carts or just flat out rip offs of other games, like Legend of Zelda.

Extremely dumb moment: The first time I read this, I thought you meant they were games about pirates and I was like, why the hell would they make religious games about pirates?

[JKDarkside]

Religious games have had a massive impact.

They helped Seanbaby and AVGN have careers.

[Mushi]

I myself happen to be a very big Christian. Zealous even!.. Although video games are basically my life. I, however, tend to stay away from games that have overuse of language and sex. Not because it's frowned upon, it's just that it turns me off when the main character says the F-word every few seconds for no reason. Magic doesn't bother me either. It's not like games are telling you to draw cultist symbols on your floor and summon evil spirits. :3 I really don't get why some Christian families want to ban games that have magic, demons, and other such things. 95% of the time you're a good guy going around destroying demons. But whatever!

The only Christian game I can think of, is a really old PC game called Saints of Virtue. It was rather Doom like, and probably sucked compared to other games, but I had fun with it.. Although Christianity does appear a lot in games, and other media. Although it tends to just be allegories.

One more thing is, video games do teach alot of things. Well.. Perhaps not teach, so much as give you another perspective. Like.. Okami for example. The ending where Issun was saying how so many people expect the gods to help them, but they never bother to even think of what they can do to help out the gods. It just made me think how so many people blame God for all their wrongs, and all their problems, but how many people actually thinks to do something for God? :3 I dunno, random thoughts!

[AltimaZeromus]

Saying video games manipulate minds is ridiculous. A video game cannot hypnotize you to become a crazed murderer or force you to become a certain religion. It's a form of entertainment, nothing else. Also, nobody forces you to buy a certain game. If you don't like religion based games simply avoid them, very easy to do...

[Alan Heer]

I myself happen to be a very big Christian. Zealous even!.. Although video games are basically my life. I, however, tend to stay away from games that have overuse of language and sex. Not because it's frowned upon, it's just that it turns me off when the main character says the F-word every few seconds for no reason. Magic doesn't bother me either. It's not like games are telling you to draw cultist symbols on your floor and summon evil spirits. :3 I really don't get why some Christian families want to ban games that have magic, demons, and other such things. 95% of the time you're a good guy going around destroying demons. But whatever!

The only Christian game I can think of, is a really old PC game called Saints of Virtue. It was rather Doom like, and probably sucked compared to other games, but I had fun with it.. Although Christianity does appear a lot in games, and other media. Although it tends to just be allegories.

One more thing is, video games do teach alot of things. Well.. Perhaps not teach, so much as give you another perspective. Like.. Okami for example. The ending where Issun was saying how so many people expect the gods to help them, but they never bother to even think of what they can do to help out the gods. It just made me think how so many people blame God for all their wrongs, and all their problems, but how many people actually thinks to do something for God? :3 I dunno, random thoughts!

I too consider myself Christian. Most games stated aren't really christian in the way I think about christianity. Videogames are meant for entertainment and if you can spread a positive message while doing it, great. Problem is most put the message before the game, that prevents the message from being taken by anybody. Furthermore most Christian games seem to be more for the parents than the actual kids. I call that pharisaical. Jesus often spoke in parables as they were much more effective of getting the point across than pharisaical preaching ever did. Therefore teaching lessons needs to be done more pragmatically such as telling a down to earth story about forgiveness.

There's a movie out called House. It's a horror movie, but it has a religious message. It has more to do with good vs. evil though and never preaches. It gets it's entire point across through symbolism and the only bible verse is at the beginning about how darkness couldn't comprehend the light. Pharisees blast great witnessing tools yet provide nothing but things which drive away those they witness to.

Just like the movie above, I think games with down to earth messages that convey morality work much better than pure a pure preach fest. I also don't think it should be the game to witness to somebody just like tv shows and music shouldn't be trying to convert someone. They can teach positive lessons and draw curiosity, but it has gone too far if it tries to tell someone to ask for forgiveness. Not that that is inherently bad, just that that takes away what a game is about and imo turns those against Christianity far more often than it turns to.

[Fugsnarf]

I don't see the big deal in religion being a main point of a game. If the kids are somehow indoctrinated, that's their own fault. I watched Captain Planet as a kid all the time, and I turned out the exact opposite of what the creators probably wanted me to become. (I care about there not being trash on my lawn and I don't kill animals for no reason, I'm just a flaming conservative. But that's beside the point.)

Lots of games made in Japan back in the day weren't brought to the USA because they had religious symbols. I believe Tales of Phantasia for the SNES is a good example of that. The port to the GBA they released took out all the pentagrams and whatnot. I call that censorship, and I don't like it. Somehow they thought the Japanese could handle it more than the Americans. If you can't handle the truth, too bad. Luckily, people aren't as easily offended by video games these days. Religion shouldn't stay out of anything. It's a part of life. People write books and make other forms of art with religion in them. There's no reason video games should be different. You, the buyer, makes the decision to buy the game or not.

Also:

Exodus-Journey-to-the-Promised-Land.png

Religion sure made some awesome games. So terrible, it's hilarious.