leftbehind
Latest
Necessary violence: The creators of The Last of Us defend its reliance on combat
PlayStation 3 exclusive The Last of Us was the most successful game of 2013. That's not just sales (it sold extremely well, to the tune of 3.4 million in its first three weeks), but also critical reception (an average Metacritic score of 95/100 and it swept game of the year awards across the game industry in 2013). Last week, The Last of Us earned development studio Naughty Dog a whopping 10 wins at the annual DICE awards show in Las Vegas -- considered the Oscars of gaming. With Naughty Dog's past creating hit franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter and Uncharted, The Last of Us leads Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley aren't strangers to success (these guys led development of Uncharted 2, another extremely successful game). Their latest work is a tremendous departure.
Religious group sending Left Behind game to troops in Iraq
The Nation has a report this week on Operation Stand Up, an evangelical military entertainment group that is planning to send care packages including Left Behind: Eternal Forces to American troops fighting in Iraq.The game, which raised the ire of many activist groups for its promotion of killing and converting non-Christians, will come packaged in "freedom packets" that also include a pocket-size Gideon bible, a Christian extreme sports DVD and the proselytizing book More Than a Carpenter. The OSU web site describes the game's inclusion as "just one more way OSU Tour can be a conduit in changing a soul forever."While the group is affiliated with the Pentagon's America Supports You program, it's unclear just how much official support they have has from the military. The group does have the backing of "celebrities" including Stephen Baldwin, Evander Holyfield and, according to sources close to the group, God.
Left Behind VP resigns, CEO demands remaining board follow
Judgment day has come for the three remaining members of Left Behind Games' board of directors. After accepting the resignation of senior vice president Jeffrey Frichner, CEO Troy Lyndon has called for the souls resignations of the rest of his board. Two months ago, LB Games posted a $4.1 million loss for its fiscal quarter; though at the time Lyndon claimed sales of the company's apocalyptic RTS Left Behind and an imminent sequel ('cause the world's end can always be spun into an unending cash cow) would drive the company into prosperity. It's unclear if Lyndon's new demands are the result of continued financial woes or just the will of the divine. With conversion no longer an option, will the board simply kneel before Lyndon and accept damnation?Gamasutra reports that Michael Knox, who worked with Lyndon at developer Park Place Productions, and Leslie Bocskor, of advisory firm Lennox Hill Parnters, have agreed to serve as interim board co-chairs while the current board members are exercised. "I am excited about the company's future as it extends its presence as a leader in the family values," said Bocskor.
Left Behind Games leaves behind money
According to Next-Gen, Left Behind Games posted a $4.1 million loss for its fiscal third quarter. This was on top of a last year's loss of $934,000. It really doesn't mean much given their first product, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, just debuted at the end of the last calendar year.Troy Lyndon, CEO of Left Behind Games, says the company will be profitable within the year, "We are expanding our sales channels beyond major retailers to include more Christian bookstores, ministry sponsorships, church outreaches, Christian conferences, LAN center licensing, viral online and Internet sales, music concerts and trial versions. We look forward to a very prosperous year." Left Behind Games is already fixing previous mistakes by using Big Huge Games' (Rise of Nations) RTS engine and some of their staff to make a better sequel -- it's not like the next game could be worse.
The Political Game: The 2006 Political Mix
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:It's game over for 2006, the craziest year ever in video game politics. And that's saying something, given the Hot Coffee hoopla that plagued 2005. Here are some of the major political stories that rocked the video game world in 2006: Jack Thompson's failed Louisiana video game law: the controversial Miami activist attorney convinced the Louisiana legislature that he had crafted a piece of video game legislation that would withstand the inevitable industry legal challenge. The reality was, he hadn't – not even close - and things got ugly between Thompson and the Louisiana attorney general's office by the time Federal Judge James Brady tossed Thompson's bill onto the scrap heap of history.Minnesota's nutty "fine the buyer" law: The Minnesota legislature must have been suffering from a collective case of cabin fever when it passed State Senator Sandy Pappas' bill, which called for $25 fines against underage buyers of violent games. That would be the same Sandy Pappas who told GameSpot that, "Legislators don't worry too much about what's constitutional." Obviously, since the bill survived for about three seconds once Federal Judge James Rosenbaum got his hands on it. By the way, His Honor tried out Jade Empire on his clerk's Xbox while considering the case. Pretty cool for a guy who wears a long black dress to work.
Islamic group wants Left Behind off Wal-Mart shelves [update 1]
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking Wal-Mart to take the controversial religious game Left Behind off the shelves and out of its stores. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, in a letter to Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott Jr., asserted that the game promotes "religious intolerance ... i[its] enemy team includes people with Muslim-sounding names." Cited in the letter is a quote from Left Behind Games President Jeffrey Frichner, who told the San Francisco Chronicle last week that "'Muslims are not believers in Jesus Christ' -- and thus can't be on Christ's side in the game ... That is so obvious." Awad reminds in his letter that "Muslims do in fact revere Jesus as one of God's prophets."Left Behind: Eternal Forces has come under fire from a large assortment of groups from all parts of society, including the Christian Alliance for Progress and the Campaign to Defend the Constitution (not to mention the Alliance for Gamers Against Rotten Gameplay, AGARD). In fact, nothing in recent memory has brought so many disparate groups together like this game. In an odd sense, might this controversy spawn unity in some fashion?[Via Game Politics][Update 1: Judging by the first 20 comments we've received on this post, there's a good chance that half of the comments left will be off topic, in the sense that their sole purpose is express intolerance towards a religion or defending a religion against someone else's intolerance. In lieu of staying up late and constantly monitoring the post, we're going to keep comments closed for now and get some sleep.]
Political groups angry over Left Behind game
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Left Behind: Eternal Forces is beginning to raise the ire of some religious and political groups a month after its release. The Campaign to Defend the Constitution and the Christian Alliance for Progress are working to get the critically panned game pulled from Wal-mart shelves because of its "message of religious intolerance." Apparently some people think that gunning down the forces of the Antichrist, which include Muslims, rock stars and a sexy Secretary-General of the U.N., is un-Christian. Who knew?To be fair, the game does let you convert non-believers instead of killing them, but it's hard to argue with the campaign's message that the game promotes "violent, divisive and hateful scenarios." Still, it seems a bit opportunistic to single out Wal-mart, which only sells the game in 200 of its 3,800 locations, while other equally culpable retailers get a free pass. Is an intolerant message enough to justify restricting a game's sale?
Left Behind Games ordained with Big Huge Games engine
Gamespot has an interview with Left Behind Games' CEO Troy Lyndon -- whose game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, they gave a 3.4 to -- about the upcoming sequel to Left Behind and expansion pack for the original game. For the sequel Lyndon says they've acquired the rights to use Big Huge Games' RTS engine. Big Huge Games is the company behind the Rise of Nations titles. In the interview Lyndon discusses the criticism the Christian based game has received from religious leaders; however, this shift to a completely different game engine is quite dramatic for the company. Left Behind: Eternal Forces cost $27 million and the engine was built from scratch, but he says, "We have specially built our game in such a manner that the technology behind it is separate from what makes it work as an RTS. Accordingly, we can change from one engine to another without a complete rewrite of the code." With the licensing deal Left Behind's sequel will have some technical staff from Big Huge Games to assist in development. Let us pray that it's a better game. The sequel will be out in 2008.
Video game asks for child sponsorship
Tugging at the heart strings of gamers, Left Behind: Eternal Forces comes with the note above. The CEO of Left Behind Games Inc. asks gamers to please sponsor an Eastern European child for $27 a month. The game was developed in Eastern Europe using "talented artists and engineers" and Left Behind games wants to give back to the community -- through your money. In case you're wondering, Eastern European Outreach is a "missionary organization committed to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of Eastern Europe."Left Behind: Eternal Forces, based on the novel Left Behind about events following Christianity's concept of the Rapture, comes with a lot of things we hardly receive when purchasing a game. It comes with the sponsorship note above, along with the novel Left Behind and a little bright orange sheet that explains how to install the game or call for assistance. The orange sheet was clearly designed for someone who has never installed a game before.We'll be playing Left Behind: Eternal Forces this weekend to give some impressions on this controversial game. Many games have had concepts like religion and salvation built into them, but this time it's actual Christianity and not some made up deity. Well, not a made up deity to a significant portion of the population anyway.See also: The Daily Show gets Left Behind Jesus the hardcore gamer
The Daily Show gets Left Behind
Take one part The Daily Show, stir in one part violent religous video game Left Behind: Eternal Forces, and roll it all up with a nice portion of This Week in God's Rob Corddry. The results: a delicous, snarky treat comparing "murder-simulator" Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with, uh, saving-simulator (?) Left Behind. "Damn! He just saved that guy right between the eyes!"See also:Congressman: Daily Show misrepresented meJon Stewart blasts Congress' ignorance towards video gamesStephen Colbert frags Steven Johnson
Save souls with Left Behind: The Game
There are two mainstream news reports about the upcoming video game based on Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins's end-of-days blockbuster book series, Left Behind. The New York Times covers the possibilities of religious video games, and the developers intent on making them, paying particular attention to Left Behind Games, the developers creating Left Behind: Eternal Forces. MSNBC has a much shorter piece specifically about Left Behind: EF, which they call a "high-caliber shoot-'em-up videogame." They cite "the top-shelf design" and "a level of violence reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto" as key contributors to the hope that Left Behind: EF will avoid the pitfalls of other religious video games. CEO Troy Lyndon said, "We've thought through how the Christian right and the liberal left will slam us... But megachurches are very likely to embrace this game." Will a violent, outwardly religious video game find a receptive audience amongst gamers?Read - MSNBC: Gamers' Good NewsRead - NYTimes: Praise the Lord and Pass the Joystick
