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Bible Chronicles: The Call of Abraham is on Kickstarter, aims to 'stir a hunger for God's word'
A Bible-based, third-person RPG has begun to make its way across the sands of Kickstarter; Bible Chronicles: The Call of Abraham from Phoenix Interactive Studios will place players into the shoes sandals of an Elamite outcast who joins Abraham's caravan on his journey from Haran. The creators plan to deliver the game "around Thanksgiving 2014" to PC and Mac platforms, but will also release "Xbox" and "PlayStation" versions if funding hits $250,000. Martin Bertram, co-founder of the studio, is quoted in a press release as saying, "We keep a tight leash on what games our kids can play because a lot of what's out there conflicts with our Christian worldview." Bertram said he wanted to create a game that would "stir a hunger for God's word." Richard Gaeta, Phoenix Interactive's other co-founder, said "we are all aware of the morally questionable messaging most [video games] promote. By financially backing this project, we can change the video game industry together and provide a game that satisfies your desire for entertainment and has a strong spiritual message." The development team has also formed an advisory committee of pastors and ministry leaders to "maintain authenticity" and ensure historical accuracy.
Churches increasingly using custom apps
The iPad and iPhone are wildly popular among consumers and influencing both the business and education markets. This is just the tip of the iceberg for the pair of iOS devices -- their popularity will inevitably extend the iPad's reach beyond these core markets and into smaller ones like religion. According to a Wall Street Journal report, an increasing number of church and synagogue leaders are using custom iOS apps as a part of their outreach. Churches are tapping talented congregation members or companies like ROAR or Subsplash, which has over a thousand church-specific titles, to develop apps that'll connect them closer to their members. The apps are used by parents to track their child's progress in Sunday school, listen to sermons when they are unable to attend a service, or connect with other members in a virtual prayer room. It's also a way for churches to reach out to teenagers, a group that is likely to drop their faith when they leave home. It's not just Protestant and evangelical churches that are embracing the iPad and iPhone. Rabbis, like Dan Cohen of the Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in N.J., are also using the iPad in their services and developing apps for their synagogue members. Rabbi Cohen is apporaching the idea cautiously, though. Like many religious leaders, he wants to use technology to help people embrace their faith, not turn them away from it.
Irreverent confession: An interview with Faxion Online's UTV True Games
You're dead -- so sorry, chap! Fortunately, that doesn't mean your gaming adventures are over. On the contrary, according to Faxion Online, they've just begun. In the world of Limbo, players are pulled between the forces of heaven and hell as they fight each other through the physical manifestations of the seven deadly sins. Curious about Faxion Online, we sat down with UTV True Games to discuss the deep issues of beta, religion and epeens. Massively: How's the progress toward closed beta coming along? UTV True Games: It's coming along at an insane pace. The team is focused and beating away at the long list of tasks that loom before us all prior to launching beta as well as the game. We are working on zones, abilities and items, along with wrapping up features and tightening the nuts and bolts of various aspects of the game. The team was able to catch their breath over the holidays a bit, so it's going to allow us to have a good strong kick to the finish.
15 Minutes of Fame: When WoW meets real-world religion
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. Gaming plus religion or politics is a potentially volatile conversational destination -- and this week, we're going there. Meet the Rev. Jonathan Fisk, pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield, Pa. Over the years, 15 Minutes of Fame has been through more than a couple of aborted conversations with pastors about the intersection of real-world religion and the World of Warcraft. Whether the questions get a little too pointed, or the potential for reaction from the pews gets a little too hot ... Whatever the case, the interviews don't make it through to print. Until now. Hats off to Fisk for what's turned out to be a tour de force of an interview examining one man and one denomination's insights on the convergence of gaming, pop culture and WoW. One note before we get started: While we welcome your comments on this obviously sensitive subject, please remember that personal attacks and name-calling, anti-religion tirades and other trollish asshattery in the comments will not be tolerated. Keep your comments constructive and pertinent to the interview, please, or we'll be obliged to remove them.
Questions about God? There's an app for (and against) that
Many iPhone users have become accustomed to using their devices to settle arguments. Arguing over the best route to take for your weekend getaway? Pull out the Maps app or one of the many iPhone GPS apps. Found someone who doesn't believe that Inigo Montoya and Jason Gideon are played by the same actor? Fire up the IMDB app. Disagreement over when Star Wars was released (or re-released)? Head over to Wikipedia.com or one of the many Wikipedia apps. It's one thing to argue over facts and dates, but can iPhone apps help settle arguments about the existence of God? A recent NY Times article showed that some folks on both sides of the question are making an effort. On the side of religious skeptics are applications like Bible Thumper, the Atheist Pocket Debater, and mAtheist. For those who are certain they can convert others to faith, if only they find the right argument, there are apps such as Doubt Busters, God Tools, or Jesus Evangelism Tool by Mobile Jesus. (As an aside, I think developers of these sorts of apps may want to avoid the word "tool" in the title, or they're just asking for people to twist the meaning.) Read on for more...
Bible Adventures coming to Wii, Xbox 360 from Left Behind
Bible Adventures, the first console title from Left Behind Games, will "educate young children by teaching them academic lessons vital to early childhood development through Bible stories." Based on the Charlie Church Mouse series, the game will not only span both the Old and New Testament, but should also teach mathematics, spelling and "reasoning skills." Left Behind CEO Troy Lyndon noted (via GamePolitics) that expanding their offerings to home consoles should expand not only their reach, but their wallets. "We expect our financial projections to grow exponentially as we transition from a PC game developer to a Wii & Xbox developer." But what about PS3 owners? Well ... they can go to hell.
Christian bloggers protesting fake EA protest
After staging a protest/publicity stunt outside of E3 last week against upcoming EA game Dante's Inferno, the company is catching heat from Christian bloggers. InsideCatholic says on its website, "It's been clear for a while now that the entertainment industry views Christians on the whole as priggish, thin-skinned fun-killers," further wondering if "anyone at EA even read the Inferno." Catholic Video Gamers fires an even more direct shot at EA's Dante's Inferno, saying, "Instead of engaging in a shamelessly anti-Christian stunt to promote your poor excuse of a product, maybe you ought to work on making this game, you know, something better than a blatant God of War rip-off." Wait, isn't Christianity all about forgiving? Oh well! Hopefully EA will think twice next time it decides to fake a protest and instead choose protesters without any major religious affiliation. [Via GameSpot]
