March 19, 2013
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Christian Video Game Developers
I have huge aspirations for starting a Christian-oriented video game company. While the reality of such a dream is a long way off, I want to simultaneously help other Christians who strive to grow in their field within the game development industry. I’m also well aware of how difficult it can be to find people who share similar/the same beliefs as well as like-minded gaming goals. So I created this group on Facebook called Xion Developers. Below is the about description:Xion Developers is a forum for those who aspire to take their Christian faith into the multi-media world of video games.
X.D. will serve as a hub for Christian fellowship while supporting and seeking help from each other in all areas of game development, including such areas as programming, directing, art & animation, music, and more. The idea is to help people connect with others and fill roles we can’t do alone (1 Corinthians 12:12-31).
Even if you aren’t specifically interested in pursuing a video game-related career, because of the unique nature of video games, which covers a wide variety of fields, others are welcome to share their work and offer or request feedback.
While Xion Developers is a Christian-oriented group, non-Christians will not be denied access on the grounds that those here who hold to Christ as their Savior and the Bible as the Word of God are respected. Likewise, Christians are to be an example of Christ’s heart for the lost (remember you were once lost, yourself) and are to show kindness at all times.
X.D. is not to be a forum for debate. (Both Christian and non-Christian individuals are liable for their behavior and attitude and are not except from being removed from the group.)
There is a huge, untapped niche for Christians to take their faith into the world of video games. Anyone who remembers games like Spiritual Warfare (think classic Zelda infused with a whole lotta Matthew 28 and literally throwing fruit to represent the Fruit of the Spirit….it’s cooler than it may sound) and action puzzle games like Exodus and Joshua from waaaay back in the 90s ought to remember the short-lived era of Christian gaming. While there were a few other games that attempted to added to the line-up, we’ve not seen many quality games that could reach the standards of the industry while simultaneously matching the standards of the faith. I believe it’s high-time that Christian gamers step-up to reach a vast community that is dominated by blood, gore, sexualized women, extreme shock-violence, and much, much worse elements.
For example, I’m designed several games that you would never think has anything to do with Christianity in the slightest (one is a stickman game of all things!), and yet there will be themes “hidden” amongst the gameplay and/or stories. So we need not limit ourselves to how we can live for Christ and also create the amazing games we dream of.
So come join me at Xion Developers! Membership is pending – I like to be able mind who is accessing the group…troll management and all that. But all are welcome, otherwise! See you there!
Comments (21)
What a awesome idea!! I hope God makes your dreams a reality! :)
@CuddlyKat - Thank you, Kat!
It’s had a big step in that direction when a friend agreed to join me in development. Still might need another helping hand but at least we’re making progress.
@Rhindon - That’s really exciting! I’ll check out your fb page, and be in prayer for you about this.
@CuddlyKat - Thank you so much! And if you have FB, too, please share the link!
@Rhindon - Yep. I have a fb. Because just one social networking site could never be enough! haha I’ll go there now & put the link on my page.
@CuddlyKat - WOOT! You rock!
And amen to social obsessions! Though, I “have” a Twitter account, and even MySpace, I NEVER use them anymore. Actually, I never used Twitter but for maybe a day.
@Rhindon - Haha same here! I have this, fb, myspace, & even a youtube page. I had twitter for a tiny bit, but never could quite get the hang of it. I suck at tweeting! -Hey i see your fb page is a group. Can i join?
@CuddlyKat - But of course! You’re already added.
@Rhindon - Yay!
Okay, now how do I go about putting a link to my page? Sorry. You’d think a girl with so many social networking sites would know how to do that!
@CuddlyKat - Just copy the link and paste it to a new status update. Pretty much that simple.
@Rhindon - Okay. Got it! :)
Rhindon, there is already a game for the Playstation 2 and Gameboy Advance called curiously, “The Bible Game.” It is a Christian game in fact and I’ve known about it for years. [Link] Your dream has been met.
This is not the first Christian game to come to platforms – there are several others. One of the most powerful RPGs for BBSs years ago was called AD&DC Adventurous Dungeons & Dangerous Castles. You got bonuses for replying to correct answers in scripture. That was in an era of 300 baud, I was invited to a BBS party and seeing my interest in RPGs he handed me the code to it. He was about my age then when I was 20. I may still have the source somewhere, written in GWBasic, very clumsy, but very enjoyable to play, hardcopied to paper somewhere in one of my boxes.
Christian games are alive and well.
Have a good one.
@dw817 - I’m definitely aware of that game, but the games I was referencing date back to well before Play Station or Xbox. These were games on the original NES!
To make them thrive.
While I’m very glad to see that there are still Bible games out there, they don’t exactly live up to modern video game standards. These should be standards for virtually any game, though – secular or Christian. And the niche for Christians may be alive, but they aren’t thriving. That’s MY dream.
@Rhindon – Yep, I have some Christian NES games too if you are interested – can send them to you. I keep track of many vintage games and have copies of them on archive, mostly for reference as I work on my own game projects – I get ideas for my game engines from the strangest places ! *Grin*
The game I was referring to on 300 baud tho was before the NES, back when Atari 400 and Sears Fairchild Channel F ruled the roost. And AD&DC was written by a religious person – an individual, notta company. I was 13 and dating Tyr then. That does go back a-ways, Rhindon.
As you know or should I’m working on my 3rd RPG Maker. I have a completed 2nd one already available to use and download on my site and there’s nothing that doesn’t say you can’t write completely religious games in it, complete with custom image clips and animations. It’s a free engine with instructs on how to use it.
It also does have the scripting capability which I penned, “The Sprite Messenger” to handle multiple choice questions too which might be one of the “religious” pulls to their construction.
Work smarter, not harder …
If this doesn’t sound feasible and you wanna write it all yourself, I suggest you use Blitz-Max as your programming core. It’s Windows 7 compatible and offers very smooth graphics, ability to import JPG, PNG, BMP, and .MOD, .Mp3, .OOG, .WAV as well as a true raster library taking advantage of the latest version of Direct X so you can have true blitter objects and elements as well as raytrace 3D if that’s your interest. It can also work with pretty close to 1.2 gigs of variable space including virtual allocations.
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Hardcore C++ Game Engine Developer here from the Philippines. So you wanna start a Christian Game Project? Well, count me in Brother! Demo game (using Torchlight assets) at: http://www.youtube.com/user/maxcode81/videos. Let’s Rock!
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