Game Design Music and Art

Why should anyone want to play your game? – bwoogie

bwoogie

Member

Posts: 380
From: kansas usa
Registered: 03-12-2005
- this kinda goes along with the christian game vs. clean game topic but I thought that it's far off enough to have it's own thread..

When you make a christian game, who are your audiences? What groups of people are you trying to reach when you sit down and start coding up a christian game? Are you making a form of entertainment for christians? A game for people who believe there is a God but aren't followers? Or are you trying to reach people who simply do not believe in God whatsoever?

Why should anyone (non-Christians) want to play your games? what do you do/have that they should want to download/buy your games? I've seen so many people on forums, whenever a religious thread would pop up they would flame without one half-ounce thought of intelligence as to why they dont believe in God. So why would a person with that type of mindset download your game purposely knowing it is a christian game (maybe other than to bash it)

Anyways, I can go on, but it's getting late... Basically, my question is
what can/should/do we do to make our games compelling enough that someone in the world would play them?

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~~~boogie woogie woogie~~~

Mack

Administrator

Posts: 2779
From:
Registered: 01-20-2001
I'm going to bump this up because I think it's a very important and valid question that everyone should constantly remind themselves while developing any software product.

quote:
what can/should/do we do to make our games compelling enough that someone in the world would play them?

I think the main thing is making them fun, they are 'games' after all. Couple that with some non-aggressive Christian teaching, snazzy graphics/sound and easy accessibility and most people will be more open to play it.

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[This message has been edited by Mack (edited August 27, 2007).]

HanClinto

Administrator

Posts: 1828
From: Indiana
Registered: 10-11-2004
Whoa, I can't believe I missed this thread earlier. Thanks for bumping it, Mack.

Great question and comments, Bwoogie. I would go along with what Mack said, in that quality is what draws people to anything.

Much classical music was written by Christians, as "Christian" music (such as Handel's Messiah), but it still enjoys wide popularity, even among secular venues (most classical music radio stations that I know of are NPR-affiliated). People listen to it because it is excellent, not because of its "Christian" label.

If games are art, then perhaps we should be making our art "as unto the Lord" -- with an attention to detail and quality and a desire to do our best, to please Him.

--clint

Matt Langley
Member

Posts: 247
From: Eugene, OR, USA
Registered: 08-31-2006
quote:
Originally posted by Mack:
I'm going to bump this up because I think it's a very important and valid question that everyone should constantly remind themselves while developing any software product.

I think the main thing is making them fun, they are 'games' after all. Couple that with some non-aggressive Christian teaching, snazzy graphics/sound and easy accessibility and most people will be more open to play it.


Mack makes a great point. To me (and GG's view typically is the same) a game's most important aspect is fun. In fact our tagline for TGB is "Make it fast, Make it fun". It's important for a game to have a message and to impart something to the user in my opinion, though if the game isn't fun they probably will never play it long enough to receive that message.

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Matthew Langley
Lead Documentation Engineer
GarageGames

Jari

Member

Posts: 1471
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: 03-11-2005
quote:
Originally posted by bwoogie:
What groups of people are you trying to reach when you sit down and start coding up a christian game? Are you making a form of entertainment for christians?

Some one who doesnt want to play secular games because of their content but wants to play something God in mind.

And unbeliever who is tired of playing games so that he is willing to try anything. Or some one who just doesnt care that it's christian game, he either doesnt know or doesnt mind.

There's other types of unbelievers but those are first in mind.

quote:
Originally posted by bwoogie:
I've seen so many people on forums, whenever a religious thread would pop up they would flame without one half-ounce thought of intelligence as to why they dont believe in God.

Those are the kind of people who like to express their point of view. Fortunately not every one does that.


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Psa 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

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[This message has been edited by jari (edited August 27, 2007).]

samw3

Member

Posts: 542
From: Toccoa, GA, USA
Registered: 08-15-2006
You know, different people look for different things in a game: strategy, story, action, building, puzzle solving, pattern matching, etc. That's why there are so many genres.

I think if someone creates a game in a particular genre that both meets the player's expectations and then takes it one step further will have a following and would probably sell if marketed properly regardless if it had Christian tones or not.

But, its hard to say one thing that would do it since it depends upon the genre of the game and the expectations of the player.

my two cents,

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Sam Washburn

Check out my CCN SpeedGame 2 Blog