it is less of a turn-off for people. many associate Christiaity with a boring, lifeles experience.

we provide morals in a game setting, and we're on the right track. Lion With and the Wardrobe didn't directly adress Christianity.

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It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Abe Lincoln

I think that we as Christians should be able to share our joy and the thrill of serving the risen Christ, and express our awe at who He is through the games we make. I think that this is more possible through Christian games than moral games. Just cause it's a Christian game it doesn't mean that it has to be boring or a Bible flash quiz, or even a Bible story. The Christian life is anything but lifeless and boring, so I think that this should spill over into our\His games. It seems like this would be the case for a moral teaching game though. Because instead of the main point being something along the lines of "God is awesome! Get to know Him!". It might be something like, "Be good. Do good."

But I see what you're saying. A game that preaches Christianity, but not beating people over the heads with it. Kinda like the Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe. Actually many of C.S. Lewis's books are like that. There are so many directions that we can go with it. I'll go with both types... With all that said, I don't think that moral games are a better approach, just a different one. It depends on who it is developing the game really. If you feel that God has it for you to go with the moral approach then by all means go for it!

I don't agree with the brainwash thing Cheese, we aren't out to hide our message, or trick people with subliminal messages.

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"Before Abraham was... I Am." - Jesus Christ

3rd Day Studios

[This message has been edited by brandon (edited January 21, 2005).]

I've gone on record before as stating that games shouldn't be preachy.. by which I mean they shouldn't beat the player over the head with christianity. People play games to have fun. People, in general, don't like being preached at, or being fed what they perceive to be propaganda. Thus games that create that feeling in the player probably won't be terribly successful in reaching people, or in getting alot of players.

I am, however, leary of making just "moral" games too. People often confuse 'good morality' with christianity. They two are not the same thing. Budhism has good morality, stoicism has good morality, platonic philosophy has good morality. Good morality is a good thing (indeed a necessary thing) and its an important part of christianity, but its not the best thing and it won't save people.

So where does that leave us? Christianity is, as the name implies, all about Christ. Jesus is the center. So the question then becomes, how do we portray Jesus and the message of the gospel without being preachy and so on.
I believe the answer is this. First we must recognize that Jesus (and thus the gospel) is more than just a man, and a series of events from his life. Jesus is the Truth incarnate, and the when we know the truth the truth will set us free.. so a big part of the gospel is the Truth, and finding freedom through the truth. Jesus is also the pinnacle of love, greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friends, God is love, so the gospel is about true love and self sacrifice. Jesus is the prince of peace, and he calls us to be peace makers so the gospel is quest for true peace, Jesus said that he also came to bring a sword and when he comes again he comes as the true and rightful conquering king.. so the gospel is a story of war against evil and the return of a just and true ruler. Jesus, although by right King of the earth, humbled himself, became a servant and subjected himself even to discipline unto death upon the cross. Thus the gospel is about leading humble and disciplined life. Jesus said seek and you shall find, and he compared the kingdom of heaven to a lost treasure of incomparable worth, so the gospel is about a quest to find what our race once lost, and that which our soul hungers for above all else. Perhaps most of all Jesus is our redeemer, ransoming us from a condition we brought upon ourselves and returning us to a destiny that we had lost. Thus the gospel is about redemption, the unworthy finding hope and finaly redemption and restoration.

All of those things are principles which are at the heart of the gospel, and not by coincidence they are also the things which all true men desire, which strike a cord of truth and longing within the human soul. If you can tell a story or make a game which expresses these things you will be able to speak to people's hearts and people will likely enjoy your game.
The short list of ideas central to the gospel, in my opinion, would be first that we have fallen, we have become, by our own actions, something less than what we were meant to be. That we must be redeemed, something which can only be accomplished through sacrifice, that the truth is of vital importance and that only through truth can we be free.
I think you will find there are many stories and settings in which you can express all of these ideas.

The key, in my opinion, to not being preachy and annoying with the message you wish to convey is to have it be a natural part of the story. In my experience most times when stories seem preachy and propagandish it is because the message seems artificial in the story, or the whole thing seems contrived simply to convey the message. The story needs to be interesting and engaging simply on its own merits as a story, and then the message needs to be a natural part of the story.

The best example of this that comes to mind right away is Starwars... through out the starwars movies the doctrines of budhism and a mixture of eastern philosophies are literaly spoon fed to the audience. They are hardly even dressed up or disguised but yet people usualy don't notice that they're being taught a doctrine, and infact those places in the films where such things are taught are some of the most popular parts of the films.
The reason for this, I think, is two fold. First most people crave certain principles, truth, peace, love, and most of all people desire to find something greater than themselves to serve (which could also be called purpose). As a result they are primed for any message that gives them something to satisfy those cravings. Secondly, in the Starwars movies, the principles presented are a central natural part of the story, their not forced and artificial.. yet the story itself is interesting, engaging, it captures the imagination.. and doesn't seem to exist soley for the purpose of preaching at the audience.

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-- All that is gold does not glitter,
Deep roots are not touched by the frost,
The old that is strong does not wither,
Not all those who wander are lost.

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I dont like siggys. They are to hard to think up

[This message has been edited by goop2 (edited January 22, 2005).]

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Jeff McArthur. Creating Nak'Urij
BlueGill Studios Games