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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
Splitting this out in a separate topic: I would like to get one of each Christian game that has been published in a display at the upcoming Christian Game Developers Conference. I need your help in identifying them all. And your help in bringing any that I don't have to the conference (or shipping it on loan if you can't come). Okay, here is what I have: Catechumen - N'Lightning Nacah - Bible Games Company & VirtueGames (http://www.virtuegames.com/index.html) Heaven Quest - Top Meadows Gil's Bible Jumble - Top Meadows Saints of Virtue - Shine Studios War in Heaven - Eternal Warriors/ValuSoft Adventures in Odyssey "interactive" game - Focus on Family Super Noah 3-D (PC version, anyone have SNES version?) - Wisdom Tree Non-game: The visit - American Bible Society A Father and Two Sons - American Bible Society
Other Wisdom Tree games (http://www.christianlink.com/media/wisdom/) Higher Ground by Gospelsoft (http://www.gospelsoft.com/christn/higherg/index.htm) A few downloadable games by Gibson Productions (http://members.tripod.com/~timshen/index.html) Any others not mentioned??
-Tim ------------------ |
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Gift Member Posts: 85 From: Palatine, IL, USA Registered: 02-11-2001 |
how bout, Rock Solid Software's - Adventures with Chickens BTW, when is the conference, and when is the Love in Christ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
quote: Thanks Gift, I forgot about the Chickens! I remembered a backpack program that I found recently on-line ... didn't buy it. But I'll have to dig up the info for it. Okay, conference will be July 26/27th (unless I don't get confirmation of the place, which is Cascade college in Portland, Oregon). Don't know if we should have a registration period, just tell me if you are coming & then show up. It is hard to gauge, we could have as few as 6 there or as many as 30! We'll see what God blesses. I am still working on the site and Richard will be adding a way to submit your Email address to be placed on a update distribution list. URL is below (warning, we may be switching DNS owners, so site may be down - check back in 3 days). And at the bottom is the other thread about topics, still in rough format - we'll tidy it up over the next week or two. http://www.graceworksinteractive.com/cgdc God be with you. ------------------ [This message has been edited by graceworks (edited April 27, 2002).] |
D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
Ok listen up guy's an important announcement!! :: If you would like to sign up for the Christian Game Developers Conference Newsletter/Mailling List, the please register on our site. The site should be completed soon, with all the server transferring etc. Please sign up for the mailling list so that we can keep you up to date on what's happening. Thank you!! -D-SIPL |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
quote: Thanks Rich (err D-SIPL) for all of your hard work. I've moved the Email Submit form to the main page (go to the bottom): Please, everyone that is even remotely interested, sign-up so you can be kept up to date. Be sure to invite your friends. Perhaps another thread ... any ideas on a "theme" of the conference. Josh likes "Got Game?". I thought of "God games". Please suggest several and maybe we can talk Krylar into another poll! -Tim ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
Anybody find any other Christian Games? Here are a couple I found on-line: -Tim [This message has been edited by graceworks (edited May 03, 2002).] |
Mack Administrator Posts: 2779 From: Registered: 01-20-2001 |
If I'm able to come to the CGDC I'll make sure to bring the PC version of Spiritual Warfare. |
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jmkc80 Member Posts: 11 From: Knoxville, TN, USA Registered: 05-02-2002 |
There is also The Key by Mug Software, a new Myst-like sci-fi 3d graphical adventure game that is strongly Christian. It's not for sale in stores (although Activision has accepted the game and is currently in the process of putting it on a CD) but you can download it for free here: http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?5500000036237 The website for Mug Software is: http://www.geocities.com/jmkc80/main.htm --Jon Cooper |
Imsold4christ Member Posts: 305 From: Gresham, OR, US Registered: 01-20-2001 |
I have been working on a small Java program called "The Mighty Worshiper." I suppose it would fall under the category of "Low quality Christian entertainment." Basically all it is a little stickman that you can control with the keyboard. The stickman is standing on a stage in the sanctuary of the youth center at my church. You can play midis of worship songs along with it. This way you can make the stickman dance and jump around to the music. I made the program for fun. I don't know how many other people will like it. Would it count as a game worthy of mentioning? It's free. The program is not finished yet. So far all I have is an applet of it. I still want to add features to it. Also I am currently working on an installable version of it that you can run from the Start menu. You can try out the applet at http://www.gresham.k12.or.us/students/choward/Gen%203rd%20Day%20Website/webpages/StickManWorshiper/DancingMan.html Comments, criticism, and suggestions would be appreciated. Please do not share this url with anyone else because the program is still in progress. †Caleb† ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
quote: Jon, do you know much about the Activision deal? There was no mention of it on their web site. Are they packaging the game or just adding it as "extras" on a CD? Thanks, ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
quote: Caleb, the java part would not load for me. I'll try on a different machine (but at least I got to use the crying icon for the first time). Did you change your mind about the conference? You are probably the closest to it (it is on Burnside). Keep up your efforts! ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
I re-found Scripture Solitaire http://www.inspiredidea.com/biblegames.htm Plus the designer/programmer said he will try to make the conference. Even though we don't charge for registration, maybe we should have a list of those who will be coming. Send me a short note at tim@graceworksinteractive.com saying if you are coming (or if you are planning on it but not 100%, just say which). This will be helpful in planning food/snack amounts, etc. Tim ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
Has anyone played: Bible Touchdown on CD-ROM Bible Touchdown™ is a Bible knowledge game played in football game format. Each team must call plays and develop strategies for scoring points. After selecting a play, the team will be quizzed on a certain piece of Bible knowledge. Ages 7 and up A similar one (I think) is Bible Genius-CD Rom. One of our discussions at the conference might need to be what to consider games! Tim ------------------ |
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Imsold4christ Member Posts: 305 From: Gresham, OR, US Registered: 01-20-2001 |
No, I did not change my mind. I'm not going, for sure. I wouldn't have any purpose there. I guess I shouldn't have said anything. I just wanted to tell people about my program I guess. †Caleb† ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
quote: Hey, it loaded for me on my home computer! Neat basic animation ... he he, I would probably have a hard time getting that to work in Visual Basic! No worries about the conference. Just want to make sure you and anyone reading this is invited. If anyone is interested, we would love to have you. Since it will mostly be discussion based, the richness will come from the attendee's insights, knowledge, and experience. And we pray that God will pepper all with wisdom. -Tim ------------------ |
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jmkc80 Member Posts: 11 From: Knoxville, TN, USA Registered: 05-02-2002 |
Sorry it's taken me so long to check the boards again! Life has been busy lately. The Key is freeware, and I'm sure that Activision would not want to try to sell a free game! What they're doing is putting it on one of those CDs that have all sorts of different games on them (I'm sure you've seen them). I think it's good that a solid Christian game has made it to one of those collections. The CD isn't out yet; it's something they are putting together now. I don't know when it will be out but I'm guessing it will be in a couple months. I apologize for the confusion! --Jon Cooper |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
quote: Congratulations! That is great news! And I hope you sprinkled the Good News in the game! If you get the time, can you write up the process involved in getting a freeware project on a combo CD? I think that would be very valuable for our industry. Depending on length, it would be nice to include that in our program/hand out for the conference. Keep on working for the Lord! ------------------ |
Revelator Member Posts: 226 From: Sydney, NSW, Australia Registered: 03-22-2001 |
Hey Tim, If you want to make a CD with free Christian games on it, you can put my Memory Gem blocks on it. I am giving it away free on my website. All you have to do is email to get a registration code. But I can give a generic registration code with the program if you want it on the CD. It's at www.revelatorgames.com One day I will update it and make it look a lot more modern. Revelator. ------------------ |
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jmkc80 Member Posts: 11 From: Knoxville, TN, USA Registered: 05-02-2002 |
quote: I certainly did! The Key is a Myst-type game with a strongly Christian worldview, and the gospel is presented unmistakably. You can't miss it. The whole plot of the game revolves around the fact that one side is strongly Christian, unafraid to proclaim the gospel, and the other is not.
quote: For me it was easy: one day out of the blue I received an e-mail from Chris Owen at Activision, asking me for permission to include it. Activision seems to be looking for good freeware/shareware games that they can put on game collections, and mine fit the bill. My guess is that they found it posted on a website, liked it, and decided to use it. (To say it was completely unexpected is a vast understatement!) If you had a good game you wanted to get on one of these commercial CDs, I'd suggest contacting the companies (or more specifically, the specific divisions that release those CDs) that put them out. They are actively seeking out good games (they depend on them to make a profit) and they'd probably be delighted to hear from you. Wish I could be more helpful! It could be that the reason The Key was accepted was because of the way I presented the gospel. A lot of Christian games I have seen would only be attractive to Christians -- for instance, a Bible Verse Trivia game (while cool!) does not have broad appeal. I wanted something that everyone would play but yet in which the gospel was not watered down in the slightest, so I hit upon the idea of working Christianity into the story. When you start playing The Key you have little idea what is going on, but as the game progresses you learn that two cultures are battling each other. One culture is strongly Christian and was banished from the rest of the galaxy because they wouldn't forsake their (very vocal) Christian faith. The other culture is strongly atheistic and is trying to crush the Christians just because they believe in God. The game shows the consequences of both beliefs: how the atheists fell further into decline and barbarianism and how the Christians overcame terrific hurdles by the grace of God to survive and prosper. You, the player, are given a choice: it's up to you to decide who to support -- but your actions have consequences. Since one culture is strongly Christian, I can present the gospel very strongly in a make-no-bones-about-it way and not seem to be preaching at all. Likewise, I can show the atheistic perspective and how devastating it is. It seems to have worked: thousands of people, both Christian and atheist, have played the game and I have not received a single objection or complaint, even though (on the download sites) I do not advertise the game as Christian. People have really enjoyed the game, and that's very encouraging. No one has noticed it's basically a glorified tract! Right now I'm working on Part III, which is the conclusion of the game; I'm hoping to get it out by the end of the year. When it's finished, the whole game (Part I-III) will be around 125 megs. Once it's done I'll start work on The Artilect, another Myst-type game that will deal with AI and the importance of morality from a Christian perspective. It will be good! If anyone wants to chip in, feel free to: there's certainly enough work to go around! --Jon Cooper |
Klumsy Administrator Posts: 1061 From: Port Angeles, WA, USA Registered: 10-25-2001 |
i love the concept, i should download it and play it maybe i'll get my wife to.. i think a game like this should be avertised (freely) widely also i think its awesome tht you are giving it away for free.. i think you should consider (when part 3 is finished) making a CD, a box, and book with it.. and selling that (but on the box put that its availible online free to download..) and maybe on the CD put other free christian games in the extra tidbits parts...) you could sell it at christian bookstores worldwide, and actually in computer stores that sell games.. it doesn't take much to ring up a computer chain and say "will you put my game on the shelves" its not for the purpose of making money, but for getting greater immersion.. such an exciting game? Karl Prosser ------------------ |
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Klumsy Administrator Posts: 1061 From: Port Angeles, WA, USA Registered: 10-25-2001 |
b.t.w i see your web site is hosted on geocities... i can offer you to host on godcentric.com for free or work out something else ------------------ |
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jmkc80 Member Posts: 11 From: Knoxville, TN, USA Registered: 05-02-2002 |
quote: I agree! Right now I am devoting all my time to creating Part III instead of advertising it because Part III has the ending for the game (as the game now stands it has no ending; it just says something along the lines of 'Download Part III to continue...'). Once the game is all there, from beginning to end, I'm going to try to spend some time advertising it before starting on the next project. I would appreciate help getting the word out! Do you have any advice? Game promotion is something I am very new at.
quote: Very good idea! I like the idea and have put it on my The Key todo list. It makes sense.
quote: I began work on this game in January of 1999, the month I entered college and a month before my 19th birthday. I posted Part I in August of 2001 and Part II in late 2001. Part III is still under development. Part I and II were done entirely by me: I did the programming, graphics, plot, storyline, interface, development, bug testing, web page, animations, writing, intro, everything except for the sounds, which were done by a friend of mine. I do have some help for one section of Part III (one person) but I am still doing more than 95% of the work. This sort of graphical adventure is usually done by a team of dedicated programmers, graphic artists, and so forth, working 8 hours a day for several years. I've only had an hour or two a week but yet God has blessed my efforts. The graphics were done in a really cool, inexpensive 3d modeling program called Bryce 3D. If you want to get into 3d artwork but don't know anything about it at all (which is where I was), Bryce 3D is the place to start. You can get it for $50 or less on eBay, new in-the-box. That may seem expensive but keep in mind that other 3d modeling software like 3d Studio Max runs thousands of dollars. The programming was all done in Visual Basic. I started in Visual Basic 5 and migrated to Visual Basic 6. I basically taught myself how to use it. I also used Paint and JSC's Paint Shop Pro to convert images to different formats, and I used a nifty free utility called 'Fast Movie Processor' to turn a sequence of BMP files into a .AVI file. Another free utility called 'Starbits 7' creates really cool galactic starry backgrounds, and that was useful. As far as hardware goes, I did the vast majority of my rendering and development on a 200mhz Pentium II running Windows 98. At that speed it took anywhere from 20 minutes to 9 hours for the computer to draw each image, and there are thousands of images in the game. I now have a 1.4ghz Athlon running Windows XP, which I am using to build Part III, and the increased speed is a huge blessing! Creating the game was very much a learning process. It's amazing how much there is to learn to making this type of game! I was limited in what I could do because I didn't know how to work characters into the game (I couldn't just film someone and stick them in) and so I had to design the game around that limitation. I had to learn about camera positions and scales and lighting and puzzle design and story flow and polygon limitations and a hundred other things. If I am able to make another game after The Key, it will be much better because I have learned so much and have improved my skills. The total budget for the game was $200, which is what I spent on the 3D modeling software (it's a lot cheaper now). That's the only financial expense I had -- all the rest was time. With the tools that are available today, I think it is possible for anyone with enough dedication to create a game like this. You don't need a fast computer: I did most of the game on a 200mhz Pentium II. I know lots of people have no idea how to program or all the rest, but I didn't know how to either! I did find that the necessary tools are easy to learn and are inexpensive: it just takes lots of dedication and a willingness to press on when it seems that the end is sooooooooo far away and will never arrive. Just press on and don't give up. --Jon Cooper |
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jmkc80 Member Posts: 11 From: Knoxville, TN, USA Registered: 05-02-2002 |
quote: That would be great!! I'd really appreciate it. I have been wanting to move away from GeoCities for a long time but have been unable to find another host. Just let me know what to do and I'll move my site over. --Jon Cooper |
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Klumsy Administrator Posts: 1061 From: Port Angeles, WA, USA Registered: 10-25-2001 |
thanks for the long explanations, i think your project will give others hope, that decent games can be done by christians in small teams on a limited budget... as for hosting your site, i think the best way is for me not to give you instsructions , but for us to establish relationship and talk about it. For if you want to have a long term web place that is advertised etc, you want it to be stable, and want to be able to trust me.. so lets get on an Instant Message program adn chat a little and work out the best way to do it.. b.t.w i started the game , very cool.. and it draws you in.. i had a few VB exceptions/errors, but i can tell you about them.. i am running win2k, maybe that is the problem... Be Blessed looking forward to talking to you our website is www.godcentric.com ------------------ |
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jmkc80 Member Posts: 11 From: Knoxville, TN, USA Registered: 05-02-2002 |
quote: You're welcome!
quote: That sounds like a wise idea! My Yahoo ID is jmkc80 and while I am not online very often when I am online I am open to chat. It sounds like fun!
quote: I am not too surprised: computer systems are very different, and what works fine on one computer has problems on another. Some people can run the game without any problems and others run into errors. When we talk just let me know what is going on and I will try to figure out what's going on and how to fix it. --Jon Cooper |
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Mack Administrator Posts: 2779 From: Registered: 01-20-2001 |
Hey Jon this is great! May God bless you on your path and I hope you'll be able to create more Christian games! |
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jmkc80 Member Posts: 11 From: Knoxville, TN, USA Registered: 05-02-2002 |
quote: Thank you! It is so encouraging to know that there are others out there like me with the same dream and vision. It's great to have company! What I want to do is create games (and books) so fantastic and so extraordinary that 'even though' they are filled with Christ and the gospel, even the unsaved and atheists will be dying to play them. I want to write books so engrossing and mind-blowing that 'even though' they are solidly Christian from beginning to end the unsaved will devour them. I want them to willingly watch and play something filled with Christ -- to go out of their way to expose themselves to it because it's that good. Christians so often (including myself) go to see things filled with evil or sin just because it's fantastic and cool. I want to turn the tables and put the unsaved in that position! I don't know if I can do it or not but that is what I am after. It would be easier just to water down the message but it's so much better to do it this way. I'm picturing something not sensational or glitzy but something truly first-class -- world class -- that is truly good and truly Christ-centered. It's a high and maybe impossible goal but it's one worth pursuing and it beats trying to find ways to sneak in the gospel (if I'm going to make something I want the gospel in it full-blown, no-holds-barred). --Jon Cooper |
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Imsold4christ Member Posts: 305 From: Gresham, OR, US Registered: 01-20-2001 |
You guys are so cool.  I never knew so many people had the same visions and dreams that I used to have. Though I don't play video games anymore, it is still encouraging to know that there are people out there making quality Christian games that spread the growth of Christ.†Caleb† ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
Has anyone found any other published Christian Games that aren't mentioned here in this thread? There will be a couple of games "in development" that will be demonstrated at the conference - that will be exciting. Plus, we are hoping to have a CD-R in the handout/program for folks to take home. Perhaps after the conference, and I've had time to recover, I can make that CD-R available to CCN. It would be fairly cheap to mail within the states. Tim ------------------ |
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Pater Illic Junior Member Posts: 2 From: Registered: 06-27-2002 |
There are some unknown german christian games as "Pastor 3D" or "Der Tag der Bekehrung" you can check out on http://www.stpetersnet.de Did you mentioned "Bible Baseball"? |
InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
Perhaps there should be a mention of our games 'in development' at the CGDC ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
quote: Yes! We will have a list of games and game companies in the printed handout. I'll port those to the web page. If I haven't talked/Emailed you before and you have a company or project, send me the details at tim@graceworksinteractive.com Tim ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
Someone informed me of another Christian game called Onesimus. An older DOS game apparently written by Tim Sweeney and it was published. Does anyone have this for loan to the conference? Thanks, ------------------ |
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Mack Administrator Posts: 2779 From: Registered: 01-20-2001 |
quote: Man those looked like good games, but none of them worked on my system. Ah well, as long as they reached someone. |
BlazeQ Member Posts: 260 From: USA Registered: 05-11-2002 |
quote: I found a link to the publisher. They have a couple other Christian games too. http://www.theark.com/html/products.html BlazeQ ------------------ |
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InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
I remember Onesimus, it's about Paul the apostle (or was it Peter) ------------------ |
Lucas Member Posts: 65 From: Utah, USA (non-Mormon) Registered: 08-02-2001 |
Onesimus is about... well, Onesimus, the slave. Paul or Peter helps Onesimus. ------------------ |
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D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
Wasn't there a game by wisdom tree called Spiritual Warfare, i'm sure i had it on my old 386??? --D-SIPL |
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InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
I remember a game by that title, but I don't remember the company ------------------ |
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Pater Illic Junior Member Posts: 2 From: Registered: 06-27-2002 |
quote: You may try the suggestions of the tech-support page of "Pie in the Sky Software" under "Running the GCS Under Windows 95" on this site [This message has been edited by Pater Illic (edited July 05, 2002).] |
He hasn't updated his site in a while.