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Another Christian Game Idea – Danno

Danno

Member

Posts: 15
From: Seattle, WA
Registered: 01-20-2001
My name is Dan Olds. I haven't posted here for quite awhile.
I will be at the Christian Game Developer's Conference next week
and everyone there will get a copy of my cardgame called Unity.
You can play the Java online versions of Unity and Prophecy at:

http://www.unitygame.com

Anyway, I am not a computer game player anymore (don't have time), but the following is the start of an outline of a Christian game called Tychicus that I would to see implemented someday because it is biblically based but could still hold the interest of Christians and non-Christians.

In Yeshua (Jesus),

Dan


Tychicus

Introduction

In this game, you play the character of Tychicus, who is a close friend of the Apostle Paul’s while he is in prison in Rome. Paul has given you instructions, along with three letters to deliver, one to the Church in Ephesus (Ephesians), one to the Church in Colossae (Colossians), and a personal letter to a man named Philemon who lives in Colossae. You are accompanied by a man named Onesimus, who, as a runaway slave of Philemon, is now a believer in Jesus and is returning to seek forgiveness from Philemon.

In Paul’s instructions, he tells you to seek Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus for deliverance of the letter. He encourages you to recognize gifts that people have and to help appoint leaders in Ephesus (Ephesians 4:11-12). He warns you about a silversmith named Demetrius (and his followers) who started a riot against Paul and the Christians because he was losing business (Acts 19:23-41). He also warns you that there are still some Jews in Ephesus that oppose the Christians that are there (Acts 19:8-9). He reminds you that he was forced to fight wild animals (lions, tigers, bears) in the theatre at Ephesus and to be very careful not to get into that situation (1 Corinthians 15:32). He is thankful that he was saved by Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3-4) who risked their lives by showing him the secret way out of the theatre. He cautions you against people that are demon possessed who will oppose you (Acts 19:13-16).. He also warns you about people who practice sorcery in Ephesus who will oppose you. (Acts 19:19) He especially warns you about the Ephesian Goddess Artemis, and that she is the spiritual force behind all of the evil in Ephesus. He tells you that the magnificent temple of Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the world) is a stronghold of evil. He encourages you to read his letter to learn how to deal with the evil if it becomes necessary. Paul also wants you to check out two rumors that he has heard about Ephesus. One is about a about a group of Christians in Ephesus that seem to have disappeared. The other rumor is that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is living in Ephesus.

After Ephesus, Paul tells you to proceed to Colossae to deliver the second letter to the Colossians and to deliver the letter to Philemon, along with Onesimus. He tells you that he has written the letter to put the focus back on Jesus and to warn against the false teachers in the church. The false teachers wish to introduce the observance of Sabbaths, new moons, and other such days. (Colossians 2:16) They forbid the eating and drinking and even the very tasting and touching of certain things (Colossians 2:21-23). Under the false pretence of humility they worship angels, whom they regard as equal or superior to Jesus (Colossians 2:18).

Finally, after reading the letter to the Colossians, he tells you to proceed to Laodicea and to read the same letter to the Laodiceans ((Colossians 4:16). He warns you that the Laodiceans are a lukewarm church and they have acquired great wealth and don’t believe they need anything (Revelation 3:15-17).

In the journeys, you must travel by ship, mules, and by foot. The Roman world is generally safe, but there is the problem of sudden, severe storms in the Mediterranean that could lead to shipwreck. Paul warns you of the danger of working for God, reminding you that five times he received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one, three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, and three times he was shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:24-25). He warns you that there is danger in rivers, danger from bandits, danger in the city, danger in the country, danger at sea, and danger from false brothers (2 Corinthians 11:26). Along the way, you must determine who is a friend and who is a foe and recognize the fact that Satan will attempt to stop you and prevent you from delivering and reading the letters.

Game Play

Much of the first part of the game revolves around traveling to Ephesus. You must find a ship that is sailing from Rome. Of course, some of the interesting hazards to overcome would be an attack by a pirate vessel and a storm where you are shipwrecked.

It would be a great game feature to be able to implement Ephesians 6:18 where it says to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. This could be implemented by allowing the player to type in prayers and using a natural language parser to interpret the prayers. Some prayers could be answered the first time in the way the player expects them to be answered. Other prayers should be answered in unexpected ways but still the player should be made aware that the prayer was answered. Yet other prayers should only be answered after the player has prayed consistently and persistently. Many of the things that the player should pray for are found in the letters. For example, Colossians 1:17 is where Paul says: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” If the player prays for wisdom and revelation, things will be revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, with the wisdom to know what to do with the revelation. For example, something could be revealed about a person that shows that he is an enemy (perhaps demon possessed) and what to do about it (drive out the demon in the name of Jesus). However, if you start attempting to drive out demons from everyone you meet (without having the gift), you will be arrested and placed in prison. If the player prays for “great power” as found in Colossians 1:19, perhaps he will be imparted with a Spiritual gift.

Another great game feature to have is to implement Colossians 3:16, where it says “and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God”. As the player reads the letters, and prays about it, he is given different abilities such as Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18) or the ability to compose songs to the Lord (Colossians 3:16). Perhaps some simple music editor would work. The songs should have some sort of positive effect, such as a companion will receive a revelation on how to overcome an obstacle.

Once In Ephesus, the player should have all kinds of adventures including overcoming enemies (people that are demon possessed, people practicing sorcery, temple worshipers, etc.), being forced to fight wild animals in the theatre (and escaping by finding the secret exit), and of course ending with a trip into the temple of Artemis in order to do Spiritual battle with the demon behind the Godess Artemis. Also, an encounter with Mary, the mother of Jesus should happen. She is an old lady and is concerned that people are starting to worship her as the mother of Jesus. She is afraid that after she is dead, she will become a stumbling stone to people. Also, there is a mystery to be investigated about Christians that have disappeared. This is a legend of Ephesus that actually became a legend much later about the ”Seven Sleepers of Ephesus”. It is about some Christians who were persecuted and hid in a cave for the night. Instead of sleeping for one night, they slept for many years and everyone was amazed at this miracle. In the game, Tychicus will be the one who finds them in the cave after many years.

In Colossae, the player must confront and ultimately defeat the false teachers who are leading the church astray. The verse in Colossians 2:18 is important here, where it says “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions”. These false teachers are seeing and experiencing demons masquerading as angels, and ultimately you must do spiritual battle with this group of demons who are trying to destroy the Colossian church by deception.

After Colossae, you proceed to Laodicea to read the letter to the Laodiceans. The Laodiceans are on their way to becoming a lukewarm church because of their great wealth. The people have a comfortable, prosperous life and need to be warned. They believe that their material wealth is a blessing from God, and are being deceived as to their true spiritual state. It is up to you to discover the source of this, which is ultimately reflected in the lukewarm water that has to be piped in via an aqueduct. The water starts out refreshingly cold, but by the time the water arrives it is tepid--neither hot nor cold. The player must enter and traverse the aqueduct in order to discover the spiritual connection between the water and the church.


Finally, you are to return to Rome and give Paul a report on what has occurred.