In yet another attempt to kick-start this blog, I’m working through the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. The first task is to write an elevator pitch. The short pitch is the title of this post. All posts will deal with “Game development with a Christian Worldview.” I think it gives me the right amount of latitude in posting anything from code samples and game design to game reviews and recommendations.

The long pitch is:

Few games ha a distinctly Christian worldview. I hope this blog encourages and assists other game developers in creating games with a Christian worldview. I also hope that the gamers in general will benefit from this blog by understanding the worldview that various games put forth and by helping them find games that exhibit a Christian worldview.

There are my two pitches and my hope I’m for a more consistent and useful blog.

As my ADD would dictate, I have been thinking about what I’m going to work on after I finish my current project. My first thought was to work on a Multi-player Tetris game as described in an article on becoming a network programmer. Then there were two announcements that may change my mind.

First, was the announcement that GarageGames and IAC were creating a site, InstantAction.com, which would allow you to use GarageGames’ tools to create games that are playable through a standard web browser. My guess is that they will enable the Torque engine to run in a plug-in and then execute games that were developed with some/all the existing Torque products or a new member of the Torque family. This is interesting because I wouldn’t have to go the Flash route. Flash is great because you don’t have to download the games, but it isn’t a framework specifically for developing games. There are some big questions though, like will you be able to deploy these games anywhere or only at InstantAction.com? WIll I be able to take my existing TGB game and deploy it in this new environment?

The second announcement that caught my eye was Raph Koster’s latest endeavor, Metaplace. It promises to allow people to create MMORPG’s, puzzle games, etc, eventually. It will be interesting to see how much is working at this point. Here’s a demo:


Should be interesting. Gives me some incentive to finish my game so I can play around with these two technologies.

For the most part, video games are mainstream. Casual games and the Wii have removed most stigmas surrounding video games. The violence and pornography that inhabits some games is something akin to those subjects in films. Games and gamers aren’t the oddities they were when I was growing up. However, the “Christian” video game genre lives in a ghetto unto itself. With games like Bibleman, it is no wonder that the genre is scorned.

Putting aside the fact that the best and brightest game designers and programmers aren’t developing “Christian” video games, the biggest problem is using the term “‘Christian’” video games.” You may have noticed that I keep putting quotes around Christian in the context of video games. The reason I do this is my belief that for something to be Christian it must proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world. Don’t have that, don’t call it Christian. (Video games aren’t the only area where this is done, take a look at the site A Little Leaven and you’ll find “Christian” hair products, tire gauges, etc.) What is Christian about Bejeweled with crucifixes or a word puzzle with words from the Bible? There is some hope with games like “Timothy and Titus” and “Deliverance: Moses in the Pharaoh’s Courts” but since I haven’t played these games I would still hesitate to call them Christian.

I think Bible-based would be a good term. I think it would even allow for some level of violence as the Bible isn’t rated G.

Minor note: I added “Gaming” to the blog title because I plan on posting about gaming related topics.