What do you guys want in a Christian game?

[Godly Paladin]

Hey, everyone! I'm developing a Christian Adventure/RPG game (3rd person sword combat in a medieval-ish setting) and I was wondering what elements and things you would like in it. Any suggestions or ideas? Thankee!

[Mr_Anderson]

hmm, howabout no swearing, thats a big thing for me.

[Godly Paladin]

Swearing is definitely out.

[Sieg9986]

A good story, and since it's christian, no nudity/profanity/extreme amounts of violence XD

And cool looking anime people.

[uc pseudonym]

First and foremost, I look for a game that is worth playing.

Secondly, an excellant plot that encorporates Christianity in an effective manner, not merely carrying it as an afterthought or a burdan.

Both strong and weak Christian characters. It would be wrong to show all Christian as perfect people; it is important to show that we are fallen as well. Conversely, there are some of us that do a pretty good job of following Jesus. Also, if the game takes place in a realistic setting, we need strong nonChristian characters as well.

Evil villains. As Christians we understand evil better than others, we should not shy away from it because it isn't pretty.

[AlBhedNikki]

How about for the characters, the main charater is like... a person who is searching for religion, and finds it later i the game. (Or one of the characte atlest) And put alot of mystry in some of the caracters. Also, some holes in the plot that are filled in later and make you say, "I shoulda known that! >.<"

[The_Marauding_Maniac]

How about you start as a squire person and end up as a king! That would rule....

You need all sorts of variations of swords or other hand weapons, each with their own skill thing, EG: scythe: lvl14

[JediSonic]

Hmm...

Well it needs to be very fun and not have a bible verse stopping the gameplay around every turn. But you probably know that

I think the key for making a christian game is not to bore people to death but obviously not to exclude having plenty of good christian messages in the game.

Do you know what the story is going to be yet?

[uc pseudonym]

Ah, yes. If you could reveal any storyline to us, it would be most appreciated. Game play is difficult to give advice about, but the other critical element, the plot, can be. This will effect both the quality of the game and how Christian it is. Plot is my forte; if information could be provided I would be happy to assist however I can.

[Sieg9986]

I agree with Jedi Sonic, make sure the messages are there, but subtle.

[Fsiphskilm]

Well, stereotyp

[TheMelodyMaker]

What kind of audience are you aiming for, GP? General, mature, or somewhere in-between?

[uc pseudonym]

TheMelodyMaker has hit upon perhaps the most important basis we have yet to set up. What is your intended audiance? I realize you are not able to answer all these inquiries at the moment, but we await your responses when you are able.

Volt made some good points, but I feel they may be some you already understand. Still, it needs to be said.

By all means, don't try to make another Bible Guest 3D. Where instead of killing demons you pray for them and they magicly dissapear.

Wow. I might have to look this one up.

Games where you use fruit, and bible pages instead of weapons...are just..... well, chessy.

True... unless they are very wicked Bible pages (wicked in the "cool" permutation, not the evil). Kingdom Hearts managed to make keys relatively cool.

[Godly Paladin]

Sorry I haven't responded...I haven't popped in for a while. I do thank you guys for all of your input...it's very helpful. THANK YOU!

Nudity, cursing, etc. are absolutely unacceptable. They will not be present in any way, shape, or form whatsoever. Just want to be clear on that.

As far as violence is concerned, it will be kept to a minimum. There is going to be sword combat, though. (You with a sword versus hordes of enemies.) Therefore there's going to be a small amount of violence. No gore here, but you will be able to see the effects of your attacks. Demons will shriek and react to your blows, and you will see bits of life force coming off of them. When they die, they'll shrink and fade into nothingness with lifeforce billowing off. Against possessed humans, though, you'll be exorcising them, so when you defeat them, they'll start to pray and the inhabiting demon will explode or something.

As far as story goes, I'm trying to keep the game in more of an arcadey/adventure style. (Sorry, I didn't really think about it when I called it an adventure/RPG.) So it will be allegorical. The gameplay will be quick and furious, but I've decided that biblical elements will take a front role. I'm tired of games like Catechumen where there is only token Christianity...so I'm endeavoring to make it obviously Christian yet cool. You'll convert lost souls (villagers, etc.) with Bible verses and dialogue, and to get health, etc., you'll have to answer questions from a clergy guy.

I'm not an expert programmer, so I don't know how good it's going to be, but I'll give it my best. If anyone has some advice or help, that'd be great. I'm using 3D Gamestudio A5 Extra. Thanks, everyone, and if you like, I'll keep you updated.

[Godly Paladin]

I was rushing the last post, so I left some things off...

My intended audience will NOT be young children, so probably the 13+ age range. I'm hoping the enemies will be sufficiently demon-y. Although there are going to be explicit Biblical elements to the game, I'm trying to keep them within the realms of believability, as well as keep them from hindering the game. So no, there aren't going to be angels that appear and ask you Bible questions for no good reason before you can continue.

I alluded to this in my previous post, but I'll expand a bit now. The gameplay will resemble Ratchet and Clank in some ways with it's fast movement and combat. Something like Gauntlet Legends with a few puzzles and NPC interaction. Storylines? Well... Right now, it's pretty cut and dried. You are a soldier of God, returning from a war to your homeland, only to find out that Satan has taken over. It's up to you to free the peoples from darkness and take down the Devil's minions. There will be RPG style level-ups, gold, experience points, items, and stuff.

Hope this clarifies some things, and I apologize if I've rambled.

[glitch1501]

this sounds awesome, i really cant wait to play it

[Zedian]

If you are making a game geared towards a younger crowd, than no violence or anything extreme. And you can even throw in bananas who cast away demons by praying to rid them.

On the other hand, if the game is well aimed at an older audience, than I think you can have some maturity. After all, people do bleed and everyone has had problems. And you can't run from the face of evil. I think the evil should be really diabolical, to showcase what complete puriticanal evil can do...of course nothing over-the-top. And well, there shouldn't be a bible verse inserted at every line, because frankly your limiting your audience. Instead focus on delivering a hopeful message, and appeal to those who don't know of Christianity, don't exclude them with all kinds of information they didn't know.

I take it, since we are focusing on plot here, the game is perhaps an rpg ?

[skynes]

You have some good ideas. I especially like that story! Definitely something I'd like to play.
Get a good story in it, a colossal story. One so good that even if someone hates the game for one reason or another they'll keep playing JUST to find out the story!

[uc pseudonym]

I'm tired of games like Catechumen where there is only token Christianity...so I'm endeavoring to make it obviously Christian yet cool. You'll convert lost souls (villagers, etc.) with Bible verses and dialogue, and to get health, etc., you'll have to answer questions from a clergy guy.

I am glad to hear you intend to reach an older audiance. However, this element concerns me slightly. These elements, while good, would be extremely difficult to make cool. Furthermore, conversion of villagers would seem, at worst, endless strawmanning and at best similar to a dating sim. Not that I am saying it cannot be done, I merely wish to caution you to spend a great deal of time making it good.

[Sieg9986]

Yeah, it sounds really good so far.

[Godly Paladin]

Furthermore, conversion of villagers would seem, at worst, endless strawmanning and at best similar to a dating sim.

Um... Well, I'll try my best. The dialogue will progress along these lines:

-You walk up to someone, that person talks to you.
-At this point you are given 4 or 5 options to say. Pick one.
-I have scripted all of the possible dialogue strings so hopefully the conversation will be streamlined and interesting.
-At certain points, you'll have chances to read Bible verses to the person.
-There will be dozens of possible routes, one of which will lead to the person being converted.

Essentially, it's evangelism. Please tell me what you think about this dialogue system--I'm completely open to new ideas!

To Zedian: I'm shooting for a game with arcade style gameplay, puzzles and dialogue of an adventure game, and character advancement of an RPG. A hybrid of sorts.

I do want to point out that this is a one-man job and I'm only 15, so I don't know how good this game will be. Thanks to the compliments by the way, and all of the input I've recieved thus far! This is a great community here at CAA!

[Inferno]

Hey GP Will the game be for Computer? Ps2? Gamecube? Xbox? (I doubt the last three) And could you please tell me the name of it? As far for as violence goes, will there be any blood at all? This sounds really awesome! Hope everything goes well for you. And if you have any questions on making this game, don't ask me, ok?

And don't worry too much about hwo the game turns out. I'm pretty sure, the way it sounds now, that good graphics or not it'll be a great game. I'll definitly buy it once it's done if you tell where to buy it.

[Godly Paladin]

It will be released on the PC platform, and the title is (tentatively) going to be Paladin: Knight of God. Violence = Minimal, no blood. BTW, the graphics are going to be like a Dreamcast game, just to put it in perspective. I'm shooting for good gameplay and level design to make up for the lack of eye and ear candy. Lastly, the game isn't going to be a mass market type thing...it'll be more like "email me and I'll send it to you after you pay me on PayPal" or something. Thanks for the compliments, too! The game (if I finish it, which I hope) will come out in a year or so.

[Sam*ron]

Somthing fun!

[uc pseudonym]

Um... Well, I'll try my best. The dialogue will progress along these lines:

-You walk up to someone, that person talks to you.
-At this point you are given 4 or 5 options to say. Pick one.
-I have scripted all of the possible dialogue strings so hopefully the conversation will be streamlined and interesting.
-At certain points, you'll have chances to read Bible verses to the person.
-There will be dozens of possible routes, one of which will lead to the person being converted.

Essentially, it's evangelism. Please tell me what you think about this dialogue system--I'm completely open to new ideas!

It could work, but would depend primarily upon what was said. I would be okay with it as long as the people are not too easy to convert, or those who are not Christian are made to appear stupid. Also, I would definitely suggest that it takes multiple conversations at different times to convert anyone. No one converts too fast (and if they do I wonder about their sincerity). We want to avoid this:

Player: You should be Christian.
NPC: No.
Player: But you should.
NPC: Well...
Player: John 3:16
NPC: Okay!

Now I know you would never do anything that stupid, but I show it to make my point. Just keep in mind that they should be full people as well.

[Kireihana]

Player: You should be Christian.
NPC: No.
Player: But you should.
NPC: Well...
Player: John 3:16
NPC: Okay!

For some reason I find that infinitely hysterical...

This is just an idea, and probably won't be much use since you've already started on the game, but it would be a cool adventure if Christians were being persecuted, and you had to help out protecting your fellow Christians escape the evil government or whatever (since this is Midieval times I'm guessing it's a monarchy?) while evangelizing at the same time. This would definitely bring the sword-action into play. Or maybe your character could travel about collecting "The Armor of God", so that he can unite the Christians and protect them. First he could collect the chainmail, then the shield, then the sword (sorry, I'm really getting into this!

[Sieg9986]

what language are you using and is it going to be gui or text based?

[Bobtheduck]

hmm... Check out the link in my sig, the first sig line... Those are my thoughts on Christian games.

EDIT: Or not... It appears the link no longer works...

[Godly Paladin]

I'm endeavoring to make the conversions of sinners hard, and not quick, by any means. I've already designed the first NPC, a tree-god worshipper, and she has about 30 states of dialogue...only one is the right way. I currently don't have it so you have to keep coming back to convert her, but that's certainly a possibility for later NPCs. Thanks for the idea, uc pseudonym.

Well, Kireihana, that's a great idea for a gameplay element. I already have the player rescuing captive Christian brothers, but helping them escape a government controlled by Satan is a great idea. The Armor of God aspect seems a little cliche, though, as it seems like every Christian game has it. I'll consider it, though. Thanks for 'getting into it'! (BTW, I like your signature pic.)

To Sieg9986, Paladin: Knight of God, is going to be a fully 3D game just like 99% of the other games out there. (It'll have Dreamcast quality graphics, like I said...high-end engines like Unreal, etc., are way too pricey! )

Bobtheduck, I followed your link and you say some really good things. I heartily agree with you one what you said in one part...Christian games have to be more than just taking out the bad stuff, and more than a Bible quiz. That's my driving motive behind P:KOG. (I'm afraid my game isn't going to be better than secular games as far as non-gameplay issues go, though. )

[uc pseudonym]

I am glad to hear of your format, and I will await any further developments. If things are difficult, they are more realistic. This could be an interesting project indeed.

You know, I may have to follow Bobtheduck's link.