Tribulation Knights, a Christian stealth game
by Ross Miller 
{ Jan 3rd 2007 at 2:55AM }
A new Christian-themed game is set to fill the void left behind by, well, Left Behind. Since that game ended up being a disappointment in the gameplay department, the upcoming Tribulation Knights might stand as a fun game that manages to tackle a serious topic.
Tribulation Knights is a a free-roaming, stealth-based title set in a post-Rapture world with flying cars. Your goal is to save rebel Christian citizens and lead them away from the clutches of an evil cult -- do we have to escort them, though? The game boasts nonviolence, as you are armed only with an all-in-one slingshot that can disable security systems. According to the official website, the game will sport the "largest environments ever seen in the Christian gaming world."
Sounds like Tribulation Knights, by merit of its focus, might fall into a rut with one of the most notorious design dilemmas: how do you make an escort mission fun?
[Via GameSpot]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben Friesen @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:06AM
How do you make an escort mission fun?
You don't.
This game will suck.
binary_hero @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:23AM
That sounds almost exactly like this somethingawful article:
http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=4367 - only there they are called "Tribulation Force"
Vexorg @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:30AM
I can't say I'm all that familiar with that particular branch of Christian theology, but isn't one of the main points of the whole Rapture thing that all the assorted evil cult types are going to be off at some eternal barbecue somewhere south of the River Styx?
Sidepocket @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:36AM
Oooh, they should put this on a baby blue CD just for a goof. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkNvQYiM6bw
Windmill @ Jan 3rd 2007 4:39AM
This is stupid.
The game is basically telling christians and... well the world that the bible speaks about a rapture.
IT DOESN'T! It speaks about the complete opposite! It speaks about how every eye shall see him! Indeed, this is just plain idiotic.
Kylara @ Jan 3rd 2007 4:39AM
Is an escort mission anything like the MISERABLE ONES in twilight princess, trying to make sure the damn wagon doesn't burn down? Or like that big, ominous, hovering hand of doom trying to take the spheres of light back?
Because I hated both of those.
Windmill @ Jan 3rd 2007 4:45AM
Yeah I must say, I despised the escort mission in Zelda Majoras Mask. That was just annoying. Let alone in some random game that messes up christian theology and makes christians look terrible...
Ben Friesen @ Jan 3rd 2007 4:57AM
Making a good Christian game doesn't have to be this difficult - what they should do is stop trying to adopt traditionally violent genres to do it. The truth of the matter is, Christianity doesn't lend itself well to a fighter, an RTS, or a shooter. If you pit people against other people, they'll want to fight.
Here is my quick and dirty idea for a Christian game that could actually be fun (and have a message).
+ Harvest Moon, but instead of a farm, the player is a priest at a church in a small town (preferably not modern day).
+ Have your developers go through the bible, give tags to every passage (ex. Luke 10:20 "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." would have the tags "Heaven", "Happiness", and "Writing")
+ Your character would only be able to speak passages from the bible.
+ Every Sunday and Wednesday night you would give a sermon to the congregation. On all the other days you would help them in their daily lives (working with a farmer, setting up a relationship between to young people, discouraging the consumption of alcohol, preventing strife, and repairing/building the church.
+ During the off times you would also listen to the people of your town and try to learn what they need to hear during the sermons. You would also try to increase church attendance. (ex. If you can convince the town drunk to attend a sermon, you could make that sermon about "Temperance" in order to sway him.)
+ With increased church attendance comes increased money from donations, which would be used to fix up and expand the church, and later used to build a schoolhouse, well, or other building that would increase the prosperity of the town.
+ Please, please make the game look like something respectable. Cartoon graphics and bright colors make it look like you're just creepy Christians that are trying to trick children into following your religion. Give it an artistic style like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, or Assassin's Creed.
There - that's the bare bones of a game that a) would encourage people to read the Bible b) has elements of pacifism without being contrary to the established genre, and c) might actually get people thinking that Christian's aren't all a bunch of loonies with no sense of perspective. At any rate, it would make people think about what they believe a lot more than some trashy stealth/escort game.
Pseudo99 @ Jan 3rd 2007 5:23AM
As a proud Christian, I can say that I'm really excited about avoiding this game at all costs. I think the message we need to understand here is that Jesus loves the developers of crappy games, but not necessarily the games themselves.
Kudos @ Ben Friesen #8, that's an interesting concept. A game with a unique idea like that would merit at least a few hours of my time. It's almost as good as my Paul Bunyan's Pro Lumberjack™ idea which I will be pitching to Activision soon.
Sidepocket @ Jan 3rd 2007 6:01AM
You know who needs a good image videogame, Islam.
I have friends who are Islamic and they are more Zen than people who study under Zen. The sad thing is that due to the "extreamist" in there hearland, they are made to look like some crazy people who are going to blow themselfs up and get harrased at every airport just because they have brown skin and there god is named Alah. (Even though its the same god mind you)
A Sims-Like game were you run a church and lissen to virtual peoples problems, help them with there life, giving to charity and being a decent christian/islamic person in a game would do wonders.
But no, we must focus on the total litleral BS of the book such as the "rapture" and the "apoch" and totaly miss the point of the whole thing. -,-;
Jason @ Jan 3rd 2007 7:12AM
@#5
Not only does the Bible not speak of a rapture, it also doesn't really spell out an apocalypse like everyone seems to interpret it, these days. Most of the verses that are used to back up that interpretation are actually referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Jesus actually said "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled," in Matthew 24. I really get tired of all this Left Behind hype. It's like, why try to make the world a better place if it's all going to burn, anyway?
Jason @ Jan 3rd 2007 7:16AM
Also, it's retarded to make a "Christian" video-game in which the player must repeatedly violate the 6th commandment. What part of "Thou shalt not kill," do these developers not understand?
Ignatius @ Jan 3rd 2007 8:10AM
@Jason;
God didn't have any qualms about slaughtering Egyptians, what a wonderful being.
/sarcasm
DrXym @ Jan 3rd 2007 8:27AM
I think Rockstar should do a Christian videogame featuring all the tenets of Christianity as found in the bible - murder, incest, rape, hypocrisy, torture, slaughter of innocents, sacrifice, slavery, arbitrary acts of divine wrath etc. It might make a pretty decent game.
Ignatius @ Jan 3rd 2007 8:37AM
@DrXym
Then Christians would get mad that they're being falsely represented... by their own book. XD
Christians are so 'anti-violent' and 'pro-law' that they don't realize their entire book is anarchy and slaughter of innocents.
unimental @ Jan 3rd 2007 8:37AM
When I read the title "Christian stealth game" I thought of Sneak King with bibles rather than delicious Whoppers.
ErrorBox @ Jan 3rd 2007 8:56AM
@ unimental - holy shit, my computer screen is now covered with coffee. Thanks for that.
crono141 @ Jan 3rd 2007 9:20AM
DrXym,
Just because the bible contains it, doesn't mean it supports it. The Old Testament is probably 85% history and 15% theology. I saw a great blog, linked here the other day by a fellow poster (the author of the blog, I think)
http://www.whyfaith.com
Its by an athiest turned Christian. A great read for anybody.
polly @ Jan 3rd 2007 9:56AM
Gotta love watching religious propaganda horning in on your favorite entertainment medium a la Christian rock. Jesus Christ.
luigi193 @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:16AM
God didn't have any qualms about slaughtering Egyptians, what a wonderful being.
Old testament, different law. God couldn't stank sin, that was B4 jesus. Now no killing. the end.
And there wont be anyone left post rapture, either you will be in heaven or hell, not in a world with floating cars...
Almack64 @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:16AM
@ Ben #8 and Sidepocket #10. I agree with you. I think a harvestmoon/sims type game would be great for all the stated reasons. Instead of trying to "steathy infiltrate" a mass genre like FPS or a fighter that does not fit the message. People should use a genre that potentially could actually work, be fun and have a message. Instead time and time again they fail and make fools out of themselves. I feel the same way about most Christian movies. (Second Chance is a good one). Anyways back to more important things like reading news about good games and actually doing things that are benefitial to others as a Christian.
LunarDuality @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:30AM
Look at that hi-poly car!!! My god it's the future!
/sarcasm
On a serious note, some Christian game dev needs to hire Ben Friesen on as a designer because those ideas could actually make a decent game (and that's coming from someone who is generally displeased with most "Christians"). And ultimately if you want people to play your game...it should at least be fun and interesting, right?
p.s. unimental -- nice. (^_^)
FSK405K @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:42AM
Wow, who would have guessed that Jackoff T would make a valid point sometime? "I don't find anywhere in the gospel that we're supposed to take up arms and kill people because they don't beleive..."
You think that people who legitimately try the game because they want to pray and kill nonbelievers realize after a few hours that it is complete crap?
Firegirl @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:54AM
This game sounds about as fun as having lunch with Mr. Thompson. No thank you!
DrXym @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:28PM
@18, "just because the bible contains it, doesn't mean it supports it. ".
Its funny but when I had to endure readings at school they always ended with "this is the word of the lord". I wonder what the lord would think of people who pick and choose which bits they choose to believe, why one part about loving thy neighbour is fine to believe, but another about god deliberately murdering little babies isn't.
The old testament god seems a-okay with all kinds of horrible, brutal, unfair, cruel, arbitrary and disgusting acts. Sometimes he even commands those acts to be carried out or condones them.
Even Jesus the loving merciful new testament embodiment of god and his follows also have no trouble wishing ill, death and suffering on non-believers or condoning the teachings in the OT.
So is the bible the word of god or not?
Jonah Falcon @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:13PM
Wanna bet the "villains" are Jews? (rolling eyes)
Spartacus @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:33PM
I love all the comments made by people who think they know what the Bible teaches. Note to all the cynics: Study scripture before you post ridiculous claims on what it's message is.
The commandment is "Thou shalt not MURDER", not "kill". Murder connotates personal, selfish motives rather than self defense or a nation at war with another nation. In fact, ALL the commandments refer to personal motives and the condition of the heart in some form or another.
As for the "slaughtering of the Egyptians" and the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, scripture states that God would not allow the Israelites to wipe out a city or nation until that nation's sins were great enough to warrant the punishment of being conquered. God let the same punishment come to His own people several times as well- it wasn't that He destroyed the "heathens" while showing blind favor to the Israelites.
Tango @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:38PM
Someone listen to Ben's ideas. You could expand on it, too.
You could have a game like that, except include several major religions. You pick one at the start. Perhaps each has a particular strength... kind of like Age of Empires. However, the longer you play the game the more it becomes apparent that no matter which one you choose, keys to success in the game all involve love, compassion, and understanding.
Say, for the first half of the game it's just like Ben describes it. But then, in the second half, your "town" is forced to interact with another religion. From there perhaps it plays a bit like Civilization, and a successful endgame involves peaceful coexistance, whereas game over looks pretty much like what we have today (maybe a bit worse).
I imagine it looking similar to Animal Crossing (i disagree that cartoony characters = kid's stuff, but it could look slightly more mature). You could make it for the DS or the Wii, and you could visit your friend's towns. Though perhaps servers could be set up, and each time you save your town's current state is sent to the server, so your friends could always visit your town? (Not sure yet what the incentives to visiting towns would be yet... hopefully something greater than merely collecting stuff as in Animal Crossing.)
The downside, of course, is that having to accomodate multiple religions would lengthen development time by about a million years.
jt @ Jan 3rd 2007 1:16PM
You know this game was made by real Christians. The guy in the middle is total closet gay Christian bait.
SuperChuck @ Jan 3rd 2007 2:36PM
One thing is abundantly clear:
Flying cars will bring about the end of the world
Ben Friesen @ Jan 3rd 2007 2:00PM
@ 26
(From the KJV)
Exodus 20:13
Thou shalt not kill.
Deuteronomy 5:17
Thou shalt not kill.
Matthew 5:21
Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Romans 13:9
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
One of the central philosophies of Christianity is supposed to be pacifism. (Matthew 5:38-39 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.") Somehow this got warped around into "Let's kill the Arabs for their oil."
People that would claim justification for any violent act through the Bible are the reason that I don't go to church.
crono141 @ Jan 3rd 2007 2:44PM
Ben,
Blame Constantine, for making Christianity the roman state religion, and then spreading it across Europe, where barbarian kings and crooked priests/popes (dons flame suit) corrupted it all the way into the middle ages into colonial america, where it bred concepts such as manifest destiny, all the way into the modern era.
And just to be strait, we've never killed anyone and stolen their oil, and america has yet to see a drop of Iraqi oil.
matt @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:15PM
Just FYI, according to the forums (http://forums.atomicdesignlab.com/) a secular/non-christian-themed version is also under development.
Spartacus @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:54PM
DrXym:
Once again, it is important to actually study scripture before making judgement on it. I would be laughed at if I walked into a collegiate level quantum physics class after reading (or worse yet, simply listening and basing my understanding on other's opinions on the subject) a few sentences of chapters of "Quantum Physics for Dummies". The Bible is a very complex set of books with very deep theological, philosophical and spiritual ramifications which are not always apparent on the first read through just as one could not grasp quantum physics and all the complexities that lie therein without devoting much time and energy to the subject. It is quite clear that you have not done this. While that is fine, it is best that people who do not understand a subject do not try to make blanket statements and effectively "talk out of their @$$." All this does is cause confusion and will offend the people who do actually study the topic you know nothing about.
I would love to respond to your inaccuracies of Biblical interpretation and your skewed Biblical theology, however here is not the place and it would require more space than I care to take up on a comments section of a blog about video games. Feel free to email me with any arguements, discussion or apparent contradictions in scripture at: kstate_ham@hotmail.com. God bless...
Spartacus @ Jan 3rd 2007 4:07PM
Joystiq ate my first comment, so here's the short version...
Ben Friesen:
The verses you quoted were both from English translations, not the original languages. I'm sure you're aware that translations can be slightly inaccurate due to connotations of different languages and even more importantly in idioms. So I will give you the original Hebrew and Greek words used in the verses you quoted.
Where you say "kill" in the Old Testament:
The Hebrew word is ratsach. "Ratsach(953d); a prim. root; to murder, slay: - killed (1), kills the manslayer (1), manslayer (18), murder (7), murdered (2), murderer (12), murderer shall be put (1), murderers (1), murders (1), put to death (1), slew (1)."
Where you say "kill" in the New Testament:
The word is phoneuo in Greek. "Phoneuō; from G5406; to kill, murder: - commit murder (5), commits murder (1), murder (3), murdered (2), put to death (1)."
That is a copy/paste straight out of Strong's Exhaustive Hebrew/Greek Concordance. Further inquiry and word study (which I took in college under a Jewish prof.) would reveal a very strong implication of murder, rather than simply the act of killing. While I am not advocating killing, it is important to see the distinction between the two. Scripturally there are instances where killing is accpetable, but murder on the other hand (which is based on selfish motives rather than selfless motives) is not. Therefore scripturally, selflessness rather than pacifism, is what is promoted. In most cases pacifism fits under that category, but not always. It falls under the same logic as "All flies are insects, but not all insects are flies."
crono141 @ Jan 3rd 2007 5:37PM
Hooray for Sparticus, Knower of Theology!
Ben Friesen @ Jan 3rd 2007 6:06PM
@ Spartacus
Sorry if I didn't assume that you were talking about the direct Greek and Hebrew translations. I did specify that I was talking about the KJV of the Bible, which is to my knowledge the most commonly used Bible in America. Looking back, it should have been obvious that when you said "The commandment is 'Thou shalt not MURDER', not 'kill'." you meant the commandment as rendered as a direct translation, not the commandment as rendered by the large majority of Christians and as referenced in pop culture. Forgive me.
@ crono141
If by "not a drop of Iraqi oil" you meant "481 barrels per day in 2003 alone" then yes, I agree with you, we haven't gotten a drop of their oil.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/pgulf.html
Back to the topic at hand - what you have to consider is whether the game intends to convert people or cash in on the large Christian population in the First World. Personally I think converting people is the much more noble goal, as long as it's done with a modicum of taste. What I meant about the bright colors is that the screenshots of the game now look like Buddy Christ. "Hey kids, Jesus is awesome!" Besides that, there's the fact that the largest demographic in videogames isn't kids - it's young adult males.
Please, if you're going to make a game about Christianity, make it a good one.
(I'll post back here when I get off work)
Rexjamo @ Jan 3rd 2007 6:43PM
What we need is a multi religion game where you can choose your favorite fairytale (sorry, I meant religion) and you get to kill all the other people of different religions in the game. Hang on, why bother, that happens in real life anyway!
On the other hand, Christianity is the perfect sucject for a computer game. Most computer games are based on fantasy, Christianity is the ultimate fantasy, suffered by countless millions around the world.
I'll stick to Gears and Viva thanks.
Spartacus @ Jan 3rd 2007 7:01PM
Ben Friesen:
Really how much Iraqi oil America has consumed is irrelevant as the point you suggested was that it was CHRISTIANS who took it after killing the Muslims. In reality this scenario occurred due to politics and economics of two secular governments rather than religious differences. If you are suggesting that American government acts upon Christian principles, you are sadly mistaken. Christianity is effectively being squashed in just about every aspect of American government and culture- all in the name of "tolerance". Basically Christianity is the religion everyone loves to hate regardless of the baselessness of such bias.
Ryan @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:42PM
Ooo, a Christian video game! Does this mean you have to contradict yourself and be a hypocrite?
Fun...
Ben Friesen @ Jan 4th 2007 11:00AM
I didn't say that Christianity was the reason that we went to war - far from it. What I said was that Christianity was given as a justification for the war in Iraq. Our leaders (particularly Bush) use the dominant religion in our country to try to sway people into thinking that their choices are good ones. Convincing your nation that the war you're fighting is a "just war" is one of the keys to getting the public support.
One of the main arguments for going to war was that it would be more evil to stand by and let Saddam stay in power. This was a statement that was supported by much of the Christian community and the political right (these two groups overlap quite a bit). While I oppose the war in Iraq, it troubles me more that the Bible is being used as a propaganda tool.
To leave the issue of the Iraq war, we can see the sort of hatred and violence that is done (even today) in the name of Christ; abortion clinic bombings, gay bashing, racism, polygamy, and chauvinism. To make it clear, these are things done by a very small minority of Christianity - but it's the sector that speaks the loudest and gets reported the most.
I also agree whole-heartedly that Christianity is on the decline. I think the main reason for that is that Christianity is out of touch with the people of today, and religion is general is seen as something that doesn't fit into today's society. We're too busy and caught up in our lives to spend two or three hours a week at church, and prayer has almost gone out the window. This is a bad thing; religion can offer us social connectedness, a moral center, and a place to go when making life choices.
If you look at the other comments here, you'll see that most people don't take Christianity seriously - it's something that people mock without really understanding it (or only understanding the radical parts of it). Christianity, by identifying itself with the conservative right has made itself inaccessible to a large sector of the population - in addition to getting over the lack of evidence and the problem of pain, you must also jump the hurdle of differing social views.
And this is why a game could be good - in the game world, you can avoid delicate issues like abortion, stem cell research, or the death penalty. Instead, you just focus on what good religion can do.
Highlighting pacifism by putting someone in a combat situation isn't a good idea. Taking out the vital parts of different genres to make them Christian isn't a good idea. Neither can you emphasize violence unless you want to cause a shit-storm of controversy.
Links
Just War - http://martinrothonline.com/MRCC36.htm
Christian Backing of the Iraq War - http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1010-02.htm
Spartacus @ Jan 4th 2007 12:36PM
Ben Friesen:
I agree with your last post for the most part. However the problem people have with Christianity is NOT with Christianity (ie: the teachings of the Bible), but with hypocritical people who CLAIM Christianity and abuse and skew it to fit their own personal agenda. Polygamy is not advocated in scripture. Violence against morally wrong institutions (such as abortion clinics) are totally AGAINST biblical teaching. Gay bashing, racism and chauvinism are ALL condemned in scripture as it teaches all men are equal (including women) and we should love our neighbor and even our enemies. Scripture teaches tolerance as well as universal truth. One might think these are mutually exclusive, but they aren't. I can be right and you can be wrong, but I should still respect and love you- not be pushy and self righteous- according to scripture. The problem is NOT the tenets of Christianity. The problem is people who confess with their mouth but deny by their lifestyle. These people are NOT followers of Jesus Christ, they are what He would call pharisees and He would rebuke them probably just as harshly as the world at large has- if not more so.
Unfortunately America has become "immune" to a certain extent to Christianity due to all the lip service. In reality, people have grown accustomed to the hypoctites and label true Christianity at the lowest common denominator rather than actually reading the Bible and basing their judgement on what Christianity ACTUALLY teaches.