Andy Geers has a vidcast where he discusses Christian video games and where he feels they've gone wrong. He believes the problem is the focus...but does not mention the lack of budget, inexperienced development teams, etc. etc. While I think those factors cannot be ignored he has a good point that many Christian dev teams are so focused on imparting a moral lesson they forget the first rule of making a video game: make it fun!

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There are a lot of misconceptions about the Bible, namely that it's a compilation of stories about people forgiving one another, being charitable and loving one another -- pretty much the antithesis of the values that this generation values if MTV cable programming is any indication. True, the Bible is used as a holy text by Christians, but interspersed between the lessons of moral righteousness are the exploits of some of the most badass, evil and conniving men and women to ever walk their planet.

Their legacies have resonated throughout history and have found a new home in video game characters. Now, you might think that the Bible would be the last thing to inspire an industry that largely revolves around shooting people in the face and tea-bagging one another Halo, but you would be wrong. Here's five examples why.

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Ever been playing a really good game and suddenly run across a section that just makes you wonder what the designers were thinking? Maybe the plot takes a turn for the ridiculous, or maybe you run across a gameplay mechanic that seems unfinished or out of place. It doesn’t ruin the game, but it does make you wonder just who thought it was appropriate for this game.

That’s the idea behind the Good Grief feature. Basically, we look at those really bad segments or decisions in what are otherwise really good games. In the first article, David Lange explored the absurdities of the skull collecting in Halo 3. In the second, I looked at the flag collecting in Assassin’s Creed. This time, we are going to look at a gamplay decision that just jars you out of what is an otherwise immersive experience: the turret sections of Dead Space.

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So, here we sit, very near to the Starcraft II closed Beta and the unveiling of Blizzard’s first game using it’s completely revamped Battlenet Service.  Before the media fury begins when the NDA veil is lifted from the closed beta experiences, I thought it would be nice to explore what’s already been revealed about Battlenet, both the good and the bad.

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I watched this video about Heavy Rain over at Game Trailers, and one of the things that really stuck out to me about it was how the designer speaking about it really emphasized that the game is not about succeeding or failing, but rather that the game is about the journey. Even if you kill one of the main playable characters, you don't get a game over -- you continue with the consequences of your actions. He really emphasized that hard, and it really got me thinking.

It seems that the lack of consequences, and the "try again until you get it right" aspect of video games is one of the fundamental differences that make telling stories through traditional gameplay incompatible with reality (and ultimately, Christianity).

It makes me wonder how "fun" such a game would be. It appears that Heavy Rain has just put soooo much work into making gobs and gobs of content, that it will be a journey of discovery more than success.

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My wife and I just finished watching the entires Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Much better than expected and I'm hoping the live action movie will live up to the anime.

I ran into this fan art that I thought was awesome.

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