Who says one would have to play a human being? I could definitely see a successful game from an angel's standpoint. In fact that way you could explore Biblical continuity from start to finish...boy, that'd be an epic game right there. Being there for all the key events from the Devil's rebellion down to Christ's return, and everything in between.

That got me thinking. One of the things I like about the latter of the Final Fantasy games is thier length. For example, it takes me about 90 hours to beat FF XII and I beat games a LOT faster than the expected game play time, and still get just about everything. So I could see that being a true epic, long, and worth-while game to play. And not only that, we do have Biblical evidence that angels do fight for us. I'll just list two examples: 2 Kings 6. Elisha is trapped by the Arameran army. His servant panics, but Elisha asked God to open his eyes and they saw a full army of angels surrounding them. Another example is Daniel 10, when Daniel prays for an interpretation of a vision. An angel arrives three weeks later with the response, having been waylaid by a 'Prince of Persia' that Michael had to come and fend off so the angel could deliver God's message.

So that perspective gives us an excellent window of opportunity to put an action game in conjunction with a Biblical perspective. Imagine playing an angel as he fights against spirits of fear and terror, trying to pave a path for David to strike down Goliath. Or even look at 2 Kings when Hezekiah prays for deliverance from seige. In one night, the angel of the Lord wiped out 186,000 men. I see a novel brewing in my mind already as well as a game.

I see a novel brewing in my mind already as well as a game.

I shoulda kept my mouth shut . This was an idea I've been kicking around in my skull for a couple of years, something along the lines of Interview With The Vampire, but instead of a fanged bloodsucker giving the interview an angel would be, and he'd describe everything from the beginning, from Creation, to Lucifer's rebellion, to the Fall, and including key events from Biblical times on up to a few modern events. I never proceeded with it because I just don't feel I have the talent or the scriptural know-how to pull it off. I bring it up here because it occurs to me that something like this might make for a pretty darned good video game, and one that tells a very important tale. And Heaven knows that angels would be able to really tell stories like this because they've experienced it over the course of X thousand years and seen and done things that would blow a mere mortal's mind out of the water. Imagine the soundtrack alone with a lot of orchestral work with perhaps some almost ethereal chorus segments in it.

Well, there are often times where someone has an idea but not the ability to bring it forth and someone else actually writes/creates it. I'm not saying I should be the one to do that, but it certainly has got my mind stirring. I'm currently playing Kingdom Hearts: 358 1/2 Days, and so far the story line follows the main character, Roxas, as he journals each day with "the Organization'. I could see a similar format here where, like you mentioned with Interview with a Vampire (of which I have not seen), you hear an angel telling his story and relating bits and pieces of history through a Biblical persepctive.

I already have a vision of the 'opening scene'. I picture some kind of epic opening score, almost similar to FFVII, to a black, blank screen as a voice recites the story of creation. As each day goes by, you see each part of creation, which wraps up with "It is good." as it show Adam and Eve in the Garden. It would then cut to to Heaven where you would see the angelic host and the narrator tells of Lucifer. I picture an epic battle scene in which Lucifer launches his rebellion with 1/3 of the angelic host, only to be cast out. The last thing Lucifer says is that he will get revenge and destroy everything. After a scene of the Fall, this would be when you finally meet the MC and the game begins.

I'll say more later but I have class right now.

Well, I havent been here for a while, its time to speak a little bit about Final Fantasy. FF XIII is coming soon, and form what I read is very linear but cinematic instead. There are not towns to explore, but there is an open field in the sencond half of the game. I might buy it (I recently bought a ps3), but i´m a little bit concerned with the whole linear thing.

I totally agree that Christian games are either really lame or just badly made (most often - both). I'm loving your ideas! Especially excited when you mentioned the brilliant Thief games (the first two are the best) as a possible model of quality game-play.

As much as i don't like movie/cartoon video games i think i will have to just buy the futurama one just for my collection. It's a pretty old game so i mgith have to get it from ebay for ps2.

I totally agree that Christian games are either really lame or just badly made (most often - both).

I tend to agree.
But has anyone heard of the game 'Axys Adventures: Truth Seeker'? My uncle's brother-in-law made it (with help from others of course). It's aimed for little kids, but I bought it because it's cool to know the guy who made it. He's making other games too, the website is www.therebelplanet.com.

It sounds like FF XIII is going to play very much like FF X. That game focuses on a straight story line, in which you can't choose where to go until the end of the game. I don't have a PS3, and I don't expect to get one any time soon. It's not really finances, but more time. I don't have time to play many games due to my homework load. But I would be interested in one because of the ability to download older games. The other issue is that there are not many games right now that really get my attention. The next ones on my 'to-get-list' are Super Mario Galaxy 2, released in June and Zelda: (untitled right now) for the Wii to be released in November.

Ok so like my dad would not let us get any sort of gaming system other than a Atari for the longest time, this Christmas he bought us an X-box from his brother inlaw. We have several games with it but we only ever play Nascar, Football and COD#2.

Well I'm the only one who plays Cod besides my sister and she hasn't beaten the first level yet. The others are like golf or hockey or such and we are like "Boring" then he also got us a play station... Horrible graphics I might add. But its good for the little kids.

I totally agree that Christian games are either really lame or just badly made (most often - both). I'm loving your ideas! Especially excited when you mentioned the brilliant Thief games (the first two are the best) as a possible model of quality game-play.

To me it's the most feasible way to create a Christian themed game with action without having the Christian player actually partaking in any violence, which is the main barrier (in my opinion) of breaking into the genre. In fact having the player be the target of said violence, and summarily making them take the covert angle to survive, might actually be more realistic in that sense. One needn't be completely defenseless...you could put in passive modes of defense, but focus more on evasion. Once that's established one need only drop in a good plot. The rest will fall into place. This would make it more historically (and even prophetically) accurate, when you think about it.

What do ya' think FFJ?

Shadowlander: Ooh I love all of your ideas, they sound really cool, I would so totaly buy your game ... Oh I just thought up a really instresting plot line , I hope you don't mind me butting in here. After your opening sequence it goes black, then fading onto the screen in white letters

And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.' And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ...and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you...

It opens up on a Christian missionary sitting in the back seat of a single engine plane over an Middle Eastern Country...

And the rest you can figure out

Another option is to actually have the 'Christian hero' do some intentional combat on flesh and blood and use that for that character's dark moment. I have that in the sequel to the novel I've written. My MC sees a friend getting bullied and he reacts with physical violence. This in turn leads to a major confrontation with the bullies and the friend with tragic results. The MC hits rock bottom after this moment and must confront his decisions before being able to go against the real enemy. Since the game would be plot driven (as oppossed to action driven), this could be a big moment in the plot line.

Gotta run to class.

I'm currently working through Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on my X-Box. I've seen big games before...indeed, I love playing a vast game on an epic scale, but this one is definitely among the longest I've ever come across. The play area is truly vast and because the game is free-roaming it means you can literally walk from one end to the other, encountering ruins, foraging for herbs (which you use to make potions), fighting with the local wildlife or bandits, etc. I've been playing the game for a couple of years, on and off, and I'm surprised by how big it is.

What also came to mind is the fighting system, which uses traditional fantasy weapons; sword/shield, bow, axes, hammers, and magical weapons such as staves. The left trigger pulls up your shield if you have one equipped while the right one lets you swing your weapon, or if you have a 2 handed weapon equipped you can sort of parry blows and make wide lunging attacks with the same buttons. This might be a somewhat applicable system to adopt for the theme of games we're discussing here, especially if you wanted to put a literal translation to the Sword of the Spirit or Helm of Salvation concept. I think I might rather like that game!

Everyone mainly guys have started to liek halo latley. I really don't think its that great. I have tried it a coupel of times. What do you think?