Left Behind Military Real Time Strategy Game (ritual, gospel, the passion)

[cardw]

Here is a partial list of features for a newly released game based on the Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

· Lead the Tribulation Force from the book series , including Rayford, Chloe, Buck and Bruce against Nicolae Carpathia – the AntiChrist.

· Conduct physical & spiritual warfare : using the power of prayer to strengthen your troops in combat and wield modern military weaponry throughout the game world.

· Play multiplayer games as Tribulation Force or the AntiChrist's Global Community Peacekeepers with up to eight players via LAN or over the internet!

I guess there is a small controversy regarding the game from articles pointing out that if one doesn't conquer the foe with prayer then you have a whole selection of modern military weaponry at your disposal. You can read their response in which they state that the purpose of the game is to "encourage gamers to think about matters of eternal significance, a topic largely ignored by modern games."

The company vision is noted as follows:

"Our Mission

The mission of Left Behind Games is to become the world’s leading independent developer and publisher of quality interactive entertainment products that perpetuate positive values and appeal to mainstream and faith-based audiences, while remaining committed to increasing shareholder value and pursuing the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in all business affairs.

New Genre

For the Year of 2003, the Gospel Music Association (GMA) reported sales of more than 47.1 million CDs.

Controversial as it has been, The Passion of the Christ has generated more than $500 million since it's release. Experts are expecting it to become one of the top ten financially successful movies of all-time.

To date, not one high-quality video game has been marketed to this same audience. It is management’s belief that LEFT BEHIND will be a catalyst for a new genre of video game entertainment; known, as stated by the Wall Street Journal, as 'God Games'."

When you look at the advisory board you have a who's who of the video game industry including top people from Activision, Microsoft, Warner and Fox television. When you read their market statistics it becomes obvious that there is a whole market for "Faith Based" products and there seems to be a large group of people who are willing to pay for products that have been "sanitized for their protection."

If someone wants to purchase these products they are certainly free to do so, but I would hope that the "faith based" community might not want their faith hi-jacked by something that has little to do with faith and more to do with the market.

I'm still having a little difficulty connecting how the use of modern weapons of war will increase my faith.

[YmirGF]

I find this to be a disturbing but inevitable progression in the video game market. I know for a fact that I will never play any game coming from this group, period. In light of that they are welcome to do whatever they like. If people need this sort of ethically based reinforcement then "have at 'er" is all I can say.

Little Johnny and Suzi's mom and dad can breathe easier knowing their children are playing a "quality" game that focuses on subliminal brainwashing to do the job they are otherwise failing at. Pretty sad. Why not just put VR goggles on them and a low dosage anesthetic and hypnotize the next few generation, eh. Yeah... that ought to work.

[kiwimac]

Horrible games, terrible concept. What else needs to be said?

[EiNsTeiN]

well...I'm trying to figure out why is this thread posted in the general religious debates forum...

I'm getting the feeling that this place in inappropriate for the thread..

[Scarlett Wampus]

As long as no one is coerced to play, or not to play, a game like this against their will I see little harm in it. Personally I'll be looking forward to the video game version of Jerry Springer: The Opera.

[Radio Frequency X]

As long as Christians would be ok with a game marketed toward Muslims, where they can win virgins by killing Christians, I don't see a problem.

[Mestemia]

My problem with the game is that it just sucks.

They took a decent game idea aand slaughtered it.
The game is so buggy that it is actually a test in patience to play.
The replay value is an all time zero.
This is provided you can actually get through the game the first time.
One can hardly go ten minutes before the game locks up.
Even after doing a 'bare bones' boot up.

Don't even get me started on the AI.
When your troops cannot even find their way around a mail box or lightpost...
The impression I get is that they should have released this as a beta test version.

[Shadow Wolf]

I think I might get it, mod and hack it, and always play as the "bad guys" over the internet, and with my mods, hacks, and bots, have unbeatable forces. Or, I could just keep playing Starcraft.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by EiNsTeiN

well...I'm trying to figure out why is this thread posted in the general religious debates forum...

Because the game is based on a fictional series of books that is one Christian minister's view of what the Bible refers to as "end times." So there's a huge religous backdrop to it.

The Christian minister's views are, in turn, based on ideas that can be traced back to a British minister (Darby) from back in the 1800s.

Probably the first place to get up to speed on the concept would be to learn about an idea called the Rapture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture

It's not a majority view among Christians here by any means, but it's not an obscure belief held by only a few either.

Frankly, if you want to understand *some* of the movitations of some Americans who unquestioningly support Isreal, you really need to understand their beliefs about the Rapture and the place of the state of Israel in their ideas. Ah, but that's another thread in its own right.

[fullyveiled muslimah]

I know this thread is old, but I just watched a trailer for the game and actually see nothing wrong with it in theory. There are so many types of games ranging from a game a 6 year old can play, to a game that is geared towards adults only. I see no reason why this would not have been a forseen progression in the gaming genre. The problem people are having with this game couldn't be the violence. It is the religious backdrop to the game that makes people uncomfortable. If one can be comfortable with a game where the lead characters goal is to get laid by all the girls at his college, then why not be comfortable with a game that basically says all who oppose God ultimately go to hell, and one can ensure this fate in the virtual world? No one is forced to purchase it so no harm no foul.

This statement is made by me while intentionally disregarding the things I do consider disturbing about the overall tone and deeper messege that is being sent.