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Why are adventure games so unchristian?

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Hi, AG-folks. I’ve been wondering about the stories in our genre, especially in 3rd person, 2,5D point & click games. Is it some kind of unwritten law, that there has to be either voodoo, cults, black magic, ghosts, zombies, demons or fortune telling in every single game? Now, i’m a christian person, and I try to live my life like one should. But i’m also adventure game lover. It seems to be a really hard mix. I had a chance to play Gibbous - Call Of Cthulhu a short while, and I was really turned off. The game felt perfect at all other respects, loved the graphics, loved the interface, loved the voices, but the story makes me want to tear my hair out. Why is it, that there has to be those unholy elements involved. Every. Freaking. Time. Ain’t there any other ways of making an adventure? Even if I was not a believer, It would still be a refreshment to see a game, that does not include spritual crap. And before anyone tries to offer me the new Secret Of Jesus, I can already say, that I really don’t like the graphics of that one, and a voice acting is also a must have for me.

     

~ Flight Of The Amazon Queen ~ Best Adventure ever!

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MoonBird - 09 November 2019 12:27 AM

Hi, AG-folks. I’ve been wondering about the stories in our genre, especially in 3rd person, 2,5D point & click games. Is it some kind of unwritten law, that there has to be either voodoo, cults, black magic, ghosts, zombies, demons or fortune telling in every single game?

I think “every single game” is a bit too much, there are at least 1000 adventure games that don’t have any of those elements. Those elements are too dominant in hidden object games though, but they usually have plot only as a loose excuse for puzzles anyway.

If you are looking for specifically religious games, then that’s kind of hard, and I’m not sure if there’s anything that matches your criteria completely.

I guess Captain Bible in Dome of Darkness could be classified as an adventure game, but it doesn’t look like a very good game, but maybe it is content-wise good for you.

Then there’s Adam’s Venture series, I haven’t played that one either, although think I may even have that game on Steam. Maybe worth checking out anyway.

And of course The Shivah, although strictly speaking that is not a Christian game at all.

And then there are all those other games. Is science fiction allowed? Then you have a good number of games to choose from.

     
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MoonBird - 09 November 2019 12:27 AM

Hi, AG-folks. I’ve been wondering about the stories in our genre, especially in 3rd person, 2,5D point & click games. Is it some kind of unwritten law, that there has to be either voodoo, cults, black magic, ghosts, zombies, demons or fortune telling in every single game? Now, i’m a christian person, and I try to live my life like one should.

I would have thought that you’d be pleased about this as, in every game that I can remember playing that features your criteria, the cultists etc. always lose to the “good” guys (I use “good” loosely as they’re always going around stealing everything that isn’t nailed down, breaking into houses, getting people fired from their jobs) thus showing up said cultists for the losers that they are.

Perhaps you’d prefer games based on the hundreds of the religious wars that have been fought down the centuries although I’d expect those to be categorised as action rather than adventure due to the amount of unrestrained violence that would be needed to make them accurate.

     

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Jabod - 09 November 2019 04:51 AM

I would have thought that you’d be pleased about this as, in every game that I can remember playing that features your criteria, the cultists etc. always lose to the “good” guys (I use “good” loosely as they’re always going around stealing everything that isn’t nailed down, breaking into houses, getting people fired from their jobs) thus showing up said cultists for the losers that they are.

There are clearly “disturbing” elements in many adventure games, if one is very sensitive about those things. For instance, in all Monkey Island games the protagonist must use some voodoo items and stuff to fight LeChuck, who is a ghost/undead/zombie/whatever depending on the sequel. In Telltale’s Sam & Max satan even appears as a NPC, and I would assume that Leisure Suit Larry is a bit troublesome to fit in the traditional family values and morals.

You raise an interesting point though. If we take “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” into consideration, then at least 99% of all adventure games are bad immediately!  Gasp

There are a small number of games which don’t even have an inventory, so such games might be suitable in that regard. It gets very difficult to suggest one though, I’m not sure I can come up with anything at all without looking up some databases/sources.

I Get This Call Every Day is a game that is practically speaking just one long dialogue puzzle, not very adventurous, but that might somehow fit the criteria. I think that it might have some foul language, so if that’s another no-no, then even that doesn’t pass.

     
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MoonBird - 09 November 2019 12:27 AM

I had a chance to play Gibbous - Call Of Cthulhu a short while, and I was really turned off. The game felt perfect at all other respects, loved the graphics, loved the interface, loved the voices, but the story makes me want to tear my hair out. Why is it, that there has to be those unholy elements involved.

I would strongly advise against playing any game with ‘cthulhu’ in the title if you wish to avoid unholy elements!

I don’t glean from your post that you specifically want to play games with a religious theme just not those that include voodoo, cults, black magic, ghosts, zombies, demons & fortune telling?

     
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Playing Cthulhu games and complain about unchristian things sounds like trolling.

     

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I remember MoonBird from when I first joined the forums Gabe so pretty sure that they’re not trolling but obviously are not familiar with ‘cthulhu’.

     
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MoonBird - 09 November 2019 12:27 AM

Hi, AG-folks. I’ve been wondering about the stories in our genre, especially in 3rd person, 2,5D point & click games. Is it some kind of unwritten law, that there has to be either voodoo, cults, black magic, ghosts, zombies, demons or fortune telling in every single game? Now, i’m a christian person, and I try to live my life like one should. But i’m also adventure game lover. It seems to be a really hard mix. I had a chance to play Gibbous - Call Of Cthulhu a short while, and I was really turned off. The game felt perfect at all other respects, loved the graphics, loved the interface, loved the voices, but the story makes me want to tear my hair out. Why is it, that there has to be those unholy elements involved. Every. Freaking. Time.

Every freaking time, really? What about 3rd-person adventures like Lumino City, Machinarium, Botanicula, Chuchel, Ace Ventura, The Inner World + sequel, Lily Looking Through, Resonance, St Christopher’s School Lockdown, Gorogoa, The Neverhood*, Armikrog, Four Last Things (oops!), A New Beginning, Al Emmo, Duckman, Journey of a Roach, and many more. I’m not entirely sure there isn’t the odd ghost lurking around that slipped my mind, but no sinister themes.

Ain’t there any other ways of making an adventure? Even if I was not a believer, It would still be a refreshment to see a game, that does not include spritual crap. And before anyone tries to offer me the new Secret Of Jesus, I can already say, that I really don’t like the graphics of that one, and a voice acting is also a must have for me.

You have very strong feelings about this. So I’m just a bit surprised Black Mirror 2 and 3 are on your list of favorite games.  Tongue

* PS: The Neverhood actually has christian themes and songs. Made by devout christians. If you haven’t played it you should. Awsome game.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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That’s what makes those games work. Gabriel Knight or Broken Sword series, for example, contain many Christian themes along with voodoo, vampires, cults, etc. They are only there to make stories more exciting, not to promote cultism or Satanism. Remove them, and you’ll be left with very boring games about some character doing a historical research.

My favourite adventure of this year so far is Hypnospace Outlaw where you are doing some nasty work as an internet censor. I know the developer is a devoted Christian, but even he explored some themes you might describe as “unchristian” and even included parody webpages that ridiculed Christian fansites which one might also call offensive.

     

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Gabe - 09 November 2019 06:41 AM

Playing Cthulhu games and complain about unchristian things sounds like trolling.

No, it’s not trolling. Its just… running out of options! If you’re picky about the graphics, interface and voice-acting, then you try to tolerate few not so nice story points. But, there’s a limit there, allright.

     

~ Flight Of The Amazon Queen ~ Best Adventure ever!

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As for the Black Mirror 2 & 3 point. Yes, I admit it can sound a bit conflicting at first. It also may seem a bit hard to explain, but in fact, there’s quite a little against christianity there. I do believe that evil forces are true, and they really do exist. And they can also take over a control of a person, and that is what happens there. Sure, there were some moments when I felt, that perhaps it not entirely suitable for a believer, but those moments felt minor for me, and Cranberry really succeeded marvelously with everything else.

     

~ Flight Of The Amazon Queen ~ Best Adventure ever!

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People who make adventure games can (and do) have their own religious beliefs and their religions may not have a problem with Zombies, Vampires, etc.

There is a company that makes bible adventure games:

https://www.adventurebible.com/games/home

Christians only make up about 30% of the total worlds population and adventure games are made around the world.

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I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.

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Mikekelly - 10 November 2019 11:59 AM

Christians only make up about 30% of the total worlds population and adventure games are made around the world.

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That is a good point, but in all honesty, how many adventure games have come out of countries where Christianity is not the main belief system? I can think of only two countries, Israel (which might be considered a Christian country in a certain sense) and Japan, which really is the odd exception here, but they have so strong presence in the video game industry that it would be almost impossible that there wouldn’t be Japanese adventure games.

But I think almost every random adventure game pick would be coming from a Christian country.
Also, if we exclude (People’s Republic of) China and India, which are not Christian countries but which really don’t produce adventure games either, but have nearly 3 billion people combined, then that percentage would be something totally different.

So if your point was that there are certain kind of adventure games because they come from countries with no Christian traditions, I just don’t think that’s really the case, with the exception of Japan, obviously. In Japanese games the presence of spirits can actually be a sign of some kind of underlying Shinto-Buddhism. But a game from Central Europe or South America or some place, that really won’t be the case.

     
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its not just an adventure gaming ‘thing’, its universal, all movie (i.e) all the time hitting over one or two subjects; this ‘world is godless’ and ‘there is not more in life than this moment, or time on earth ...’, and unfortunately ‘things’ working according to plan.

     

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Is storytelling with unchristian elements unchristian? Is playing those games unchristian?
While I wouldn’t equate living in a Christian country or even being registered as such with actually being Christian, I bet at least some of those games were made by self-identified Christians who simply don’t share the same sentiments regarding the matter.
Also “Christian” can mean a lot of things, depending on the exact denomination or even personal interpretation. Biblical literalism or belief in actual dark forces, sorcery/witchcraft or possession for example isn’t something that most Christians I’ve met in my life would subscribe to.
Yes, I know, “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled…”, but that’s just how it is, which makes these parts of the Bible for many Christians stories about the human condition or superstitious elements introduced by its authors and/or errors by translators (thou shalt not suffer a witch to live, anyone?).

So I’d say those games might not align with your version or personal interpretation of Christianity and I understand they make you uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling them unchristian by default. This reminds me a bit of the “Christian” protest against the Harry Potter books, which left most people, and I dare say most Christians, rather bemused (and amused), no offense.

And if we then draw a Venn diagram of the niche genre of adventures, or even only high quality adventures that suit your taste, and your personal sensitivities, the answer to the question why there are few games fitting into this exact intersection should become pretty self-apparent in my opinion.

Alum is a game that has an underlying Christian theme, but is probably not up to your standards.

     

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MoonBird - 10 November 2019 10:00 AM

I do believe that evil forces are true, and they really do exist.

But Jesus didn’t believe this, otherwise he would not have been able to resurrect. A Christian would believe that there is only Christ, Son of God, and no other. God creating evil forces which are totally against the nature of God makes no sense.

 

 

     

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