Christian video game draws anger
Pastor Dale Morgan
Christian video game draws anger*
By Richard Allen Greene
BBC News, Washington
A new Christian video game has sparked calls for a boycott from groups
who say it is "training for religious warfare".
The game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, is based on a wildly successful
series of novels about the struggles on earth after true believers
ascend to heaven.
Players can command the army of good - the Tribulation Force - against
the anti-Christ's Global Community.
The game's makers reject criticism, saying their detractors "have a
clear hatred of Biblical Christianity".
An alliance of liberal groups including the Christian Alliance for
Progress, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, and Talk2Action, have
urged the giant retailer Wal-Mart, among others, to stop stocking the
game, which was released last month.
"It's about religious warfare. The way to win is to convert or kill. You
have both the Inquisition and the Crusades," says Frederick Clarkson of
Talk2Action.
"Anybody who is not a follower of Jesus is the enemy," he claims.
'Dehumanising the enemy'
Mr Clarkson is particularly concerned that the $39.95 (£20) game - which
is rated for teenagers due to violence - is being marketed through churches.
Screen shot from Left Behind: Eternal Forces (Courtesy of Left Behind Games)
Game excerpts
"Pastors and youth leaders recommend the game to their parishioners," he
says, giving its message the stamp of authority.
And that message is the "dehumanisation of the feared other - Catholics,
Jews, Muslims, the wrong kind of Protestants, people deemed to be
sinners", he says.
That dehumanisation, he warns, is a first step towards genocide.
Jeffrey S Frichner, a co-founder of Left Behind Games, utterly rejects
that characterisation of his game.
None of the missions in the game has a "convert-or-die" objective, he
insists.
"It's the anti-Christ that desires you to convert or die, and you are
defending yourself against that on the good side," he says.
"You will absolutely lose each level and never win the game if you
choose physical warfare as a means."
'Evangelising - respectfully'
The word "convert" does not even appear in the game, he adds - and
neither does the word "Christian".
"The game itself is just a great game. People of other faiths could play
it and not know it's Christian," he says.
Screen shot from Left Behind: Eternal Forces (Courtesy of Left Behind Games)
Left Behind looks like a typical video game in some respects
He freely admits the game aims to evangelise.
"But it is doing it in a way which is very respectful, not Bible-thumping."
When players successfully complete a level of the real-time strategy
game, "you get a vignette that has some kind of Biblical truth and a
find-out-more button", he says.
That leads players to a website where they can discuss issues, say a
prayer and "become a believer", Mr Frichner says.
He thinks that will appeal to young people.
"People are drawn to things that provide answers. My personal position
is that the Bible provides all those answers."
'Summer blockbuster'
Left Behind: Eternal Forces is not the first Christian video game, but
it is the most ambitious to date, experts say.
"This is the first Christian developer that tried to produce a triple-A
title, the summer blockbuster of video games," says Brian Crecente,
editor of the games blog Kotaku and a video games writer for the Rocky
Mountain News newspaper.
Video games are no longer just about amusing people, but about trying to
send a message
Brian Crecente,
Kotaku editor
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He is intrigued by the moral complexity of the game, which he saw played
late in development, before its release.
"Your characters can do physical combat, but when they do, they lose
morale and have a greater chance of becoming evil.
"In some sense, that can represent what happens. In the real world, you
can't get involved in a gunfight and walk away and forget it."
He is critical of the game on other grounds, though, saying that in
trying to deliver entertainment as well as a message, the developers
have fallen short on both.
"It's a muddled message and a kind-of entertaining game," he says.
Kill the president
It is not the only violent video game with a message raising concern
this holiday season.
Screen shot from Quest for Bush (Courtesy of the Site Institute)
Tony Blair and Iraq's prime minister are targets in Quest for Bush
The Global Islamic Media Front has released a game called Quest for
Bush, in which players aim to kill the US president.
Adam Raisman, an analyst at the Search for International Terrorist
Entities (Site) Institute who has played the game, calls the free
download "propaganda", but stops short of labelling it recruitment.
"We can't say this is preparation for jihad, but it puts out the idea
that you can walk around with a gun and shoot American soldiers," he says.
"It is putting the thought in your head that Bush, Blair and Rumsfeld
are the guys you're going after."
Mr Crecente, the games writer, has not seen Quest for Bush (also known
as Night of Bush Hunting, the literal translation of its Arabic title).
But he says both it and Left Behind: Eternal Forces are part of an
effort in the gaming world to deal with important issues.
"Whenever games take on something important, they are accused of
trivialising the subject," he says.
"This shows that video games have gotten past the birthing pains. They
are no longer just about amusing people, but about trying to send a
message."