Over the years, faith groups have recognised the power of the video game as a pipeline for the Good Word and, not unlike the rise of advergaming attempts, religious game products have been on the rise. We've covered the Christian game movement before, from the Christian Games Conference to the paradoxes in Christian games' messages, but Cracked.com has compiled a better list than we ever have of attempts to bring Christianity to interactivity:
Not surprisingly, we found that devout fundamentalists often make incredibly bad game designers. A little less expected is their muddling of the message of the Bible. We take a look through six of the most preposterous religious video games, evaluating them on sheer ridiculousness, as well as biblical coherence to answer the ultimate question: What would Jesus play?
There are a couple of examples of truly terrible (and harmful) games in this list of six. Left Behind: Eternal Forces, for instance, is not a nice product. But some, had they been swaddled in alternative clothing, might not have appeared so "misguided".
There are plenty of games on release that follow the tenets of religious doctrines; but they may simply not shout - or even know - about it. Several Christian websites and newspapers review Hollywood movies according to their values. I'm sure they'd find several games to write favourable reviews for out of the archives of gaming past. Four which rise immediately to mind:
Animal Crossing Do good deeds, be kind to your neighbours, do no harm. Be kind to animals.
Pikmin Once again, be kind to animals. Be selfless. Help others to flourish. Lead your flock to salvation.
Parappa the Rapper Be kind. Love one another (but not carnally, unless you're married). Smile a lot.
If you ignore all that killing, you might recognise one important religious tenet: Have faith in a higher power.
Go on, my children. There are many others.
