Christian Game Developers Conference - July 28-30, Portland

#21 Lol I can hear you on that one... personally I think most Christian game are sortsighted, naive, low quality, little creativity, and thrown together by people who don't have a whole lot of game dev skills. That would be my evaluation in comparisson to indie games. They just need to realize that many of them are "indie" game devs and need to make use of the same resources indies do, including engines like TGE, content packs, indie developers and communities.

#22 True that. + lots of programmer art :P

Its a very untapped market, and someone with the right team and a -good- game concept could really make out well.

If I thought I could find a team of 2 or 3 who wanted to do a decent Christian Game, Id spring for it. Grab Torque 2d, and roll. You could have something nicely pounding the rest of the Christian Games in less than a year. I'm not a "christian" persey, as in I don't attend a church, but I read my bible and such. Organized relegion is just too much like a soroity for me.

#23 I'm a "christian" in the pure meaning of the word and I stand by that word because of its real meaning, not the organizations behind it (lol couldn't tell I'm a programmer ehh).

Quote:If I thought I could find a team of 2 or 3 who wanted to do a decent Christian Game, Id spring for it. Grab Torque 2d, and roll.

Coincidentally I've been thinking along those lines and have been building a 2D game in my head that some day I'll be able to make into a T2D game (when I get the extra time - lol).

#24 Add: Though the game Idea I've been brewing is pretty cynical and harsh (a bit twisted too), though based around biblical ideals probably wouldn't be considered a "Christian" game lol...

#25 Tried to send you an e-mail, it keeps bouncing though, do you have another e-mail other than (xtencilate@springcreature.com listed in your profile)?

#26 Xtencilate@springcreature.net now... I'll update that :)

#27

Quote:Most of the ones I've met aren't gamers, where as indies tend to be gamers as well and by that, more into the current climate

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Chris.

As a gamer and a non-church (well not much) going Christian (Like you Chris I read the bible, but I can't come at losing a whole Sunday morning) I like the concept of a Christian-based game but for me the game has to come first (fun, worth playing etc) and the Christian element is the icing on top.

If Christian developers develop the other way round, not concentrating enough on the gameplay elements but the message then the result is going to be something novel in delivering the message but something lacking for a game.

I also agree that it seems a potential untapped market for indie developers, at least I've always thought so.

#28 Its an excelent opportunity, the more I think about it the mor sense it makes.

@ Nigel:

I'd love to mirror the Blender Tutorials you made, been meaning to offer, just never got around to it. Would it be ok? If so, I'll email you links to the files once I get them up.

#29 That'd be great!

Just sent you an email.

BTW my msn is nsjunkstuff@hotmail.com

#30 Cool, I just replied.

#31 It would be SWEET to play a demon versus angel game with the next-gen technology. That would be really cool.

#32

Quote:Christian Game makers tend to be less, um, modern? or something

I don't think it's modernity that's the problem. I think it's a combination of focus (message first) and experience (lack thereof in the field). I see this with indie film as well as indie game development. The reactionary forces of non-Christian discourse shapes the final product, making it appear more rigid (and often more turgid and awkward as a result) so mistakes in interpretation are not made. And it often leads to movies that people don't want to watch and games people don't want to play because they (even devout Christians) feel like they're being brow-beaten by their own (and often inarticulately brow-beaten). It's like reading bad Christian literature. Why read it when there's so much good?

Unfortunately, the film industry and game industries are newer markets--there have been games and movies with Christian themes since the opening of the industries, but the shifting of popular culture attitudes has marginalized them more than any content: in a spectator medium, the content is secondary to the perspective of the spectator. This is quite disturbing to most people to think about, though it's not really any different than saying "know your audience". It just shifts the view from the developer's product to the final viewpoint of the audience, which can change at any time even as the product remains the same.

But it is a good market, and once the focus (message is important, but if one is making a game gameplay is important) and experience (there are a number of Christians in game development--of course--and the more artists, programmers, and marketing personnel get together, the better the games will become. Indie gaming is a relatively new concept, though it relates naturally to the freeware and shareware markets of the past and the flood of commercial problems in the current industry. And it is taking hold in the niche gaming communities, of which Christian gamers are a large--though mostly untapped--one.

In looking at Christian games, the "successful" ones that I've noticed are trivia and board games, both of which are focus-oriented and extensions of traditional non-digital games that "work". In other, non-successful attempts, there seems to be a massive disconnect between the focus and cogent design. The gameplay doesn't match the message, and vice-versa. It's as if two people got together, one writing a game engine where people run around and do things while the other, working in a separate vaccuum, writes a message-oriented theme. Then, they pull a third person that has not been involved in the project or even the concept of the project to blindly adhere the elements to each other in a gaming imbroglio. That is the closest that I can come to understanding how some of the completely awful Christian games I've played have come to be (things that make Dangerous Curves seem well thought-out).

I see conferences such as this and the general getting-together of Christian developers with a strong passion for the message and for creating games is a good thing for both indie developers and Christian gamers.

Okay, enough Walls of Text from me right now. I have no idea why I even commented except to say "way to go".

#33 We really need a game conference in the central area of the states. No way I can go to Oregon for a game conference. *SIGH*

#34 Would it be acceptable to work on a Christian game if one is agnostic?

If you think about it, many of the tools that are used to make Christian games (3d modelers, compilers, etc) were not made %100 by Christians, so I guess that would mean it's okay?

It's a good market that I think it worth serving for indies. That and the educational market. I wonder what Christian people's view are on agnostics working on a religious game?

#35 I don't think it would raise many eyebrows... provided the content wasn't agnostic. (C;

I remeber going to see Sixpence None the richer at a Christian coffee house several years back. They anounced that their bass player had just gotten saved the week prior.

everyone thought it was cool he got saved - noone batted an eye at the fact that he had been 'un-saved' and playing in a Christian band.

Now, if he'd actually formed the band and dictated that it would eb a "Christian" band without being a Christian, that would've been odd...

My point is, it's the content that gamers are going to see, not necessarily the developer.

#36 Replying to Alan:

Quote:
We really need a game conference in the central area of the states. No way I can go to Oregon for a game conference. *SIGH*

Hi Alan,

That would be true for most conferences, like the GDC always being in California and IndieCon in Oregon.

If you are interested in starting your own conference, let me know and I'll give you some pointers.

Tim

#37 We will have a conference this year - we had a tenative date set but many were requesting a different date. We are investigating that and will announce once we have a solid date.

More than likely, it will be in Portland, Oregon, again although we are looking into another venue option there.

If anyone is curious, I'm an Indie developer (haven't missed an IndieCon yet either) and a Gamer.

Tim

#38 Now that I'm in Eugene, OR I would definately try and attend a Christian Games Conference in Portland.

#39 Great Matthew, looking forward to meeting you in person.

It will be neat to meet an Egyptian Dignatary (King Tut)! ;-)

Hard to believe this will be our fifth year!

Tim

#40

Quote:That would be true for most conferences, like the GDC always being in California and IndieCon in Oregon.

That was the reason that GDC tried the roadtrips circuit. I happened to be lucky enough to hit Boston back in the day and met a number of people who are (unfortunately) not making games...They are mostly making industrial sims for more money than I will probably imagine in a lifetime.

But the Roadtrips rocked!

I'm excited by this "market" even though I'm not in it. I wish great luck to everyone!