Ah, let them have their game. This isn’t jack compared to Doom 3 anyway.
Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart, a major video game retailer, should yank it off its shelves.
The Campaign to Defend the Constitution and the Christian Alliance for Progress, two online political groups, plan to demand today that Wal-Mart dump Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a PC game inspired by a series of Christian novels that are hugely popular, especially with teens.
We need to stop thinking that games mold opinion. People buy games that reinforce the mindset they already have.
Can’t help but thinking of this article from yesterday… *rolling eyes*
I think it should be pulled because it is unfair that the anti-christ side can never win!
On the other hand, this game simply cries out for some truly wicked mods …
It’s a game, for crying out loud. It seemingly sucks, but it’s still just a game.
“Jeff Gerstmann, senior editor at Gamespot.com, an online publication, said the game sn’t popular. The game itself, which Gamespot rated 3.4 out of a possible 10, has lots of glitches.”
Leave it alone……..
Isn’t reinforcing mindsets just a form of molding opinion?
This sounds like a *very* bizarre game.
…Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a PC game inspired by a series of Christian novels that are hugely popular,…
So, its okay to read about it, but not okay to “act it out” in a video game?
With Dubya trying to bring-on the end times, isn’t this good traing for the “rest of us” who will be left on Earth after the rapture? 😉
And why did it take 5 posts before someone blamed Dubya for this? And they call you liberals… bah, humbug! 😉
They should make a branch dividian game. I’d play that.
As far as this goes as a person who believes in Christ (Note: Thats Christ not people who claim things in his name)
Who cares. Its just a damn game.
Isn’t there a Simpsons where Rod and Todd are playing a game like this? Shooting bibles at people to convert them?
“You winged him. He’s only a Unitarian.”
It should be a very interesting 2 more years…
I wish I could travel into the future to see what country will take in Americans as refugees. I bet none. We probably will have to populate a new planet some where out in the ‘outer rim’
Maybe what the two groups cited there are saying is that it should be pulled because it’s a crappy game. 🙂 I wish.
It’s funny, though, that two mutually contradictory hypotheses about the effects of entertainment coexist peacefully in popular psychology: on the one hand are the people who believe in “sublimation”, that is, that violent games (and football!) are an outlet for aggression, thereby reducing the amount of real violence in the world. On the other hand are the people who believe that exposure to simulated violence and rewards for engaging in it tend to elicit more real violence, too.
And here’s the puzzle: you can easily get any individual person to express both opinions under different circumstances. 🙂
Does anyone have any GOOD reason (i.e. non-anecdotal, subject to empirical evaluation, etc. ) to think that either hypothesis is true?
Any one got an Island for rent??
Lets put all the zealots in 1 palce and see who wins…
maybe the Christian groups would feel better if the non-believers were just pushed out of windows?
This game has gotten worse reviews then Barbie’s Adventure into Bubble Gum Land. Its glitchy slow, its a pathetic excuse for an RTS, and multiplayer is a joke. If your gonna promote hate for other religions at least put some enthusiasm into it.
Once again, as was the case with Bully, stupid people that don’t play video games should not judge video games, particularly when they’ve never played them.
I wonder if it allows you to play on either side.. It might be fun to play on the non-Christian side. I’m not sure what that would consist of though. wrecking churches and converting Christians maybe? Of course I’d expect Christians would be up in arms about that.
Personally I find Christianity offensive and an insult to my intelligence when it comes to science vs. creative design.
#14,
What about intelligent people who don’t play video games? May they criticise?
What about homosexuals, do you need to be one before you can have an opinion?
Do I need to write code before I can comment on MicroSoft?
Do I need an IQ of
Ooopps, look like the tail of my post was cut off. In #16, the last sentence should read:
Do I need an IQ of greater then 75 to suggest this is stupid?
Actually you have to be a homosexual Microsoft game coder with an IQ below 75 before you’re allowed to comment on this game. 😉
I wonder if Jesus plays this game…
#2 is right on. If I play this game, I want to be the Anti-Christ.
My motto: Just because you were left behind is no reason to get pissy.
I don’t get it. The evangelists created and marketed this game, and their fellow nutbags want to pull it from wal-mart’s shelves?
When are these people going to get over themselves? I’m tired of them pushing their morals on everyone else. It’s just so god-damned annoying.
From The Article:
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the retailer has no plans to pull Left Behind: Eternal Forces from any of the 200 of Wal-Mart’s 3,800 stores that offer the game…
I’m betting if I look in my nearby Wal-Mart, I’ll discover that I am in one of those 200 stores. I feel I am at the epicenter of a Let’s All Hump Jesus’s Leg Orgy here in Indiana… But really, why should Wal-Mart pull the title. God Freaks have money too and it is a good idea to seperate them from their money before the spend it on lynching local homosexuals or forcing Creationism in the schools.
NOTE: My local Best Buy carries the game.
“We look at the community to see where it will sell,” said Tara Raddohl. “We have customers who are buying it and really haven’t received a lot of complaints about it from our customers at this time.”
And who would expect a lot of complaints from a Wal-Mart customer?
Clark Stevens, co-director of the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, said the game is not peaceful or diplomatic.
Well, it’s a crappy game to be sure… but to be fair, should a game be peaceful?
“It’s an incredibly violent video game,” said Stevens. “Sure, there is no blood. (The dead just fade off the screen.) But you are mowing down your enemy with a gun. It pushes a message of religious intolerance. You can either play for the ‘good side’ by trying to convert nonbelievers to your side or join the Antichrist.”
Of course it pushes a message of religious interance. It’s a game based on the whacho ultra right wing writings of God humpers Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, whose work has gone a long way toward exposing theo-conservative religion is the hate filled political machine that it really is.
Other liberals might disagree, but the right thing to do is stand by and let the market decide…
Look. Bible thumping zealots always come out of the woodwork to make noise about whatever percieved danger to society bug is up their ass at any given moment. They boycott games, movies, music, and stage book burnings and rally protests… and God love them for it because free publicity is like manna from heaven. The greatest thing that i could hope for if I were to be a game designer is to design a game which caused the religious right and their strange bedfellows, Joe and Hillary, to name me as the number one threat to all that is good and holy. That sort of attention would put my product and my name front and center on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc., and I’d ride that wave of free press all the way to the bank.
My advise to those who wish to see Left Behind fail (as it deserves to) is to shut the hell up and let it die the natural death it has coming. The right has demonstrated many times that the tactic fails. Let’s learn from the right and let hate spewing, low-quality, God freak BS like this die the nasty death it deserves.
Is this for real?
it doesn’t reflect Christian teaching.
it doesn’t reflect the Left Behind books.
if the article isn’t parody, the game must be… someones cheap stab at Christianity.
They can remove it for lack of good taste.
What if there were a game where you had to convert the Jews, or kill them, for instance?
Wait. That IS this game. Unless all the Judaean Deniers of Christ were hurled into the firey pit before this phase of God’s Wrath; I forget which happens when in the American Rapurist mythology.
But it ain’t mythology to them. They really, really believe that they will be doing this, and soon. These people are far more looney than Al Queda. At least AQ has a identifiable beef. The Rapturists just want to end the world, with as much pain to the unbelievers as possible.
This game made an article and might be banned? Wow…now I need to go buy it and play it. I’ll just tell my mom that it’s a religious game and it’s all the rage with my Christian friends. tee hee hee
It isn’t gonna get banned… It’s just a do-good group asking wal mart not to sell it.
For what its worth, may be you should actually play the game before beliving and commenting on everything you read. Just a thought.
Left Behind Video Game
Response by Mark Taylor
President, Tyndale House Publishers
posted 6/19/06
Thank you for inquiring about the video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces.
Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a real-time strategy PC game created by Left Behind Games, Inc. (LBG). LBG is an independent company that was formed to create a game based on the first few books in the best selling “Left Behind” book series. These are novels that trace the adventures of those left behind after the Rapture.
Tyndale House extended a license to LBG to create a video game based on the storyline and characters of the “Left Behind” series. While LBG is the sole developer of the game, they have communicated consistently with Tyndale and the authors, and they have accepted our input with a spirit of cooperation.
LBG reports that the video game is scheduled to be released in late 2006. The game is intended for players age 13 and up. The game has not yet been rated, but LBG anticipates that it will receive a “T” (Teen) or “E” (Everyone) rating.
Tyndale House is concerned about the types of entertainment being offered to families. We are careful to guard the content of our own products, and we are working with LBG to ensure that the content of their game is appropriate. For example, there is no blood and gore in Left Behind: Eternal Forces. There is a certain level of violence inherent in the story, just as there is a certain level of violence in the “Left Behind” books. After all, the period in which the game is set is a chaotic and dangerous time where the Tribulation Force is recruiting new members and defending itself against the forces of Antichrist and the Global Community. The game is designed to be a classic battle between good and evil, but it does not gratuitously depict violence or death.
The players’ objective is to find “tribulation clues,” which include Bible mysteries, codes, and fascinating clues to encourage gamers to think of matters of eternal importance. In the initial missions, there is little emphasis on physical warfare, and gamers are introduced to powers of influence that result in a battle for the hearts and minds of people. In more advanced missions, there is no objective to cause physical warfare. However, physical warfare does result when the player is required to defend himself/herself against the physical forces of evil, which are led by the Anti-Christ.
Recently, some people have criticized the level of violence in Left Behind: Eternal Forces. Frankly, we’re surprised by these comments, because the critics have neither seen nor previewed the game, which is still under development. Several months ago there was a news story with erroneous information about the game. Unfortunately, some readers accepted the misinformation as being factual, and then the rumor mill and the blogs were off and running.
If you hear someone making negative statements about this game, we encourage you to ask if they have personally reviewed the game. If they are merely passing on hearsay, it falls into the category of slander and gossip. (See 1 Peter 2:1 and 2 Cor. 12:20 for a biblical perspective on that type of activity.) Left Behind Games, Inc. has a license from Tyndale House Publishers to produce this game, but they are an independent company. For more information about the game, we encourage you to visit their website: http://www.leftbehindgames.com.
——————————————————————————–
Statement from Troy Lyndon
President, Left Behind Games
posted 6/15/06
It’s distressing to see such an egregious misrepresentation of our game. The recent comments posted on several blogs and websites are nothing short of gross distortions and total untruths. Comments by those writing/involved with these articles have been done without ever having seen the game! LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces is a game loosely based on the first few books in the best-selling Left Behind book series. These are novels that trace the adventures of those left behind when the Rapture occurs, a biblical event forecasted in the Book of Revelation.
The slanted blurb about our game is carried on several anti-evangelical blog sites with a clear agenda, written by those who clearly never saw or played our game. The bloggers have never contacted Left Behind Games to check any facts. Many highly respected news sources have seen our game and responded positively, such as The New York Times, LA Times. and ABC World News Tonight.
The description of our game in these articles are totally inaccurate. The player does NOT target Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, or any other group. The game is a good versus evil story, which in turn results in conflict. Players command battle scenes raging in the streets of New York City between the Tribulation Forces and the Antichrist’s forces—the Global Community Peacekeepers—during the End of Days. The Antichrist’s forces are on the warpath, actively hunting down and exterminating all resistance to his one world government. This includes the good guys—the Tribulation Force—defending themselves against Satan. The game is intended to prompt gamers to discuss important questions about life and death.
The game does not reward killing, but rather results in loss of Spirit points which are essential for winning. Yes, physical warfare is offered, but it’s not bloody, graphic, or horrific. Additionally, spiritual (i.e., non lethal) warfare plays a larger role than physical warfare. The player’s goal is to save as many people as possible from the clutches of the Antichrist—not to kill them.
I want to play that game, along with that “Ethnic cleansing” FPS game and all for the sole reason: It’s a violent game and those are fun.
I just can’t wait for LucasArts to release games with their hyped Euphoria game engine; that way when the NPC bastards cling on the edges to stay away from falling to their doom, I would aim the gun at their hands and see if they will let go and fall.
#26, couldn’t you have just linked to the page instead of making a huge copy and paste?
28,
NOPE he couldnt….
This statement is posted from an employee of Left Behind Games on behalf of Troy Lyndon, our Chief Executive Officer.
There has been in incredible amount of MISINFORMATION published in the media and in online blogs here and elsewhere.
Pacifist Christians and other groups are taking the game material out of context to support their own causes. There is NO “killing in the name of God” and NO “convert or die”. There are NO “negative portrayals of Muslims” and there are NO “points for killing”.
Please play the game demo for yourself (to at least level 5 of 40) to get an accurate perspective, or listen to what CREDIBLE unbiased experts are saying after reviewing the game at http://www.leftbehindgames.com/pages/controversy.com
Then, we’d love to hear your feedback as an informed player.
The reality is that we’re receiving reports everyday of how this game is positively affecting lives by all who play it.
Thank you for taking the time to be a responsible blogger.