Opinion: Guitar Hero Praise: What’s Wrong With The ‘Christian’ Videogame?
['Chewing Pixels' is a regular GameSetWatch column written by British games journalist and producer, Simon Parkin. This time, he attempts to understand why Christian-themed gaming is so maligned.]
Earlier this week gaming news outlets and blogs caught wind of a forthcoming, independent gaming release from hitherto little-known developer, Digital Praise.
Appropriating the form and function of Harmonix’s Guitar Hero series (itself perhaps inspired by Konami’s Guitar Freaks games) Guitar Praise offers the faithful - at least, those of the affluent, American, evangelical variety - the chance to play along with their favourite pulpit-rock acts, just as Jesus would have wanted.
In the game’s press release Digital Praise promise players that, once they lay down the $99.95 entry fee, they’ll soon be “rockin' with the best while praising the Lord!”
The gaming community greeted the story with exactly the kind of all-caps, spluttering incredulity one might expect. One droll commentator at Boing Boing quipped, “The game refuses to boot on Sunday mornings, so I hear.”
The story gained widespread coverage because, while there have been Christian-targeted videogames before, including such titles as 1992’s Joshua: Battle of Jericho for the NES, 1994’s Spiritual Warfare for the Gameboy and 1995’s Bible Adventures on the Genesis, such releases are still unusual enough to be ‘newsworthy’ when they do crop up.
The Evolution Of Games For Diverse Audiences
In part this type of coverage is a sign of gaming’s relative immaturity. Since the scales fell from Hollywood’s eyes following the financial success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, studios have been clawing over themselves to sign up blockbuster-size Biblical-themed projects in search of the Christian dollar.
But the older movie industry has always been adept at serving a diverse range of audiences, tastes and interests. Gaming is only just beginning to diversify in similar ways and we are unused to our hobby being appropriated by (or targeted at) minority groups as a way of spreading their word, exploring their history, espousing their worldview or promoting their agenda.
So when that does happen the news is reported in a way that the announcement of, for example, another Buena Vista Narnia film will never be.
It’s important to note that the seizure of cultural forms by minority groups, (be they Christians, homosexuals or even international terrorist groups) signals the maturation and diversification of a medium, not its stagnation or a scarcity of ideas.
So then why should a game like this attract such widespread scorn and derision from the wider gaming community? Digital Praise has shown only the smallest amount of game footage on its site but what’s on display already raises copycat concerns. Konami and Harmonix appear to own patents on many of the systems that the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series employ (such as music staves that travel into the screen along the Z-axis rather than across the flat horizontal or vertical ones).
Has the developer put an infringing foot wrong in their interpretation of these fiercely-guarded mechanisms, they will likely feel the full force of litigious publishers already eager to protect their in-vogue investments from imitators.
As a more immediate problem (at least for the discerning consumer), the game looks technically and graphically simplistic - there are no 3D models to represent the musicians in the game, for example.
Perhaps it’s unfair to judge an independent rhythm action title designed as a PC/ Mac game (which by definition won’t have undergone any of the stringent TCRs or quality testing that games for the core consoles must adhere to) by the same measures we use for Rock Band et al, but gaming’s consumers are rarely so understanding.
The Zoo Race Precedent
Take, for example, the merciless reaction to YouTube videos of Christian publisher Cougar Interactive’s Noah-themed game, Zoo Race, unveiled at the beginning of the year. A technical mess, Zoo Race showcased poor 3D modeling, patchwork animation, drab coloring, inexcusable texture pop in and ruinous voice acting.
But far from being mean-spirited, gamers understood that Zoo Race was not the homebrew product of a young churchgoer sitting at home learning how to code, but rather a bona fide, commercial project. Whenever a creation shifts from amateur interest to money-making product, the rules of conversation change and as such Zoo Race deserved all of the razor-sharp criticism it received.
But is the existence of products such as Zoo Race and Guitar Praise really such an issue? Surely they just service their niche in a harmless and lawful way, borrowing ideas from the mainstream and re-cloaking them in the language and vocabulary of their intended audience?
And if that is the case, then why should the gaming community at large have such a strong reaction to their existence? Isn’t it gaming for Christians just another curio niche like Hannah Montana’s is to 9-year-old girls, Singstar is to drunken students or Real Time Strategy games are to beardy, studious men?
Perhaps then what people object to, whether they realize it or not, is an ideological and theological issue with religious gaming, rather than any particular distaste as the idea Christian gamers might simply want games that explore their faith and service their community.
What Christian Gaming Might Mean
The word Christian is, in the strict sense, a noun. It literally means somebody who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. People get themselves in all manner of trouble when they turn the noun into an adjective to describe their work, community, bookshop, painting, tee shirt, video game or song.
A book or song cannot ‘follow Christ’. As an adjective the word is, in essence, a term of marketing targeting a product specifically at Christian people. As a result it is an objectionable label to have applied to a music video game which self-evidently cannot be Christian. Indeed, the terms use infers that the real Guitar Hero and its ilk are, in turn, somehow ‘Unchristian’, a damnation by inference.
Problematically people ascribe deeper, ideological significance to an object when it is prefixed by the adjective ‘Christian’. They might (quite reasonably) expect that, for example, a Christian book promote the teachings, moral stance or ethical position of Christ.
However, in many of cases this is simply not true or, at least, the product promotes only a very particular reading of those teachings. A ‘Christian Book’ is instead a book that is being marketed to a particular demographic. ‘Christian’ as an adjective is a label of marketing dressed up as a label of message, identity or instruction: something that the American market in particular has difficulty being honest about.
The problem is exacerbated when the Christian adjective is ascribed to more abstract, aesthetic and non-instructional things such as music, art or video games. Contemporary theologian Rob Bell explains it like so:
“Something can be labeled ‘Christian’ and not be true or good… It is possible for music to be labeled ‘Christian’ and be terrible music. It could lack creativity and inspiration. The lyrics could be recycled clichés. That ‘Christian’ band could actually be giving Jesus a bad name because they aren’t a great band. It is possible for a movie to be a ‘Christian’ movie and to be a terrible movie. It may actually desecrate the art form in its quality and storytelling and craft.
“Just because it is a ‘Christian’ book by a ‘Christian’ author and it was purchased in a ‘Christian’ bookstore doesn’t mean it is all true or good or beautiful. A ‘Christian’ political group puts me in an awkward position: What if I disagree with them? Am I less of a Christian? What if I’m convinced the ‘Christian’ thing to do is to vote the exact opposite? Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective.”
This problem is not peculiar to Christianity. ‘Gay’ is a noun in the strict sense signifying a homosexual person. However, it’s increasingly used as an adjective in order to sell product to that specific niche, again a kind of marketing malapropism. So we have gay bars, gay car insurance companies and gay holidays.
Many Christians, like many gays, for all of their insistence they be accepted and integrated in seamlessly into society, still want to feel distinct and part of a subculture. And there’s always money to be made in providing content that explicitly appeals to that subculture with a simple and mostly meaningless marketing label.
Conclusion: Suitable Games For Everyone
When religions engage in this kind of spin it always feels a little insidious and it’s this that the wider world objects to when they hear of products such as Guitar Praise and Zoo Race. Indeed, the following text, used at the end of the Zoo Race shareware demo, demonstrates just this:
“Buy the fun game that the big name publishers refused to finance or even show you. Why wait? You can do it, because you are a fun loving creation of God.”
Post Passion of the Christ, big name publishers are only too happy to publish and promote ‘Christian’-targeted content if there's enough money to be made. In the case of Zoo Race big name publishers refuse to finance it not on ideological grounds but simply because it’s awful.
As games writer Kieron Gillen pointed out at the time: “F**king big name publishers. We hate those guys too. Clearly, it couldn’t have anything to do with the glitchy animation, complete lack of physics, my-first-Quake-level geometry and the fact the whole thing is completely batshit insane.”
Christians should not be demanding video games prefixed with a faith label, as if that cheap and easy classification provides some kind of invisible moral safety net for their and their children’s media consumption.
Rather, believers should simply be demanding good and beautiful games that delight in creativity, make people happy, present or explore the world in interesting ways and maybe, just maybe enable us to catch a glimpse of their God, from whom all good things are claimed to flow.
Comments
I remember (and got burned by) the gay long distance carrier in the early 90s, but a gay car insurance company? That's a new one on me.
It's actually kind of frustrating for me that there have been "Christian games" for the last 20 years, but apart from the questionable Frankie Goes To Hollywood game for the Commodore in 1986 or so, I've never heard of a gay game, despite what the younger denizens of XBL may say. I guess that's more of a gaygamer.net topic though.
The bottom line is, when Christian games (or any niche-marketed games) stop being shovelware copycats and start getting some qualities of the finer mainstream indie games, they might deserve some credibility. Till then they're just a cynical marketing tactic, c.f. Color Dreams becoming Wisdom Tree.
Posted by: raindog469 | September 3, 2008 9:34 AM
Thanks for taking a more in-depth look at this obscure subgenre of games. FWIW, the company that makes the Guitar Praise apparently has also done a few DDR knockoffs. Since we haven't heard about lawsuits over Dance Praise and Dance Praise 2, maybe this Xtian game publisher has worked out some agreement with Konami, or figured out how to reverse engineer the gameplay mechanics of dancemat games. (Is reverse engineering a venial sin?)
Posted by: CBaker | September 3, 2008 1:17 PM
Very interesting, but I probably would beg to differ on one point. A "Christian game" by definition should be one whose game system actually has some relation to Christian values. This is, of course, uncomfortably similar to the whole Fable concept of morality in games, but there's the rub. If you think morality can exist in games, then surely it's possible to make a game which espouses specifically Christian moral and spiritual values. In fact, I would argue that such a game could conceivably be made by a secular company without a Christian agenda at all (Lionhead comes to mind, although one wonders whether they would actually deliver). If not, well, then there probably can't be any real Christian games. (And right now, there don't seem to be any.)
The other possibility, of course, is to make a game that reflects a Christian worldview, with the caveat that every Christian you meet has a slightly different worldview, and some are more different than others. But I suspect that without the proper system of values, this could still end up as "killing demons for phat lewtz", and any good deeds done would be purely instrumental to the player's goals.
Posted by: n.n | September 3, 2008 6:43 PM
"Contemporary theologian Rob Bell?" Contemporary yes!
Theologian, Not!
I can agree with his quote "Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective."
Let's strive for artistic excellence and creativity and stop the copying - whether it be songs or games or YouTube videos.
Posted by: Wil | September 3, 2008 11:17 PM
This article was written from a point of view that says "Christians want this". That's not true. I grew up in a Christian family where my father was a pastor of a church. There are tons of Christians who recognize clearly that most "Christian" art lacks creativity and ingenuity.
To those that do see this clearly, using Christian as an adjective is pretty much the same as saying "Chinese Knockoff", except with the insinuation that it's from God himself, which is much worse. To those people, the automatic reaction to something like this is to laugh at it. Chances are powerfully good that it's a worthless copy that doesn't implement a quarter of the features/polish of the original, nor does it bring anything new to the table. Who can respect that, Christian or not?
Posted by: Sega | September 4, 2008 5:35 AM
Great write-up Simon! Thanks for cutting through the marketing and showing us what lies beneath.
Posted by: Ben Abraham | September 7, 2008 4:47 AM
Very interesting article, and I agree with it on many points.
Personally, I fail to see why groups seek to segregate themselves in this manner. Why can't everyone just enjoy good games, regardless of stereotyping and labels?
Posted by: Chris Fox | September 7, 2008 8:17 AM
Some interesting point. Do "gay" and "Christian" make bad adjectives. Surely gay bars and gay holidays exist for good reasons, as do churches and object of pilgrimage? Not so sure about gay insurance...
Up until the last 300 years or so, much, if not most, of the great European art was Christian art - it dealt directly with Bible stories.
The problem is that the word "Christian" has, not for the first time in history, been hijacked by the most millitantly low-brow section of the community.
Ok, the games are poorly crafted, but, frankly, that's beside the point. I've been to evangelical services, which, in terms of production values, could give the West End a run for its money. It's only a matter of time before the gaming side of the operation catches up. The real issue is that they are pushing an ignorant and bigoted ideology.
Posted by: Pav | September 10, 2008 5:13 AM
Thank you so much, Simon, for a thoughtful and even-handed examination of this issue. Trust me, while many Christians accept anything that comes from, say, Cloud Nine Productions (the "Left Behind" movies) as "art," there are some Christians who are starting to buck this trend and are looking to change that definition. And that number is growing.
At one time, Christian-themed art meant the Sistine Chapel, Handel's "Messiah," and Michelangelo's "David." Only recently (in world history terms) has it become synonymous with pop culture tripe.
Christian artists need to stop copying what's popular and start innovating ideas and means of expressions. If they (we) can actually have something to say and find a unique way to say it, then maybe all the heckling would be silenced. There would be no time for it--everyone would be enjoying the great new movie, song, or video game.
Posted by: Tom | September 16, 2008 7:21 PM
i think you're not seeing the whole picture, which is that families might possibly want to play video games with their kids - we bought the wii system and love the fun games like monkey ball :) and super smash bros. brawl :) - but guitar hero and rock band (and dance dance revolution) are so skanky, we dont' end up playing them - if there are obscenities or vulgarities or blasphemies in the lyrics, i'm not going to get my kids to read them and sing along - and even if you're not a Christian and you love a good pottymouth song, do you want your little girls to have not one decently dressed role model? The females in both games dress like whores (except for the one asian musician). why? It's such a fun game (esp Rock Band) - but there are not that many of the songs we can play with the littles... And there are a ton of cool mainstream songs that are not offensive - I"m not even a fan of "Christian rock" - for the same reasons stated above - that is usually lacks soul, technique, polish, and anything i can relate to. I do love worship music, and looks like the knock off has plenty of that. I just wish i could buy a game from Wii that had just worship music on it, with people who were dressed like real rockstars - i mean, even Britney Spears isn't that skanky ALL the time...
Then again, i think Wii Music is a good idea - an opportunity for those other music niches, classical and jazz, that i also enjoy.
Christian music is a way bigger niche than those two put together but what is produced in that niche is so varied that any one person who likes part of it probably can't stand the other 85%...
Posted by: mom to seven | December 8, 2008 4:23 PM
Mom has it exactly right. Simon makes some good points and does not attack our values (which is refreshing, believe me), but misses what it's all about. Namely, I don't really WANT to segregate myself but some of the garbage I see coming across my screen in Rock Band forces me to. Imagine it in a non Christian context: say a game came out ( not that it would happen) that was full of songs that mocked the gay lifestyle, but was a lot of fun. Wouldn't gays refuse to but it and buy similar games that did not insult them and their values instead?
As for Rob Bell, anybody who believes that art can be "desecrated" needs to rethink whether he's been more
Posted by: Gary | January 5, 2009 3:14 AM
(sorry stupid itouch accidental posting) I was saying I think the culture is more of an influence on Bell than vice-versa. One can legitimately consider art a creation of God and thus it can be desecrated by giving it values that are against what is right, but it's mainstream culture ( or parts of it) that are diing this, not the Christian knockoffs. Besides, Bell speaks for only a tiny minority of Christians, and even a relatively small number of church goers. (Yes there is a difference.)
Posted by: Gary | January 5, 2009 3:27 AM
i want this for my birthday.
Posted by: tasanequia | December 8, 2009 11:05 AM
this is really great so we can get in touch with god and learn chirstain songs amen!
Posted by: jasime | December 8, 2009 11:07 AM
this is really great so we can get in touch with god and learn chirstain songs amen!
Posted by: jasime | December 8, 2009 11:09 AM