Mine

My focus on games is largely about trying to bring videogame-skeptics (especially in the church) up to speed on redemptive game stuff. Part of that is to validate the medium. And part of that is for my own growth as one who wants to be involved in game-making.

For some insight into playing a dark and menacing game about survival, check out my Gamechurch write-up on Don’t Starve.

If you’re more interested in what makes an action game excellent, check out my review of Guacamelee on Substance TV.

Also on Substance, I highlighted five iOS games that have engaging gameplay. That list can be found here.

Others

Richard Terrell has become a curiosity of mine lately. Also known my his Smash Bros street name, Kirby Kid, Richard is an extremely-thorough creative dude who is currently working on BariBariBall. He’s also got over 600 blog posts on his site, Critical Gaming, all about gameplay and game design. In any case, I say all of that to say that his podcast about the game, Dyad, is required listening. He interviews the creator of the game and examines what makes it such an anomaly in the game industry. Check that podcast out.

Also, over at GameChurch, there’s a live series about the present gaming Zeitgeist and what makes games worth talking about from a Christian perspective. Check out Revelations Live episode 2 here.

Meet my wonderful wife, Jessica.

Jess hates videogames. Or so she says. Most often, this is perfectly accurate. But on rare occasions, she surprises me and actually does like a game. And if she does, she really gets into it. But this is extremely rare. And that returns me to the general rule: Jess hates videogames.

I want to include Jess in my gaming and writing about games. Couples should do things together, right? But her tastes and mine seem to conflict. I like videogames and super-weird Christiocentric music. She likes shopping and interior decorating (especially when it involves Pier 1). None of this is unexpected. Guys and girls are different. Yet, Jess indulged me. She’s willing to do this for the sake of doing something together. Plus, I figured she’d be more honest about games than most of us gamers would be. And most importantly: she provides great commentary.

Why I picked Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes

Jess generally hates RPGs. This is probably because I can get really sucked-into them. I picked this one because it’s a puzzle-RPG made by Capy Games. Capy also made Critter Crunch, a matching puzzle game that Jess absolutely adored. She loved it so much that she would scream at the TV when she won a match. That game got pretty hard. She hit a wall and gave up, but it wasn’t until after she kept pushing the wall like a pro. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes seemed to be relatively similar. And I thought she might not hate the art style – especially compared to other RPGs.

So what did she think? The following is some of her recorded testimony, followed by her brief review.

Jess’ Commentary

"Wow, this is just like Lord of the Rings and Settlers of Catan. But they messed up on the art."

"Wow, this dialog is gay."

'"Here, take these bears." I wanna look at my bears first. So I can has a bear?'

"Artifacts! Like warehouse 13! Everything I love is in here!"

"I feel like they could have made the game board look prettier. The overworld looks pretty. The puzzle part could have just been nicer."

"Got some hunters. Time to kill some jerk-faces."

"NOOOOOO! I don't think I like this!"

"I WIN! Eat poop and die!"

"I don't like the demons! They're scary!"

"This is confusing. But I'm getting it. It's too much to learn. I don't want to learn."

"I can pretend these are the demons that are attacking my teenagers from the Youth Center!"

Jess’ Verdict

The following was written by Jess herself:

I have no idea how to write about video games. Here’s my sad attempt, just for you!

I really thought I was going to hate Might & Magic. The dialogue isn’t very rich and it’s very much made to appeal to those of the masculine variety, but I love my husband and he was eager to hear my thoughts on it. Honestly, I thought it would be fun to bash video games since I’m really just not a fan in general. I also was told there were puzzles involved, and I do enjoy puzzles. The “battles” themselves are enjoyable, but my biggest complaint is just that it should totally be a girly game with cute little cartoon animals and noises. This game came from the crew responsible for Critter Crunch, which is like the cutest game I’ve ever seen. It’s got great graphics, cute little balls of fur, and quirky characteristics with the barfing of rainbows and the peculiar background story. So I was disappointed with Might & Magic’s graphics and the story behind the game because they don’t compare in any way to that of Critter Crunch. I’m only on the second world or whatever you call it, and I’ll probably still play it every now and then when I need a time out because I do enjoy it, but I do see myself getting sick of it after a while and giving up. If it were just a little more appealing to my eyes and ears, I might feel more dedicated to trying to beat the whole game. Just sayin’!

Josh’s Post-Review Wrap-Up

Josh here again.

I just checked the ticker on Jess’ file save. She definitely broke her record for the longest she’s ever played a game. I won’t list the exact number of hours for fear of her embarrassment. But suffice to say that I’m impressed how much she’s taken to it. I came home a few days after introducing it to her in which she said, “Ugh, Josh! All I want to do is play that stupid game!” She felt guilty for enjoying herself so much. Fortunately, this game also has a 2-player mode. So it was nice to have a game that we could play together (or against each other). I’ve found a game that Jess truly enjoys. So much so, that after she played this game, I got her a Capy T-shirt at their PAX East booth (which she wears proudly).

Next time, I’ll have to pick a game that I don’t think Jess will like so we can enjoy her scathing review. I’m thinking Bioshock Infinite. I wonder how long she’d be able to tolerate something like that. What would you like to see her play?

A photo from the picnic yesterday, same place I met Wayne 6 years ago

Big Church Family Changes

Six years ago, I was at a cook-out behind my senior elder’s house. The place smelled like hot dogs, macaroni salad, and summer deserts. At some point, I fell asleep on the swing bench. I woke up when I heard we had a new visitor. Tina, the new bank lady who started attending our church, brought her husband to meet the rest of us. He usually spent Sunday mornings at competitive bow shoots because he had no interest in church ‒ he burnt-out on the stuff in the 90s. But he seemed like he had a good sense of humor: had a hat on that said “no hair day” (because he was bald).

We struck up a convo and seemed to connect relatively well. I invited him to my cell group on an upcoming Tuesday. He obliged.

Wayne with the 18 South School of Rock (helping teens grow musically)

Dude was skeptical. He’d been to church groups before and got really sick of them. So what made us different? I’m not exactly sure what it was, but he really enjoyed his time. Before long, somebody put a guitar in his hands and discovered that he comes alive when he’s invited to worship the Lord. Within a few more months, dude was consistently bringing worship to our get-togethers.

Not all our prayer and intercession nights are Hawaiian themed

But he was still pretty rough around the edges. AA helped him to get free from alcohol and drugs and plugged-in to Jesus. But his attitude was often abrasive and he didn’t varnish his words. So we just continued to love on him and equip him where we could. Before long, we started to see him soften and become more and more filled with the Holy Spirit.

And over the last two years in particular, he’s truly come alive.

The day Alex and Verna got baptized

Yesterday, our apostolic overseers installed him as our senior elder. Or if you prefer, you could say he’s our pastor. Dude’s been called George Washington as he crosses the Deleware. He’s got a ton of vision and clarity of direction from the Lord. And we’re excited to see where we’re going.

Does Bioshock Infinite have any substance?

I reviewed Bioshock Infinite over at Substance TV. I only cover the gameplay, so don’t worry about anything getting spoiled. Despite my general disapproval of the game, I truly loved the art direction and curiosity-driven exposition.

Read the Review

Also, if you want an excellent commentary on how the game handles Christianity, Britton Peele did an excellent job of summarizing that very point over at GameChurch (which I fully endorse). So if you finished the game, go check that out.

A Theology Gaming Interview

I don’t think I do a great job of explaining where I come from when it comes to gaming as a representative of Jesus. Bryan Hall interviewed me for Theology Gaming and did an exponentially better job than I could have possibly done by myself.

Check out the interview…

Is it time to question the Bible?

Have you ever really listened to people question the Bible? “Do you really believe that he fed 5,000? Do you honestly believe Mary was a virgin? How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead?” Are these questions that, when asked, really beckon for an answer? “How can we know that the accounts of the Bible are actually true? Did you know that the Bible says to kill people who have sex outside of marriage? How could a loving God exist if there’s eternal punishment for finite sins? What kind of God would order his people to commit mass-genocide like in the book of Joshua?”

Have you heard these questions offered in rapid fire succession? Or just singularly with pause and honest desire for answers? And what attitude are they asked with? Do you think that the person asking these questions wants real answers? Or what if they’re just a defensive tool?

Better question: Are questions themselves bad?

Do you know who asks more questions than any skeptic? Ever notice how many questions Jesus asked? More to the point: who should ask more questions about the Bible than Jesus?

The person who is trying to become like the Rabbi?

Isn’t that what a disciple does?

Wondering if I can use a sentence in this post that doesn’t end with a question mark?

I presented this message to my church on a recent Sunday morning. If you’d like, you can check out the full 45 minute recording. Or you can just answer this question:

Do you question the Bible as much as a faithful disciple of Jesus would?

Over at Theology Gaming…

Zach posted my examination of Telltale’s Walking Dead (episodes 1-5) on Theology Gaming. It starts like this:

Telltale’s Walking Dead is all about making hard decisions. Who do you save? Who gets to eat? Who to put out of their misery, etc. As with Dishonored and Mass Effect 3, I felt inclined to ask if the choices given allow you to play as Jesus would. In short? As with those previously mentioned titles, the results are a messy mix of yes and no.

Check it out on Theology Gaming.

I met Jess at Addisu Ethiopian restaurant at exactly the same time at 5:20. The restaurant, just down the street from F&M college in Lancaster, offered some authentic Ethiopian delights with traditional serving situations. They also had a few ingredients for sale as part of their grocery. Right before the owner came over to talk to us, Jess told me she’d be okay if we came there every day.

Go to Addisu and eat their food! You're welcome in advance.

The Wovenhand show started at 8 and I thought it started at 9. So we had plenty of time to kill before we had to be in Ephrata. Jess wanted to go shopping. So we stopped by Tanger Outlets and got some inexpensive clothes at the Gap and Eddie Bauer. Jess was still full from our dinner, so she didn’t opt-in when I got a milkshake at Chic Fil A. IT’s probably a good thing, since it immediately exploded all over my hands. After cleaning up that mess, we drove towards our destination, only making one more stop.

Apparently Pennsylvania doesn’t really have a summer. It just goes straight from Winter to Summer. As such, we needed air conditioners. Wal Mart seems as good a place as any. We found what we were looking for and got what we needed, but not without me breaking one of the items in the checkout line and causing Jess to go to the back of the store and pick out a new one. I didn’t mind: it gave me more time to enjoy my favorite place in the world. Okay it wasn’t that bad. If you have an Ethiopian food and Wovenhand sandwich, it doesn’t matter what you put inside of it.

Wovenhand took the Ephrata Main Theatre stage at exactly the moment we walked in. I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. Fortunately, my favorite bands are all too weird to sell out a show, so it was easy for Jess and I to plop right in the center of the audience seating. Many of their songs focused on the rockier Laughing Stalk album and it felt like a genuine grown-up rock show: complete with antics. One moment David Eugene Edwards might be dancing and shaking his foot while standing on one leg and playing his guitar. The next moment, he might be doing pseudo-sign language like I do when I’m drunk on the Holy Spirit (but he certainly makes it look cooler). And then he started playing his 100+ year-old manjo (banjo-mandolin). And the slow songs came out.

The drumwork captured facets of nuance and subtlety with hand-playing and tapping the fancy symbols with egg-shakers. And yes, mostly sticks.

Jess and I got to shake hands with DEE before heading out and calling it a night. All in all? Not a night wasted.

And one for the road: this following video isn’t from our show, but it’s from the same tour. Enjoy.

Does this look like a nice setting for reflection on Paradise Lost?

My Stuff

Miasmata became one of my favorite games on PC earlier this year. You can discover why on Gamechurch. Hint: it has a lot to do with being in Eden.

I was welcomed to the team at Substance TV. And then I wrote about a conversation I had with guy from Klei about their latest games.

Stuff From Friends

Richard Clark and Drew Dixon went to GDC and discussed faith in games with Ryan Green and Josh Larsen. Green’s young son got diagnosed with terminal cancer and he decided to work with Larsen on a game about it. Read about it on GameChurch. Or listen to their Christ and Pop Culture podcast about it.

Also, Drew Dixon got to talk to talk to IGF grand prize winner, Richard Hofmeier (maker of Cart Life), about God and making games about serious things. That post is on GameChurch as well.

Good friend Zachery Oliver, reviewed one of my favorite Indie games because I wouldn’t stop telling him to play it. Read that Bastion Review on Theology Gaming.

And finally, Zachery Oliver and Brian Castleberry (of Substance TV fame) started a new podcast. It’s all about gameplay. And I must say that it’s really solid material with a great level of focus. Check out the Pixel Fusion podcast.

In the foreground at the bottom, you can see the Shovel Knight booth.

I saw a crap ton of games at PAX East. But here’s just a few that I felt compelled to really look into:

1. Shovel Knight

This game aims to be a love letter to Nintendo classics: Mega Man, Duck Tales, and Castlevania. It looks like it achieves all of those elements by paying extreme attention to gameplay mechanics that systematically teach you how to play. It just got backed on Kickstarter with over a week left! Check that out: Shovel Knight on Kickstarter.

2. Apotheon

The same folks who published the Metroid-inspired, Capcized, are making a Greco-roman equivalent. I got to play about 15 minutes of the game and felt like there was tons to learn and explore in this world of Helenistic art. Definitely worth following. You can follow all of the game’s developments on Alientrap’s Facebook page.

3. Tengami

Wanna play an iPad game styled like a 19th-century Japanese painting that plays like an experimental pop-up book? Me too! Keep up with the game on Facebook here.

4. Guacamelee!

Drinkbox’s first title, Mutant Blobs Attack offered brilliant 2D platforming on the PC and Vita with some beautiful illustration. It was also pretty honking funny. Their next title looks to out-do the last with a Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) style and aesthetic. It’s a Metroidvania brawler with an imaginative combat system. Plus, two-player co-op! Get out some chips and dig in on Facebook.

5. Super Time Force

TIME OUT! with Super TIME Force Trailer! from CAPY on Vimeo.

After Capy Games’ hugely successful , Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, many folks have been curious about what they’re going to do next. The answer? A Contra-like game with serious time-manipulation! I honestly still don’t understand what’s happening in the game, but it’s sure to be rad ! I mean, there’s a raptor with cool shades as a playable character! Follow it on Facebook.

6 & 7. Don’t Starve, Mark of the Ninja?

I loved Mark of the Ninja and have been procrastinating on writing about it until now. But suffice to say that it lived up to all the hype and the 91% rating on Metacritic. But I was surprised to see it represented at the show when its makers were releasing a new game in a few weeks called Don’t Starve. In short? MotN is getting a Special Edition with new content! And Don’t Starve has been interated upon since last August. I had a lot of questions that needed to be answered and Klei’s devs were kind enough to oblige. But that needed it’s own post in that of itself, which you can find on Substance TV shortly. For more about Don’t Starve and Mark of the Ninja, check out Klei’s website.

8. Windforge

Currently in alpha, Windforge has a long way to go. Probably best described as what would happen to Capcized if it was Steampunk and had a similar crafting component as Minecraft and Don’t Starve. Also, you’re building an airship. So despite looking rough and early, this will undoubtedly be worth keeping an eye on. You can do this by following the Steam Greenlight page.

9. Delver’s Drop

Did you like the 2D Zelda games? How about rogue-likes?Do you like four-player cooperative? Delvers drop is all of these. Unfortunately, the game’s also very early in development, despite looking pretty complete. So You’ll have to wait a bit to play this one. Keep up with the game on Facebook here.

10. The Swapper

Best I can tell, the swapper looks to be the indie game equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Employing a self-duplication mechanic with a lot of pretty artwork, the game is likely to have many dismissing it as “pretentious indie nonsense” while others such as myself go on to be enraptured by curiosity. We’ll see what the ultimate reality is of the matter sometime latter this season (spring). While you can keep up with the game on Facebook. I prefer signing up for the email newsletter on the game’s site.