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Across the years\u2014and gaming systems\u2014Christians have engaged the realm of video games. They\u2019ve played, discussed, and developed games, but they haven\u2019t always had formal training in the theology of video games.<\/p>\n
Now, more than a dozen Christian colleges offer video game majors, minors, and concentrations, giving students called to game design the chance to learn in settings that integrate their faith.<\/p>\n
Messiah University students in the mobile application and game design concentration are \u201cbringing a Christian perspective<\/a> to bear on the digital world they will be helping to create.\u201d Abilene Christian University students learn from Christian instructors<\/a> in the field of digital entertainment technology and are challenged to \u201cchange the game\u201d as they dream and create.<\/p>\n At Oklahoma Christian University, class enrollment in the gaming and animation program<\/a> has tripled over the past seven years. Biola University\u2019s degree in game design and interactive media began as a concentration in its cinema program in 2019 but quickly became its own major the following year.<\/p>\n The program equips students to see the growing medium as a mission field and a platform for compelling storytelling.<\/p>\n \u201cAnywhere where there\u2019s a powerful means of communication, it makes sense for Christians to be in that space,\u201d said Michael Steffen, who heads the Biola program<\/a> and owns Lantern Tower Games<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Biola teaches video game majors about programming, the primary focus is gameplay: storyline, characters, world-building, and the themes and messages embedded within. A video game allows its audience to interact with the work and be impacted by it in an experiential way, rather than exclusively through visuals.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough video games, we could bring people into our Christian community,\u201d said rising senior Aiden Arrendondo, who will be part of the program\u2019s third graduating class next spring. He considers the idea of using video games to spread the gospel to be a \u201creally cool, unique thing\u201d that holds promise. \u201cWe haven\u2019t tapped into yet, but we\u2019re striving for it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Last month, Arrendondo attended the Christian Game Developers Conference<\/a>, where speakers highlighted the importance of God\u2019s gift of creativity and how Christians could use that to glorify him.<\/p>\n Budding game designers like Arrendondo are part of a community of Christian gamers across the web that celebrates video games\u2019 potential to bring people together and reflect the ways of God.<\/p>\n \u201cJesus talked about loving your neighbor as yourself,\u201d said Brock Henderson, chief technology officer and co-founder of PxlPug<\/a>, which specializes in games that \u201ccan spark great communities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe also talked about being salt and light in this world,\u201d Henderson continues, citing also how in Genesis, we are given \u201cthe cultural mandate where we\u2019re supposed to cultivate and create.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause games are such a cultural force, I think they\u2019re the preeminent art form of the century. I think we need to take them seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n Efforts to take the \u201ccultural force\u201d of video games seriously have ranged widely among Christians. Some evangelical schools have introduced increasingly popular esports<\/a> programs\u2014or video game competitions\u2014to reach students and expand into new ministry opportunities.<\/p>\n One video game demo released last year<\/a> gave gamers the chance to walk in Jesus\u2019 sandals and play as the Messiah. But Christian designers aren\u2019t confined to overtly faith-based games. They can reflect a worldview, a sense of morality, and a delineation of good and evil, without bringing a Bible character or reference onscreen.<\/p>\n Biola\u2019s game design program teaches students how to integrate faith by helping them recognize Christian worldviews in existing media and within their own ideas. Students then learn how to emphasize those sorts of elements in their work.<\/p>\n A student-created game called Surface Runner<\/a><\/em>, for example, explores subtle Christian themes. Immersed in the story of an AI character, players can hear the voice of a \u201ccreator\u201d guiding them throughout the game. Eventually, players hear a new voice\u2014one that is antagonistic. This part of the game is an indirectly Christian concept reflective of how outside voices can attempt to influence people, luring them away from God.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m designing a game, I should be thinking about the players first and how this game is going to ultimately serve the player,\u201d Steffen at Biola said. \u201cThe best way to serve them is to point them to God. But maybe there\u2019s also other ways, [like] how [do] we serve our team? When we\u2019re working in a game company or with a game development team, how do we love them?\u201d<\/p>\n Henderson agrees. Some games, he said, simply seek players\u2019 attention and monetize their experiences through ads\u2014practices that don\u2019t necessarily \u201clove\u201d the player.<\/p>\n \u201cCreating things that are true, beautiful, and good point to God and provide the salt and light. So that\u2019s kind of what I\u2019m focused on. I really want people to think critically about what they\u2019re creating,\u201d Henderson said.<\/p>\n Allegorical games\u2014ones that tell stories similar to the style of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis\u2014are also ways that video game creators can spread the gospel. But outside of classic fantasy-driven plotlines lies another narrative option: testimonials.<\/p>\n Testimonials can evangelize and break down certain barriers in a way that an obviously Christian-themed game might not be able to accomplish, Henderson said.<\/p>\n That Dragon, Cancer<\/a><\/em> was a video game released in 2016, designed by Ryan and Amy Green<\/a> as a love letter to their son during his battle against cancer. It immerses its players in the Greens\u2019 heartbreaking battle, introducing the challenges and doubts the family faces and showing how their faith played a huge part in it. While the game doesn\u2019t have any score or point system, the power of the narrative is what drew players in.<\/p>\n Steffen knows believers working in major game companies, like Insomniac or Riot, who start Bible study groups within their work context.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re a Christian at a game company, you have an opportunity to bring the kingdom,\u201d Steffen said. \u201cI was thinking the other day about how we are, as Christians, representatives of God\u2019s kingdom. So if you\u2019re a Christian working in the secular games industry, you are a representative of the kingdom at that company.\u201d<\/p>\n Arredondo\u2019s favorite part about the Biola program is the collaboration\u2014the opportunities he has to work with a team in a creative context.<\/p>\n He sees creativity as a blessing, a way to showcase art as a form of ministry. While he said that he\u2019s excited to share his passion for video games, he\u2019s also grateful for the opportunity to integrate his faith into the field.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing I wanted to take away after I graduate is that I glorify God through the abilities that he\u2019s gifted me\u2014whether it\u2019s in game design or my athletics and academics.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha Saad is CT\u2019s 2023 Habecker Fellow and a student at Taylor University.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n