Christianity in IF - an IFDB Poll

Sam Kabo Ashwell's statement in his recent review of Cana According to Micah that "the best works dealing prominently with Christian themes are written by non-Christians" made me curious. Perhaps a list of games with serious Christian themes could help illuminate that statement.

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	All Hope Abandon, by Eric Eve 8 votes "Based on Christian themes and modern trends" [+]"Based on Christian themes and modern trends: Part of the premise of this game seems to be a satire of current trends is scholarly theology. I don't know what specific trends or schools of thought are being criticized, but I feel that the game isn't about the value (or lack thereof) of traditional conservative theology compared to more modernist interpretations. (Disclaimer: It's been years since I played this game, but I think I remember it's themes fairly well. I count it as one of my favorites, perhaps even my very favorite.)" () --strivenword... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --WaterMonkey314... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Meredith... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --trojo... "What I really..." [+]"What I really liked about this game was that it wasn't about religion per se. It was simply about the scholarly world of New Testament studies, where the text is treated as a literary artefact. That's not a world one encounters very often in fiction of any kind, let alone the interactive variety. It's that world that it satirises rather than any particular form of religious belief." ( - Full review) --JonathanCR... (No comment) [+](No comment) --o0pyromancer0o... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	Vespers, by Jason Devlin 6 votes "One of the best out there, in my opinion." [+]"One of the best out there, in my opinion." --miseri... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --katz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	The Bible Retold: Following a Star, by Justin Morgan 5 votes "Unpretentious and respectful" [+]"Unpretentious and respectful: This game uses its explicit religious setting in its puzzley and comedic gameplay to produce the most humanly sincere fun in an adventure game that I have ever experienced. Like many modern evangelical movements, a real but light-hearted treatment of the Bible makes Christianity less arcane for the audience without making it less dignified. (And, in my opinion, it does a lot better job at not compromising reverent dignity than many modern youth movements do.)" () --strivenword... "Offers an interesting look at Christ's birth..." [+]"Offers an interesting look at Christ's birth..." --blindncool... "interesting..." [+]"interesting..." --flathead... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Blake... Vote for this game

	Cana According To Micah, by Christopher Huang (as Rev. Stephen Dawson) 5 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --katz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --trojo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --strivenword... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ryan Veeder... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	According to Cain, by Jim Nelson 2 votes "Find out why Cain killed Abel" [+]"Find out why Cain killed Abel: A university student is sent to the time of Cain to find out what the Mark of Cain is, and they also discover Cain's motives for the murder." --P-Tux7... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --bkirwi... Vote for this game

	Unraveling God, by Todd Watson 2 votes "Explores..." [+]"Explores Christian themes, written by a non-Christian." ( - Full review) --DB... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo... Vote for this game

	Pascal's Wager, by Doug Egan 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Meredith... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo... Vote for this game

	Robin & Orchid, by Ryan Veeder and Emily Boegheim 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game

	Voices, by Aris Katsaris 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ferret From Hell... Vote for this game

	On Optimism, by Zach Flynn (as Tim Lane) 2 votes "Possibly symbolic" [+]"Possibly symbolic: This game should probably be considered as primarily a surrealist game like Blue Chairs and So Far. But it's images evoked Christian themes to my mind so strongly that I feel this game should be re-evaluated for a possible Christian symbolic interpretation. I've been surprised all these years that no one else has (to my knowledge) seen religious parallels in this game; the Christian symbolism seemed very obvious to me. But I know that what I see as Christianity may be universal human themes to others. Still, a New Testament Greek word that is often mentioned in sermons appears in the endgame of On Optimism, if I remember correctly." () --strivenword... "Just played this..." [+]"Just played this after finding it on the "Forgotten Gems" list. I definitely felt some Christian symbolism appeared up in the endgame." ( - Full review) --Danielle... Vote for this game

	Ferryman's Gate, by Daniel Maycock 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Spike... Vote for this game

	Exit the room, by jerkdavi 1 vote "Interactive Homily" [+]"Interactive Homily" () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	POV: You're a Teenage Girl in a Conservative Christian Family, by alyshkalia 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --manonamora... Vote for this game

	Hunger Daemon, by Sean M. Shore 1 vote "A comic and balanced take on values vs limitations in religion." [+]"A comic and balanced take on values vs limitations in religion.: Presents a hopeful conclusion about the value of religious community as a protector against more selfish alternatives. Not about Christianity specifically. Rather, features Judaism and a made-up Cthulhu type cult as the dominant faiths. " --Doug Egan... Vote for this game

	The Plagues of Egypt, by Mike Young 1 vote "Haven't played it yet, but if it's as good as Noah (by the same author), it should be a treat." [+]"Haven't played it yet, but if it's as good as Noah (by the same author), it should be a treat.: Another straightforward Christian game." --Blake... Vote for this game

	Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 1 vote "Quotes the New Testament" [+]"Quotes the New Testament: When the PC examines the chapel, (s)he finds in Greek lettering, "En arkheis e ho logos"(John 1:1). This makes me wonder if Emily Short has read Dorothy Sayers' work on the triune aspect of literary works. Especially as Emily Short has written profoundly about relationships in IF philosophy: Player-as-Audience/Player's self-identification with the PC/Player-Character relationship, as well as the Author Voice/Narrator Voice/Audience's Perception of Author-Narrator relationship." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	La Musa, by Javier Carrascosa 1 vote "Theological" [+]"Theological: Castilian Spanish. Includes an entire Biblical story. The game is itself a commentary on at least three theological concepts." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Tenth Plague, by Lynnea Dally 1 vote "A game about playing as a biblical plague" [+]"A game about playing as a biblical plague: The author is a host on an atheist youtube channel." ( - Full review) --Joey Jones... Vote for this game

	Condemned, by Mark Jones 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Hannes... Vote for this game

	we, the remainder, by Charm Cochran 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	Christian Text Adventure #1, by Bob Nance 1 vote "What it says on the tin" [+]"What it says on the tin: Not a particularly good game, but it is a good example of using IF for evangelizing and expressing one's faith. " ( - Full review) --Havoc Crow... Vote for this game

	Noah, by Mike Young 1 vote "A faithful game, in both senses, that accurately tells the story of Noah. Great game." [+]"A faithful game, in both senses, that accurately tells the story of Noah. Great game.: Tells a Bible story well without adding or taking away from it." ( - Full review) --Blake... Vote for this game

	Jarod's Journey, by Tim Emmerich 1 vote "Not quite as evangelistic as it looks" [+]"Not quite as evangelistic as it looks: Jarod's Journey makes less serious overall use of Christian themes than the other games I've voted for. Christianity is central to the story and the author's agenda, and there may be some identification of the PC's journey with the broader Christian concept of redemption. The game's main purpose seems to be teaching people how to behave even more than spreading the Gospel -- an approach that does not seem like a very Christian theme to me." --strivenword... Vote for this game

	A Friend to Light Your Way, by verityvirtue 1 vote "and East Asian family tensions" [+]"and East Asian family tensions: This story briefly addresses the the effect religion often has on family dynamics in East Asia. The comment is stated in just such a way that the reader is free to receive the jab according to her own convictions." ( - Full review) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	The Inheritance, by Scott Adams 1 vote "A late effort from Scott Adams" [+]"A late effort from Scott Adams" --Blake... Vote for this game

	Book of Mormon Adventures, by Mathbrush 1 vote "Small Twine games used to evangelize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" [+]"Small Twine games used to evangelize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	We Know the Devil, by Aevee Bee and Mia Schwartz 1 vote "Set in a..." [+]"Set in a Christian summer camp, the opposition between God and the Devil plays an important role." ( - Full review) --Victor Gijsbers... Vote for this game

	Easter Egg Hunt, by Ian Thomson 1 vote "Not what I would..." [+]"Not what I would call quality, but there it is." --DB... Vote for this game

	Babel, by Ian Finley 1 vote "Very Engaging. In-game hint system makes it playable without much walkthrough." [+]"Very Engaging. In-game hint system makes it playable without much walkthrough.: One of the doctors is fairly openly Christian, and a Bible is one of the hints. The theme of Pride as the deadly sin." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

Is there another game that you think should be on this list? Just fill in the title of a game you'd like to vote for.

Poll created on November 17, 2011