Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray probes the moral core of “Left Behind: Eternal Forces,” the video game version of the popular apocalyptic book series by Tim F. LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. (See fellow blogger Paul O’Donnell’s post about the game’s pre-2005-Christmas debut for more information.)
Bray’s interest was apparently sparked by Rob Corddry’s satirical “report” inspired by the game, “This Week in God: God Kills Pt. 1,” which aired a few months ago on “The Daily Show” (do watch it–it’s very, very funny). Though “Eternal Forces” is a Christian video game (set in New York city–that city of hedonistic evil–18 months post-rapture), players contend with a surprising amount of violence in their attempts to stay alive amid the reigning chaos, according to Bray. Most shocking of all, players can take lives as they protect their own. You can fight evil forces with prayer, which “really enters in this whole new dimension called ‘spiritual warfare,’ said Troy Lyndon , CEO of Left Behind Games. “You can actually play the entire game without firing a shot.’” But Bray reports that you can also:
[C]reate a band of soldiers who’ll protect Tribulation Force territory from Carpathian incursions. But they’re supposed to use minimal force. Every time they kill, even if it’s justified, it weakens their moral fiber. Force them to kill too often, and they’ll fall away from the faith and move to the Dark Side.
The game’s ambivalent attitude to violence comes naturally to Lyndon, whose son has served tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. “The more I’ve talked to my son, the more passionate it’s made me about understanding the realities of war,” said Lyndon. “When our kids are coming back from overseas, their hearts are affected. Their hearts are harder…. It’s a horrible thing.”
Lyndon agrees that something had to be done to put the Taliban and Saddam Hussein out of business, but he doesn’t like the way the conflict has morphed into an endless cycle of atrocities. “I don’t know what the answer is,” he said. And Lyndon has injected that same moral ambiguity into the game.”
Moral ambiguity is apparently what sets “Left Behind: Eternal Forces” apart from other, non-Christian video games for Bray: “It’s easy to jeer at a group of Christians seeking to make their mark in an industry that so often celebrates amoral savagery. Yet you can’t help respecting the effort that went into Left Behind: Eternal Forces. Like Ned Flanders, the absurdly pious neighbor on “The Simpsons,” the game is odd and sometimes annoying, but with a good heart.”
Though watch Rob Corddry’s report and, in addition to a laugh, you might instead find yourself rather disturbed, despite all the satire.
posted December 4, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Troy Lyndon and Jeffrey Frischner have worked hard to extol the charms of their game. They do not seem to have been able to eacape the fact that the basic premise of the game involves the forced religious conversion of everyone in New York City and that all those who do not convert to Christianity will ( regrettably ) be killed. The Left Behind Games Company website states that there can be noncombatants in the game. Thus, regrettably – to use Troy Lyndon’s soft peddling rhetoric – some people “perish”.In case readers are not aware of this, the definitive series on the “Left Behind: Eternal Forces” game is at : http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/5/29/195855/959 It is unfortunate that Mr. Hiawatha Bray, who purports to have examined the “moral core” of the Left Behind: Eternal Forces” video game does not aeem to know much about the book series on which the game is based. In regards to the “moral core” of the game however, one statement by Jeffrey Frischner, on the merits of the game, might be taken to mean that the game has no moral core at all or that the game was designed to teach moral ambivalence :”The reason “Left Behind: Eternal Forces, the PC game, is such a great, incredible, fantastic game is because you can play both the good side and the bad side.” – Jeffrey Frischner See the 15 second appearance of Jeffrey Frischner extolling the qualities of the “Left Behind: Eternal Forces” game at YouTube :http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/7/4/13748/54598
posted January 8, 2007 at 5:43 pm
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.
posted February 8, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Hey, with so many people having an opinion about this game, how many have actually played it? And what credibility do they have? Focus on the Family has publications which can set the record straight for everyone at http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0002989.cfm.