I am not terribly interested in the future of biblical gaming, per se, but as a once-avid consumer of Redemption (a biblical game), I shall answer as best as I can with reasons.
1. Disagree, unless the game is tailored explicitly to be so. Branching out to other extra-biblical times may yield some worthwhile fruit, and staying near the biblical times or near after (Romans in Redemption) has the same result and adds some historical bonuses.
2. This depends on the target audience of your 'biblical game'. But since it is a biblical game, naturally it will skew towards Christian markets, primarily dominated by families. So yes, I agree. R-rated content should be avoided as it has no place in a game marketed toward people who are typically vocally opposed to such things.
3. This depends on the answer to #6. But I disagree.
4. This depends on the person queried, but one of the draws to Redemption to me (especially when I was just starting to play) is the collectible aspect. However, if you're going for a more rigid, strategy-type game geared toward older players, I say avoid this and go the other route.
5. Disagree. I'm not entirely sure about this, but I don't know how you'd tailor a biblical game to Christians
and Muslims. They're just fundamentally different. I see offending one or the other inevitable at some point if you try to appease both. I wouldn't really worry about the Jewish side as those that would care likely wouldn't seek out and play such a game. Conjecture, of course.
6. Disagree. A game should be a game first. If I wanted to bring someone to Christ, I would recommend the bible, not a game. This game may be a means of warming someone up to the idea of Christianity, so to speak, but at the end of the day nothing can replace the bible as a ministry tool. If the game is fun to play and designed with gameplay first, you'll have a better chance of hooking people not already in the "Christian" demographic.
7. As that is the generally accepted viewpoint, I would agree. Anything too radical would likely alienate too many people.
8. I wouldn't say it absolutely
must, but I don't think it should disclude such things outright, either. This (and #2) is where discretion comes into play.
9. Disagree. If you're looking for a biblical game, I would think it would be all of the bible, not just half.
10. Disagree. I would rather play a physical anything than an online version most of the time (See: Redemption).
11. This depends heavily on the target audience. I would agree both can have merits if done well, but I lean toward a mix of the two (See: CoW Moses art for what I consider a good blend of realism/cartoon). If you're going less toward kids, I would steer away from cartoons as anything too childish will be panned. Can't go wrong with the artful (albeit expensive) comic-book style.
12. I disagree and agree. You would have to provide an example of what you have in mind. If it's something extra-biblical involving biblical characters, like Samson, Joshua, and David's mighty men being resurrected to fight demons in a present-day age, I think that would be awesome! If it's something that's supposed to be strictly bible-based, then it would need to be done
really well and
also not mislead or give any wrong ideas about the bible. The Noah movie is a good example of how to fail at this. I'll put it another way- I can enjoy the music of JC: Superstar and can appreciate the ideas of The Last Temptation of Christ while at the same time disagreeing with much that is portrayed by both depictions.
Take all that for what it's worth. I'm aware I probably represent a small minority of players here.
