You’ve likely run across someone who’s said, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body,” but there’s nothing further from the truth. God, our creator, formed us in his image and, early in Scripture, confirmed his intention for us to exhibit creativity. In Exodus 31:1-5 (NIV), God informs Moses that he has filled Bezalel with his Spirit to complete the artistic work, as directed for the tabernacle: Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.”
Graphics by Dillon Herick
We are all carriers of creativity; it manifests in how we interpret it. Webster defines creativity as: “The ability to think about a task or a problem in a new or different way, or the ability to use the imagination to generate new ideas.” Whether you’re a painter, writer, sculpturer, builder, graphic designer, or photographer, the process toward completion of a finished work of art begins with a conceptual thought and develops into an aesthetically pleasing outcome. Artists with varying expressions of creativity enhance worship at Sonrise. Painters interpret on canvas what the Holy Spirit reveals during worship, producing prophetic art. Another form of art tells a story or conveys a message; musicians at Sonrise have been writing worship songs for a forthcoming album, with songs scheduled for release throughout the summer.
Perhaps a seldom-considered form of art—one that has monopolized the entertainment industry—is the art of creating video games. The video game industry has grown astonishingly in recent years, and it’s no secret that it’s a lucrative business. But you might be surprised to learn just how much money the gaming industry makes compared to other entertainment industries. According to recent data, the gaming industry is making more money than the music and movie industries combined. The marketing potential for games is vast. Three-quarters of all American households have at least one gamer (a person who regularly plays computer or video games for about six hours a week on average). So, it’s no surprise that 90% of American teenagers play video games. Gamers learn a specialized language specific to the gaming culture, such as Bots, AFK, DLC, MMORPG, FPS, GG, and Adds. Also, common phrases take on a whole new meaning in the gaming world, i.e., Easter Egg, a hidden message inside a game that can take any shape. It might be a picture, a movie, or even a secret gameplay element. Or, how about Camping, the practice of sitting in a tactically favorable location on the game map?
Concerned Christian parents who struggle to protect their children by imposing restrictions and guidelines relative to what their kids play yearn to see more Christian-influenced games on the market. A young man at Sonrise, Anthony (Tony) Chambers, gifted in game creation, is answering that call. Sonrise Magazine interviewed him about his new video game, Though the Heavens Fall, scheduled for release this April. Tony has attended Sonrise since January 2015. He works with youth and young adults. He went to college at Digipen Institute of Technology from 2010-2015. His work experience includes employment at 343 Industries and 8th Shore Inc. He enjoys digital and analog games, theology, basketball, and golf.
Tony Chambers Phtography by Donna Granados
Tony grew up in a Christian home and shares, “All my life, I generally wanted to follow God, but didn’t feel like I had a good model to do so and was making things up as I went. The result was a hodge-podge of somewhat being familiar with the Bible but also greatly influenced by modern ethics. Upon coming to Sonrise in 2015 after my mom remarried, I took a much more personal involvement in my faith. I fell in love with studying Scripture and learning more about God. I got very involved with Sonrise Youth and have been helping in various ways with the young adult group as well for the last year. The gifts I generally lean on are the prophetic, discernment, and words of knowledge.” Tony has always enjoyed games. He got into game design as a career primarily due to his parents, who recognized his gift in this field, pushing him toward Digipen Institute of Technology when, at the end of high school, he was still waffling over which steps to take next. Toward the end of college, Tony was reminded that during elementary school, he had told one of his pastors he was going to make the first Christian video game. Reality hit him at that point, and he began to realize the enormous undertaking he had naively signed up for as a child!
Creating a video game is a long, time-intensive, multifaceted process that varies depending on what specialties you (or your team) utilize. Tony relates, “Generally, the goal is to bring as simple a demo as possible to highlight one or more features about the game, which can serve as a litmus test for whether or not the game idea is fun. In my case, I created a simple tech demo, including the crafting system and combat. Then, your goal is focused on the game from this stage to completion, each within their own spheres:
- Art starts creating game models/sprites, and writing for the story begins.
- Code starts creating systems for others to work in, etc. Generally, you outline at least 2-3 milestone goals, such as playable by a savvy player, by X date, or all placeholder assets replaced by Y date.”
Tony began to design some of the code during his tenure at 8th Shore but brought it from an assortment of backend code with no visuals to tech demo status during 2019. In 2020, he was hired by 343 and put his game on hold until Fall 2022. In January, he began to develop it full-time. Where the rubber meets the road for the game’s viability is in the testing process. Tony had several friends whom he relied on at the beginning of the process for testing and accountability to ensure he was making progress. Now many others are involved as currently there is an open playtest until the game moves to Early Access in April.
Left to right: Myself (Voice of Inoushi), Corina Welcker (Voice of Fyrios), Avery Kubat (Voice of Calianna), Karston Stegall (Voice of Hatch), Levi Peterson (Voice of Eoin) and Ryan Danley (Voice recording? Voice technician?)
Tony shares, “Our intended outcome is that the Christian mythos would return to the games. The game’s primary storyline will touch very little on theology and generally in a very lighthearted way. Things like “Is Christmas pagan?” Side stories will talk a little more in-depth, but the focus being Christ empowering us to live like him, because we want to! While it’s true part of the reason is to avoid hot-button topics while developing a fledgling game, the core of the Gospel is that Christ transforms our lives.” Relative to target audience and age appropriateness, Tony responded, “Generally when we talk marketing, we talk about early teenage as the starting point, but highly recommend parents take a peek for themselves to decide, as well as talk about the experience and how to process/interpret these things with their children! All characters are highly stylized, and you play as humans/angels against demons/dragons/giants—no blood or gore or anything. Our target audience is roughly ages 13-30 and their parents who want to have faith be a part of gaming (for them or their children). We also have a secondary target market from the late 20s to early 40s for gamers that are burnt out on the dark, depressing worlds we usually see in games.” When questioned whether non-Christians would recognize the difference in playing this game vs. a similar secular game, Tony responded,” For sure! Not only are there aspects of angels/demons, God is mentioned in the opening, about Christmas, etc., but you even have a sidekick who talks in the Old King James language. There’s enough saturation even currently that it would be obvious to someone who wasn’t very informed about Christianity.”
Tony is maximizing his creative gifts, ushering truth and light into a world dominated by darkness and violence through media that will have a positive influence on younger generations. His initiative and perseverance in creating this Christian video game encourage each of us to do our best to follow through on the goals God has given us. Tony’s video game will be released on April 5th, and you can get more information on purchasing or updates as follows:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2437270/Though_the_Heavens_Fall/
https://www.instagram.com/though_the_heavens_fall_rpg?igsh=YnFnZGhiNHc4dWp6
Joyce Olsen (Sonrise Magazine Editor) Author. Majored in Child Psychology and Elementary Education at Biola University and Fresno State University in California. However, her natural bent seemed to better match business and administration. In those fields, she worked in corporate administration, church administration, and also as an Information Security Analyst in the medical field. The focus of her writing is to inspire and provoke thought.
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