(12/6/2005)

Are Game Manufacturers Getting Religion?

Hollywood and gamers may be catching onto Christian market

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (PRWEB) December 6, 2005 -- With Disney’s upcoming Christmas release of C.S. Lewis’s classic “The Chronicles of Narnia,” Hollywood is about to prove once more that Christian-inspired stories pay off big at the box office. Oddly enough, the computer game industry lags behind when it comes to tapping the huge faith-based market. But Southern-California Tercium Entertainment has taken notice and released a breakthrough interactive CD-ROM called The Living Gospel that has children ages 4 to 11, as well as their parents and teachers, clamoring for more.

Tercium Entertainment isn’t in it just for the money, though. It actually wants to use technology—and kids’ love of computers—to effectively spread the Christian message. After all, more and more studies show—and any parent will tell you—that kids now spend more of their free time in front of their computer than the TV set.

“The Living Gospel isn’t just another Bible product,” explains Fernando Uribe, the program‘s creator. “It’s a completely new category in evangelization. With it, kids don’t just passively watch or read—they live the Gospel. It smartly combines easy-to-read on-screen text, voice narration, animation, games, music, sound effects and more. Kids read, listen, watch, interact and play their way through the entire Gospel. They experience a fascinating voyage of discovery.”

Designed for all branches of Christianity, the new CD-ROM (for Windows PCs only) contains 11 interactive chapters that combine all four Gospels and cover the main events in the life of Jesus. It begins with the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and ends with Jesus’ return to Heaven.

Each chapter begins with written and spoken narration accompanied by music and an animated sequence. When the animation stops, children can “click” on the different characters, objects and places on the screen to travel deeper and deeper into the story. Scores of hidden surprises come alive when kids click on them—it really is The Living Gospel. Plus, a talking dictionary explains Bible terms, personalities and events. There’s even a Bible verse finder.

In addition, it includes a special Loaves & Fishes game, in which kids get to help the disciples give out the loaves and fishes that Jesus miraculously multiplied. But the people keep changing places, so it’s a challenge to find the right person to feed! Children just love this game. They play it for hours.

The Living Gospel gives children additional benefits! While reading and vocabulary improve, they also pick up new computer skills. They can even start learning another language, because The Living Gospel comes in both English and Spanish, on the same disk —a big plus for missionaries, as well.

“For about the cost of taking the family to McDonald’s, The Living Gospel makes it easy to get Christ’s message to children,” says Uribe. “No other product can do this in such a way that it makes the experience both spiritually nourishing as well as highly entertaining.”

As Hollywood already knows, and the computer game industry is about to find out, Christian-themed products make sense financially. And as Tercium Entertainment is set to prove, interactive technology can be amazingly effective in teaching and inspiring kids about the faith. On Christmas morning, children who find The Living Gospel under the Christmas tree will be ecstatic—and so will their parents.