Ian Bogost - Water Cooler Games - Is your PC ready for the Rapture?

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Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Is your PC ready for the Rapture?

by Ian Bogost December 30, 2005

categories: Religious Games , Social Games

For those of you who don't know it, Tim F. LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have penned some 14 novels about life on earth after the rapture. Taken together with the associated kids books, graphic novels, audio books, fresh poultry, armored cars, vacation timeshares, and dutch ovens, the series has sold over 600 gazillion copies.

A few years back, the group behind these tales of post-apocalyptic end of the world goodness created Left Behind Games, a division that promised to allow the 30 million billion people who had bought the books and dutch ovens to take on the role of the terrestrials left behind after the rapture swoops the saved into heaven.

Anyway, Left Behind Games says that they will release their first game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces this spring. It's a real-time strategy game. You can see a screenshot by clicking the thumbnail above, or watch a movie of the game's introduction. The developers promise that it will be "visually and kinetically appealing."

This week, you should be able to see the teaser boxes at your local EB Games or similar game store. I was in today and saw them behind the counter. The boxes are big, at least the teaser ones. Maybe they're including a novel inside, or some hefty booklet at least. Anyway, keep an eye out if you're interested in religious games. Given the other options, this might be the most interesting religiously-themed game yet.

Comments (11)

On a related note, I finally created a Religious Games category. You can find the category archives here. I tried to recategories all the appropriate entries, but I may have missed some.

Ian Bogost on December 30, 2005 11:36 PM

If my computer is a "rapture" computer, don't you think it should be allowed to go to Heaven with me when the "rapture" happens? Seriously, shockproof persons can go to Yahoo and type in "Pretrib Rapture Diehards" (& note LaHaye's hypocrisy in item "1992") to hear about long covered up facts about the rapture's strange, 175-year-old history. Bruce

Bruce Rockwell on January 2, 2006 9:51 PM

What I still can't figure out is, how in the world does this story fit into RTS gameplay?

I haven't read the books, but my understanding is that it's about those "left behind" who become faithful hiding out and trying to survive while political mayhem ensues. Is the game going to consist of a series of survival and stealth missions? Usually those are the exception rather than the rule in an RTS, and a first-person-sneaker might be more appropriate then.

And either way, does the gameplay end up expressing anything meaningful about Christianity or faith? I'm not feeling terribly hopeful.

josh g. on January 4, 2006 4:06 PM

I find the theme of this game quite interesting.

charles on January 5, 2006 10:35 AM

Josh, I'm inclined to agree. The screenshot shows a bunch of units with guns. I'm not sure where the faith message is.

Ian Bogost on January 6, 2006 5:26 AM

Ok, I didn't take a close look at the screenshot until now. "Spirit" is a stat, with a picture of a dove beside it.

That simultaneously makes me cry on the inside, and also want to see how it's used as a game mechanic.

josh g. on January 6, 2006 7:07 PM

The guns do not surprise me as I accidentally watched one of the films (based on one of the books) over xmas... it is a very strange story and more fantasy or science fiction-like than what I would have expected. But being a RTS does seem strange... then again, a main theme seemed to be about re-taking the world... or something like that. And while there was a lot of praying in the film, it seemed neither concerned with religion or faith.

Dclearwater on January 25, 2006 4:25 AM

Spirit is a rule -)

Nadya on March 7, 2006 5:47 PM

very sorry

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dryu on September 29, 2006 10:48 AM