‘Gate Zero’, an innovative Bible video game has raised $271,000 (£214,487) on Kickstarter in less than 79 hours, completely blasting the producers’ initial crowdfunding goal.
The game allows users to travel back in time to explore ancient Israel, interact with gospel stories and examine the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words.
The game starts in a dark future world in 2072, and uses time travel to take players back to biblical times. Players become the main characters and receive a mission from their deceased grandmother to uncover the mysteries of her special "pearl" and inherit her estate. They use a time machine called Gate Zero to travel back in time.
Speaking to Faith Wire, Arve Solli, one of the producers of Gate Zero, said the game was an effort to bring the gospel to the younger generation.
“We really want to dive into creating a game for the younger generation to be able to experience Jesus and to be able to get familiar with the stories and the events from the Bible,” he said. “This game might be the only Bible some people read.”
He continued: “We believe that the younger generation [needs to get] familiar with the Bible.”
“They need to be able to understand on what ground they are taking the decisions, so we see the gaming medium as a really effective way of giving them context, telling the stories and also interacting with the stories and events, so … they are able to understand the significance of the message that Jesus came with.”
A 20-minute demo is currently available with plans to launch the full version of the game in 2024. The release will encompass approximately 30 captivating stories from the Gospels.