Interview with Ralph Bagley
Ralph Bagley
N’Lightning Software Development, Inc. was created in April of 1999. They are dedicated to providing the gaming community with high-quality, first-person games that have a historical and Biblical basis. Their first release is an action/adventure game titled Catechumen. Randy sat down with the president of N’Lightning, Ralph Bagley, and they discussed violence in gaming, religion in the marketplace, and, of course, the ubiquitous Pamela Anderson Lee.
First of all, congratulations on surviving your interview with the staff of Old Man Murray, which begs the question–Why aren’t you being good little Christian boys and limiting your publicity to the “safe” sites? Why start with a site that is known for its insensitivity in certain areas?
Honestly, Old Man Murray was not the first site to post information on our game, it just happened to be we saw a great opportunity in the interview to get the word out to everyone, not just Christians. If we limited our publicity to just “safe” sites, those who are have no religious preference or that are nondenominational might never learn about our company and what we are trying to accomplish.
As I am sure all of our JA readers know, a Catechumen is a Christian in training. Can you tell us a little about the Catechumen in your game–who he is, why he feels driven to accomplish his goal?
Catechumen is a Christian in training whose mentor and fellow brethren are captured by the Roman soldiers. From the prison, in which your mentor is kept, he sends a plea for help to you. He knows that Satan has a powerful hand in the Roman Empire and has powerful foes to block your every effort. In likeness to Acts 26:18 KJ Version, our Catechumen is sent to open their eyes (the Roman soldiers), and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins.
Who do you have lined up for retail distribution? Are there any unusual venues of distribution planned?
We are currently going to be available through Parsons Church Group, who serves the CBA members. We are also talking with other Christian retailers and you can order online at our website. We are currently in the vendor proposal process with several large retailers.
Catechumen has been rated “T” for Mild Animated Violence. Are you worried that there could be a backlash from the Christian community against the violence in Catechumen?
No, as the violence in our game is due to the fact that our character is “shooting” the Word of God out the end of a sword towards his foe, this is classified by the ESRB as Mild Animated Violence. Our game does portray spiritual warfare but we do not have the any of the blood, guts, and gore usually associated with these types of games. We have found that the parents are relieved to find a game that has no death to human beings and yet still captivates the attention of their teens. The “T” rating is exactly what we had hoped for as our game was designed for ages 13 and up.
Why a first-person shooter for a Christian theme-based game? Why a genre that is associated with violence and blood?
As pretty avid gamers ourselves, we were concerned that most high-quality first-person games out there were literally bloodbaths. Our company has decided to provide the gamers of the world with a game that still has the hunt-or-be-hunted adrenaline rush of the shooter games, without blowing people’s heads off or turning them into a pile of bloody gore.
One of your staff members–Keith Cawthorne–worked on the adventure game Cydonia (later renamed Lightbringer). Can you contrast your experience in working on Cydonia to working on Catechumen?
Answered by Keith Cawthorne as our company did not work on Lightbringer: There really is no comparison between the two as far as development goes. Cydonia was streaming animation, and Catechumen is real-time. I prefer the real-time environment. When you build a level and place an enemy or special effect in, you can instantly see the outcome. Cydonia required complex scripting to assemble each area or for an effect to happen.
Worst-case scenario–many webzines are unforgiving when reviewing a first-person shooter. Their criteria are often based on the amount of gore and violence. What steps do you take against a gaming community that may skewer your game based on their opposing opinion of what is “fun”?
Honestly, we take no action against any sites that display their opinion of the game, we address them only if they make a false statement pertaining to the game. But we have been pleasantly surprised by the comments of the reviewers up to this point. I think that in the past most reviewers have slammed Christian games based on the content and the quality of the games they have reviewed.
I’m impressed by the sheer number of gaming sites that you have convinced to provide links to Catechumen. How did you manage to persuade so many diverse sites to support your product?
Actually, we didn’t have to do much convincing in the foreign sites; most of them put it up based on their own decision before we could even contact them. As for the other gaming sites, they were pretty approachable once they reviewed the demo.
Most developers claim that the sole purpose of their creation is for the gamer to have fun. Can you make the same claim, or are you also attempting to espouse the principles of Christianity?
From day one of development, our number one priority has been to create a fun game for the player. While our game is Biblically based, it does not preach to the player but allows the player to explore some of the Biblical scriptures.
Why are you advertising Catechumen as “competing against the top-selling secular games?” Aren’t you afraid that this “us versus them” mentality may hurt sales?
We are not trying to convey an “us versus them” situation. We are simply trying to make the parents aware that there is finally an alternative to the bloody shooter games out there.
Can you provide us with some examples of the adventure aspects of Catechumen as compared to the action aspects?
The player must solve many puzzles that require logic as well as hearing and visual acuity.
If Catechumen is a huge success, financially and critically, what do you do next? On the other hand, if Catechumen is a failure, how does that change the company’s future prospects?
Based on the preliminary comments coming from the gaming community, we are confident that Catechumen will be successful in its own right. We have already started work on some other projects for the future.
Why do you feel there is a market for a Christian-based game?
There are currently 93 million people in America that claim to be Evangelical Christians. If you look at how Christian music has grown, you will see that the market has become an open opportunity that wasn’t necessarily there before. Our game is basically one of the higher-quality Christian games available, and we believe that the Christian community will gladly support us.
A recent study by the gaming industry “proved” that violence in gaming does not encourage violence in youngsters. A similar study released by the government “proved” otherwise. Which study do you side with?
We feel that there has not been enough research done in these areas to make an intelligent decision either way. Hopefully, the future studies will provide us all with enough information in order to make that decision.
Are you offering alternative methods to purchase Catechumen for our European readers and those who don’t have access to a mass distributor?
Yes, you can purchase the game on the web site or call our toll-free line at (877) 672-0031. We have been in contact with several companies interested in marketing our game in other countries.
I’ll attempt to show some class by not ending this interview with my usual Pamela Anderson Lee question. Instead, do Davey and Goliath make a guest appearance in Catechumen? If not, is there a possibility of a Davey and Goliath game in the future?
Unfortunately, Davey and Goliath were unable to make an appearance in our current game. However, in an upcoming title, I would not be surprised to see them.
