A journey of making things as a disciple of Christ
When I was a kid, I like playing computer games. But I realized that the values in gaming were not what I was taught to be like as a Christian. Games were always about:
Meanwhile, I know that Jesus is a gentle teacher, not a violent go-getter. He taught that true greatness was marked by lowliness. The world and its inhabitants are corrupted by sin, and God will redeem it, not me. So what should I be doing in a computer game that reflects these values? How about:
I've seen board games that were Christian themed, and felt ripped off. No creative work was done, it's just a new coat of paint. The core hasn't changed. That's like the Pharisees who did many works to be seen by all, but their hearts were corrupt and power-hungry. God changes people from the inside out; we are a new creation! I remember my first disappointment in looking at Christian computer games being very much the same thing. I got a demo from a Christian game dev company (name forgotten) that turned out to be Magic the Gathering with Bible characters. As cool as that might actually be, it completely ignores the heart of Jesus. Moses and David aren't pitted against each other, we aren't trying to get more rewards than our brothers - we are on the same side. Unfortunately, as a game mechanic, that means a set of bad guy cards and a set of good guy cards, and an artificial restriction on deck building. My first Christian game design, that is, an idea that purposed to make a game where you follow the principles of God was about the people of Israel entering Canaan. It seemed silly at first to make a strategy game where to win, you just press the "trust God" button, but here's the idea:
Your troops have the Law of Moses to obey. There are many restrictions on eating, touching unclean things, and purification rituals. Through daily life, some of them become unclean, building up a store of God's wrath. For example, a certain percentage will just be unclean due to nocturnal emissions, outside of anyone's control. You can send them to be purified (lose that percentage, risk leaving them behind, hurt their morale) or bring them along (add to God's displeasure against the people, risk spreading more uncleanness, but be at full strength). Food logistics would include clean and unclean choices, and don't forget to bring sacrifices. Individual personalities could affect different stats, like some being more ready to act in faith (David and Jonathan attacked the Philistines without permission, routing an encampment; the 10 bad spies spread fear to whole people). It would be important to plan your campaign around the religious calendar, since it is required for all men to offer sacrifices at various times of the year. Using a mixture of Frostpunk style event management and Papers Please rules and requirement management, the Age of Empires style strategy and resource management could almost be reduced to a Total War style auto-resolve system.
Another option is to trade gameplay for story. This is more my level of programming expertise, and since stories are so powerful and meaningful, it is worth investigating.