Thinking of developing or concepting a Catholic themed MMORPG

[Bulbasaur05]

Any ideas? Many cultures get video game representation (feudal Japan, US Civil War medieval Europe, WW2 era Modernist countries, Native American/New Age themes in RPGs). I always feel so isolated ideologically and it also seems like an area that creative minds have not tapped into yet (the Catholica)

I guess there wouldn’t be fighting, but there could be leveling up in spirituality and piety? The NPCs would probably be what St. Ignatius described as the bad spirits and they would exp. when you discern against them.

The challenge would be making it theologically sound, but still fun and engaging at the same time. Some online community games are not competitive at all in nature like Animal Crossing, maybe it could be like that and even cutesy super deformed anime styled and be a fun way for kids to learn with other Catholic kids.

For classes you could perhaps pick different religious orders. Each with their own gameplay spin.

The music could, of course, be monastic and heavily Catholic themed.

I would not be programming/debugging, but the art directory and concept developer of this.

 

[Kamaduck]

Any ideas? Many cultures get video game representation (feudal Japan, US Civil War medieval Europe, WW2 era Modernist countries, Native American/New Age themes in RPGs). I always feel so isolated ideologically and it also seems like an area that creative minds have not tapped into yet (the Catholica)

I guess there wouldn’t be fighting, but there could be leveling up in spirituality and piety? The NPCs would probably be what St. Ignatius described as the bad spirits and they would exp. when you discern against them.

The challenge would be making it theologically sound, but still fun and engaging at the same time. Some online community games are not competitive at all in nature like Animal Crossing, maybe it could be like that and even cutesy super deformed anime styled and be a fun way for kids to learn with other Catholic kids.

For classes you could perhaps pick different religious orders. Each with their own gameplay spin.

The music could, of course, be monastic and heavily Catholic themed.

I would not be programming/debugging, but the art directory and concept developer of this.

Not to discourage you (I’d love a good Catholic game!), but your current idea sounds pretty boring. If all the NPC’s are evil, what’s the challenge in “discerning” against them? I don’t believe you absolutely need fighting to make a game interesting (I am a fan of the aforementioned Animal Crossing, after all), but you need an interesting conflict or goal to make any kind of story. For Animal Crossing it’s helping a town develop, making friends with the townsfolk, and collecting more items. “Discern against evil NPC’s and level up in piety” does not sound like a particularly interesting conflict or goal.

Any chance you could come up with some other nonviolent conflicts? Maybe there could be regular townsfolk that one had to help. It could be vaguely medieval, and one could gain EXP and skills by solving problems for them, instead of killing monsters or just “discerning”. Service is an important part of the Christian life, too, after all!

By the way: Nice username. And avatar.

 

[Havard]

I do think that a beautiful chapel setting could be conducive to getting people to praying (e.g the Divine Office) together online, especially for people who would like to do so in community but there isn’t a community doing so nearby.

 

[Polycarpion]

Hey Bulbasaur05! I love your idea of developing a Catholic MMORPG! Ill throw in my 2 cents and see what you think of it. An idea I had comes from what the Bible describes as the Spiritual War.

So for instance you would be an angel (with the ability to customize your appearance and clothing, maybe even wings) who starts out in Heaven. You find out that you have been created and St. Gabriel gives you a quick tutorial on how to move, fight, etc. then when you are ready, you enter into the main map/area which is Heaven, or part of it. Imagine the beautiful graphics and scenery that can be created. I would read the book of Revelation and the writings of Catholic Mystics who claim to have seen Heaven from a distance, Like St. Don Bosco, who saw silver tree trunks with golden leaves, lakes of diamonds and and golden streets and buildings, etc.

Also as I can see by your Avatar, you are a pokemon fan, so Imagine the creatures you could create that can be equipped and accompany the Angel on his or her journey. These heavenly creatures would have their own abilities, to help out when there are epic boss fights or something.

One benefit to making the character Angelic Is that you get rid of the whole “Magic Problem”. An angel can have lots of powers and abilities, but it cant be considered magic because, well its an angel. They are creatures of God and so all their powers and abilities come from God, depending on the task set before an angel. You could take inspiration from the Bible when it comes to creating the Angels powers, and then building on it. For example:

Gifts of healing (1 Cor. 12:9, 28; Acts 28:1-10)
Working of miracles (1 Cor. 12:10; Acts 6:8)
Prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Thess. 5:20-21; Eph. 4:11)
Discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10; Luke 8:29)
Tongues (1 Cor. 12:10; Acts 19:6)

Then again, the list of powers an Angel can have is limitless. You can create classes, ranks, and heavenly weaponry. Maybe as the angel LVLs up, it moves up the heavenly ladder of Angels. You could take inspiration from the 9 orders of angels for example.

Now there is the whole issue of questing. As you start out in Heaven, you would get quests from Saints and angels. Imagine St. Francis of Asissi in heaven, dressed in a golden robe with a halo around his head, under a silver tree surrounded by heavenly creatures entertaining him. You come up to him and he asks you to find a heavenly bird that went missing or something to that effect. You know, just something cute and innocent.

As the game progresses however, St. Micheal, the general of all Angels wishes to see you to inform you that Satan is at it again, trying to destroy the Kingdom of God, and you are to be deployed to earth (the “battle ground” so to speak (Also I think it would be cool if it was the middle ages) to fight “the devil and all the other evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of man’s soul.” I can also see expansions in the future where you visit Purgatory and Hell, but that’s another story.

Now I don’t think there should be fighting with people, as this is a game about “Spiritual warfare”. You would fight demons and creatures of darkness. For ideas on how to create and design them, I would use the seven deadly sins for inspiration and build on that. I also don’t think they have to be too creepy looking, so you wont be accused of creating a “horror game”. Maybe it could be a little creepy, but with a bit of silliness attached for comical relief.

Finally, when it come to the fighting, I recommend you have a look at Anime MMORPGs like “Eden Eternal”. The world environments are usually very bright and cheery, and the fighting is not crazy and intense. There is no blood or gore. Its sort of Hack and slash, and then the enemy sort of vanishes. Maybe the demon could turn into a puff of smoke and then get sucked down to where it came from?

Anyways there is a lot more to this like the storyline, design and feel of the game. This is just some ideas that I have thrown out that have been rolling around in my head. So I hope it gives you some inspiration. I wish you the Best of Luck!