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The Adventures in Odyssey and the Great Escape was developed and published by Digital Praise and was released in September 2005. Digital Praise is a Christian-themed computer and video game developer that hopes to "Glorify god through the development for children, teenagers, and families that spreads the gospel of Jesus Christ while entertaining, enlightening, and encouraging faith"(Digital Praise Christian Computer Games). The game is based on Adventures in Odyssey, an Envagelical Christian-themed radio series that was created by Evangelical Christian non-profit organization, Focus on the Family.
The game opens up with a short mini movie that introduces us to the main characters, Mandy and Michael, who are playing computer games. While playing, they are invited by Eugene, a stereotypical computer nerd, to play his life-sized computer game. While initially playing you are introduced to the first of seven mini games. The game takes a twist however when Michael removes the safety protocols and Mandy and Michael subsequently become trapped in the game and have to beat all the games in order to escape.
The design and the sound effects of the game reflect the hi-tech themes of the game. The backgrounds are consist of common computer imagery: circuits, metals, and chips in colors that are bright and vivid while the sounds consist of beeping, buzzing, and whirring that seem more fitting for a 1950s robot than a computer. The combination of the outlandish characterization of common computer sounds and the sounds creates a feeling of futurism that is not found today.
The game play is first person with you having direct control of game play, rather than controlling a character within the game. The game consists of playing seven mini games, six of which are arcade games while the seventh is logic based. The games are relatively simple to complete but can be extremely time consuming and frustrating since each game consists of 4 levels which in turn contains four levels. After the completion of each level, you receive an email that may contain a verse, quote, or even a joke. During the game, you encounter only a few characters: Mandy, Micheal, Eugene, Seepi-Yu, and Gregory. The characters that are encountered throughout the game are one-dimensional and offer little helpful information except for the occasional warning or hint if you are about to lose the game. Instead the characters, mainly Mandy and Michael, fill game play with incessant chatter that is more distracting than entertaining.
The Christian elements of the game are so subtle that they could be potentially missed by the player and are only found in the few Bible verses that are contained in the emails. These verses mainly deal with the values that the game is trying to promote. These values include choices and consequences, responsibility, obedience, value of time, and character. Thus the game seems one that promotes a virtuous lifestyle rather than just a Christian one.
The most interesting aspect of the game was the contradiction that it had with the lesson regarding the value of time. Throughout the game it is made clear that if you play video games and computer games too much you have the potential to go down the wrong path and become trapped. Instead a person should spend time with friends and family and live their life virtuously and without vices, in this case games. The irony is that the very design of the game forces you to spend hours at a time in order to complete the mini games and complete the game.
Bibliography
"Digital Praise Christian Computer Games". Home. Web. 09 Dec 2010. <http://www.digitalpraise.com/flash.php>