Move over Harmonix, move over Activision...

[Funkula]

Guitar Praise (http://store.digitalpraise.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=135) is here to bury you. Featuring the raw star power of such megastars as Family Force 5 and tobyMac, this is sure to make every kid in a fundie household forget that they weren't allowed to get Rock Band because it has that devil music from the band so opposed to young-earth creationism that they called themselves Queens of the Stone Age.

My favorite part is the bullet point that reads "Onscreen lyrics reflect Christian values."

[hong]

I wonder if Alice Cooper will feature...?

[interman]

Hahahaha, looking forward to the reviews

[RobotPants]

I'm not sure why this is so funny. I'm sure as a game it will be pretty poorly implemented, but is it so hilarious because it's for Christians? I mean, I know it's cool to bash on people for their religion, but this seems about as humorous as "Haha, look at those people at church!".

[Telefrog]

I'm not sure why this is so funny. I'm sure as a game it will be pretty poorly implemented, but is it so hilarious because it's for Christians? I mean, I know it's cool to bash on people for their religion, but this seems about as humorous as "Haha, look at those people at church!".

I think it has more to do with exactly the fact that most religious-themed games are poorly implemented. The history for these products is not filled with particularly inspiring gameplay or graphics. (Pun intended.)

If a Christian (or Buddhist, or Muslim, etc) development group made a critically praised game on the par of BioShock encompassing their chosen themes, I'm sure people would sing a different tune.

[Adree]

I'm not sure why this is so funny. I'm sure as a game it will be pretty poorly implemented, but is it so hilarious because it's for Christians? I mean, I know it's cool to bash on people for their religion, but this seems about as humorous as "Haha, look at those people at church!".


It's christian rock. It deserves to be mocked.
http://vicissitude.net/Images/Jesus-GuitarWindmill.gif

[scharmers]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/scharmers/promo-reborn2.jpg

[Sam Jones]

No Stryper? No King's X?

Pfff. They're not even trying.

[FieryBalrog]

I'm not sure why this is so funny. I'm sure as a game it will be pretty poorly implemented, but is it so hilarious because it's for Christians? I mean, I know it's cool to bash on people for their religion, but this seems about as humorous as "Haha, look at those people at church!".


Its because they're Christians and they are the politically acceptable target of today.

[Funkula]

No, it's because the only reason it exists is that these kids' parents are afraid of secular culture. Everything they allow their children to consume must come pre-approved by sufficiently Jesusy authorities.

I'm gonna pull numbers out of my ass here, but I doubt five percent of the current top-selling Christian artists would even have major-label contracts if they weren't playing to a captive audience. I'd be willing to bet that quite a few artists consciously and cynically choose to go after the contemporary Christian market because they know they couldn't hack it in the real music business.

Also:

I'm not sure why this is so funny. I'm sure as a game it will be pretty poorly implemented, but is it so hilarious because it's for Christians? I mean, I know it's cool to bash on people for their religion, but this seems about as humorous as "Haha, look at those people at church!".

It's that these people's faith is so fragile that they can't enjoy anything that doesn't explicitly reinforce it.

[Moore]

I think plenty of great games are made by christians. But there is little point in a 'christian' game.

Hot cross buns are ok, I guess. They can have that.

[dashingly]

Family Force 5The atrocious crunk rockers are also atrocious Christian rockers? I should have seen this.

[Robert Sharp]

Will it include Jesus Built my Hotrod? I don't really care for that song.

[Arkon262]

No, it's because the only reason it exists is that these kids' parents are afraid of secular culture. Everything they allow their children to consume must come pre-approved by sufficiently Jesusy authorities.

I'm gonna pull numbers out of my ass here, but I doubt five percent of the current top-selling Christian artists would even have major-label contracts if they weren't playing to a captive audience. I'd be willing to bet that quite a few artists consciously and cynically choose to go after the contemporary Christian market because they know they couldn't hack it in the real music business.

Also:


It's that these people's faith is so fragile that they can't enjoy anything that doesn't explicitly reinforce it.


Or perhaps there are folks out there that genuinely enjoy christian music and would be interested in this. If I were into music games I would be in for something like this, but would rather see it as DLC for something like rock band or guitar hero or a standalone expansion.

[dashingly]

Also, where is "My Dog Was Lost But Now He's Found"?

[Omniscia]

"Devil is a Loser" could make a rockin' track for that, or any other, game...

[RobotPants]

No, it's because the only reason it exists is that these kids' parents are afraid of secular culture. Everything they allow their children to consume must come pre-approved by sufficiently Jesusy authorities.

I'm gonna pull numbers out of my ass here, but I doubt five percent of the current top-selling Christian artists would even have major-label contracts if they weren't playing to a captive audience. I'd be willing to bet that quite a few artists consciously and cynically choose to go after the contemporary Christian market because they know they couldn't hack it in the real music business.

Also:


It's that these people's faith is so fragile that they can't enjoy anything that doesn't explicitly reinforce it.

Oh, is that what you've determined somehow? I doubt you've heard much contemporary Christian music, but the percentage of artists that are untalented is certainly no different than it is in the pool of "regular" artists. Whether or not you like their lyrics is something else completely, but the fact that they're Christian has nothing to do with how good or bad they are at what they do.

And the bit about their faith being fragile because they enjoy music that lines up with their belief system is just retarded. I don't doubt for a second there are people like that, but your broad, sweeping generalization of "these people" just makes you look silly. How in the world did you deduce "these people" don't enjoy non-Christian music as well?

[Midnight Son]

"Devil Went Down to Georgia"
"Number of the Beast"
"Don't Fear the Reaper"

Satan rocks!


Hehe.

[Jakub]

No, it's because the only reason it exists is that these kids' parents are afraid of secular culture. Everything they allow their children to consume must come pre-approved by sufficiently Jesusy authorities.

I'm gonna pull numbers out of my ass here, but I doubt five percent of the current top-selling Christian artists would even have major-label contracts if they weren't playing to a captive audience. I'd be willing to bet that quite a few artists consciously and cynically choose to go after the contemporary Christian market because they know they couldn't hack it in the real music business.
Cartman already beat you to that idea.

[Adree]

Rock Band already has christian rock - Flyleaf.

[Funkula]

If I were into music games I would be in for something like this, but would rather see it as DLC for something like rock band or guitar hero or a standalone expansion.

Exactly. The only reason to have a standalone game of nothing but this is that the buyers refuse to listen to secular music. Putting it into Rock Band as DLC would be great. This is an artificially limited pool, with hardware and software that is no doubt going to be inferior to the existing games in the genre.


Whether or not you like their lyrics is something else completely, but the fact that they're Christian has nothing to do with how good or bad they are at what they do.

Their faith has nothing to do with their skill, but intentionally limiting themselves to a much smaller but more consistent audience (patrons of Christian bookstores) suggests a lack of confidence in their own ability to make it in the mainstream music business, with much higher risk and reward.

[wigglestick]

P & R! P & R!

[red guy]

It's interesting that this is a PC port without Guitar Hero III's insane hardware requirements. It's got its own hardware demographic.

[Jeremy Johnsen]

I've always wondered why Rock Band doesn't release stuff like this for different buying groups. Aren't there enough people out there that would buy Country Packs, Christian Packs and Blues Packs?

[Robert Sharp]

It's ROCKband.

[RobotPants]

Their faith has nothing to do with their skill, but intentionally limiting themselves to a much smaller but more consistent audience (patrons of Christian bookstores) suggests a lack of confidence in their own ability to make it in the mainstream music business, with much higher risk and reward.

That's really a weird way to look at it. Why does it have to suggest a lack of confidence? With all the people irrationally afraid of anything to do with religion, it's suicide to release your Christian album to a mainstream audience unless the lyrics are ambiguous enough (Flyleaf, POD) where people don't recognize right away it's being sung by someone of that faith. Plus, I'm sure it has a lot to do with the whole "birds of a feather" thing. People tend to like hanging around others who share their beliefs, but that doesn't mean they're shunning everyone else. Well, some do, but it's a pretty huge generalization to assume everyone's the same. Just because some extreme goofballs prefer Microsoft and hate Sony doesn't mean every 360 owner automatically dislikes people who play PS3.

I do think, like others have said, that this would be better as DLC for Rockband or Guitar Hero instead of what will certainly be a crappy game, though. But that's a complaint with the game, not the audience.

[quatoria]

And the bit about their faith being fragile because they enjoy music that lines up with their belief system is just retarded. I don't doubt for a second there are people like that, but your broad, sweeping generalization of "these people" just makes you look silly. How in the world did you deduce "these people" don't enjoy non-Christian music as well?


Well, personally, growing up where I did, and going to school in a place where you were either a fundamentalist Christian or you shut the hell up and kept your head down, I've personally seen and met a lot of people whose parents refused to let them encounter any secular culture whatsoever. Secular television, movies, books, and music were all banned. Everything they read, watched, or listened to came from either the church or the local Christian book stores. Their parents were the type who fervently believed that Dungeons & Dragons was the frontline of a Satanic invasion of America. That's not hyperbole. A game like 'guitar praise' is exactly the type of product they'd have been bought by their parents, had it existed at the time. Instead, they had to make do with half-assed 'Christian adventure' titles.

So, yeah - I'm not going to feel bad in the slightest for laughing at this shit, considering the amount of crap I had to deal with as a kid from the "secular culture services satan" crowd.

[merryprankster]

I'm not sure why this is so funny. I'm sure as a game it will be pretty poorly implemented, but is it so hilarious because it's for Christians? I mean, I know it's cool to bash on people for their religion, but this seems about as humorous as "Haha, look at those people at church!".

There is nothing wrong with being a christian, but I loathe censorship of any kind and the game represents an option for families that censor materials based on religous belief. For that reason the game and the people who it's designed for must be mocked. Spend five minutes listening to southern baptist "we love God and everyone else will burn in Hell" radio and you should see what I mean.

[steve]

Their faith has nothing to do with their skill, but intentionally limiting themselves to a much smaller but more consistent audience (patrons of Christian bookstores) suggests a lack of confidence in their own ability to make it in the mainstream music business, with much higher risk and reward.
Down with all of those punk and indie bands that stick to small labels and refuse to take on Justin Timberlake! And down with indie developers, who refuse to be published by EA! And down with indie blogs who refuse to be owned by Gawker! Bunch of insecure pansies!

[Talorc]

It would be hilariously funny if some Rock band / Guitar Hero master guitar player type like sluggo gets their hand on the included guitar and declares it "BEST GUITAR EVAR!!!".

And it is compatible with Guitar Hero and Rock Band :-)

[XPav]

Onscreen lyrics reflect Christian values. Vocalists can sing their hearts out as their friends play the guitar.

But they don't get any points for it.

[ZekeDMS]

Well, personally, growing up where I did, and going to school in a place where you were either a fundamentalist Christian or you shut the hell up and kept your head down, I've personally seen and met a lot of people whose parents refused to let them encounter any secular culture whatsoever.

This.

[Talorc]

But they don't get any points for it.

Yes, but they do get to save their immortal soul and not go to Hell, thanks to their praise of Jesus!

That must be worth at least a few gamerpoints, or one big achievement right?

[garin]

That must be worth at least a few gamerpoints, or one big achievement right?
It's a secret achievement, you don't find out what it's worth until you die.

[XPav]

Yes, but they do get to save their immortal soul and not go to Hell, thanks to their praise of Jesus!

That must be worth at least a few gamerpoints, or one big achievement right?

http://achievements.schrankmonster.de/Achievement.aspx?text=Saved%20your%20immortal%20so ul

Who cares if you RROD after that?

[Adree]

Demo video! Guitar battles! (not against satan, you have to buy gh3 for that)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zxw9ntaLSg

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x297/lithane4/mas/spider-mans-greatest-bible-stories.jpg

[ZekeDMS]

Volume controls? VOLUME CONTROLS?

Pussies.

And I find the "rock classics" claim dubious.

The triangles are hilariously inept indicators, reminiscent of that dirt cheap...well, one-off guitar product that looked like a 16 bit setup reviewed on youtube by whoever did the Popstation.

[fuzzyslug]

I had to add a few comments.

First, this does look pretty terrible game in terms of quality. I don't know what you'd expect from a small developer without the funds (or talent?) of EA or Activision, though. That's some tough competition there.

I should mention I'm a fan of Christian music (contemporary, rock, etc.) and that list includes some of the band in this game.

I find it rather cute and insular to believe this game is based around some parents' desire to limit their kids access to secular music. I look at it completely differently. Rock Band and Guitar Hero don't serve fans of Christian Rock at all. This game looks to fill in the gaps. Sure, I'd rather this stuff be DLC for one of the two big franchises (it would very likely be of much higher quality and, you know, exist for a game where I already have the hardware, very much increasing my chance of a purchase) but I'm glad someone recognizes that an entire genre of music is ignored. This is the opposite of censorship.

It's also rather ignorant to think that a game catered and marketed to the Christian crowd exists because its buyers actively avoid secular music. The thought is oddly backwards and out of touch. My Third Day album and my Rush album look fine next to each other. This music doesn't exist in different worlds.

[Adree]

This music doesn't exist in different worlds.

I agree, both are firmly rooted in fantasy!

Honestly except for modded frets on fire (which that might be for all I know) it looks like the best gh/rb clone yet. Probably more fun than Rock Revolution will be too.

[skedastic]

I find it rather cute and insular to believe this game is based around some parents' desire to limit their kids access to secular music.


Obviously they're not attempting to market to such people. If they were, they would probably list something like,

Onscreen lyrics reflect Christian values.

as one of the key features of the game in the marketing materials. The much more plausible explanation for this sort of product is, of course, the high quality of Christian Rock.



I doubt you've heard much contemporary Christian music, but the percentage of artists that are untalented is certainly no different than it is in the pool of "regular" artists.


Certainly! By the same token, the percentage of actors in pornographic films who can't act is certainly no different than it is in the pool of "regular" actors. The evidence is that, just like porn actors are constantly crossing over and achieving success in mainstream films, Christian rock bands are constantly crossing over and succeeding in the mainstream.




Its because they're Christians and they are the politically acceptable target of today


Christians in the United States are indeed a horribly repressed minority.

[Tortilla]

Christians in the United States are indeed a horribly repressed minority.

Or so they believe.

[fuzzyslug]

Obviously they're not attempting to market to such people. If they were, they would probably list something like,

Onscreen lyrics reflect Christian values.

as one of the key features of the game in the marketing materials. The much more plausible explanation for this sort of product is, of course, the high quality of Christian Rock.


Of course they are marketing to such people. What I question/mock is a world view that assumes all Christian parents fall into this group.





Certainly! By the same token, the percentage of actors in pornographic films who can't act is certainly no different than it is in the pool of "regular" actors. The evidence is that, just like porn actors are constantly crossing over and achieving success in mainstream films, Christian rock bands are constantly crossing over and succeeding in the mainstream.



You either have a much higher opinion of mainstream music than I or a completely lack of exposure to Christian rock. I'll say both.