State of the Game #6

Hey there everyone! I hope and pray that all of you are well, as we are! I have a lot to share, so let’s get to it—but first, go grab your favorite drink!

(Note: Some links, previews, and audio/video references mentioned in this post are no longer available. Certain items were removed after testing or restructuring, and this post is preserved for development-history purposes.)

The Good

I may—well, I do—have a voice for Helkena! PLUS: I also had voices lined up for my Mexican female character (Monica Rios) and my Russian male character (Dima Grechnicova), with the possibility of even more characters. There was a plan to share a sneak peek of Helkena and others speaking.

I also have more decisions to make with Helkena—and honestly, most of the female characters in the game—specifically: hair.

Hair is one of those things in game development that can look acceptable for most projects, but as technology advances, it quickly starts to look wrong. I have photos of Helkena where her hair looks great in the character-creation software, but once brought into the game engine (Unreal Engine 4), it just didn’t hold up the same way.

For clarity: Unreal Engine is called an engine because it literally engineers worlds. UE4 (and soon UE5) includes newer hair technology that will allow Helkena’s hair to look much more natural—with proper flow and movement.

The trade-off? Helkena will once again have a new hairstyle.

The Bad

That new hair comes with a cost—actually, two costs.

First, there’s the literal price. I’ll need to purchase a new hair asset. Thankfully, at the time of writing this, it was on sale for 50% off—normally $60, now $30—for 24 hairstyles. (Which, honestly, is about the cost of one real haircut… right?)

The second cost is performance. Newer hair technology demands more from the PC—CPU and GPU power. That’s the price of progress.

Another challenge has been finding help for this project—which brings me to…

The Ugly

I honestly don’t know which is worse:

• Never hearing back from companies or individuals who could potentially help

• Or being told I deserve to go to Hell for making this game—by Christians

Yes. Christians.

If someone thinks this game is so bad, why not just say, “I’ll pray for you”?

Here’s the difficult reality:

• Non-believers often don’t want to work on the project because it’s a Christian game

• Christians sometimes don’t want to work on it because the characters live in the world

Meaning: the characters drink, party, dress imperfectly, and sometimes speak inappropriately.

That said, I did receive a thoughtful reply from a non-Christian who knows Unreal Engine world-building very well. He said he didn’t feel he could bring the passion required to build a world that would honor what I believe this project needs to be.

Please pray for him—not for my sake, but that he would come to know God.

A Question, Then

Yes, I know this title doesn’t match The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I still like it.

So why include “worldly” behavior at all?

Short answer: Risk.

(Okay… maybe not that short.)

Jesus said:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” — Matthew 28:19

Risk has always been part of life—relationships, careers, education, missions. I think of an author I admire, Ted Dekker, who grew up with missionary parents in Indonesia. When you live among cannibals and ask where a family went… well… sometimes you don’t want the answer.

But you go where God calls you.

I’m not going to be eaten by cannibals (hopefully), but I am stepping into the pit of the world to make The Right Path.

This game isn’t designed for Christians. Christians can absolutely play it—but the target audience is the non-believer.

If you go into a homeless shelter to serve, you step into their world: their language, their struggles, their mess. You don’t adopt the sin—but you take the risk because God called you there.

That’s what I’m doing.

Helkena is flawed. She drinks too much. Parties too much. Dresses in ways Christians might disapprove of. And yes—many players will recognize themselves in her.

Even many Christians live this way.

The Right Path is a Choices Matter game. The player must guide Helkena—helping her move away from destruction and toward redemption. God does not want anyone to go to Hell.

As for language:

The strongest words are mild.

No F-words.

No S-words.

And absolutely ZERO use of the Lord’s name in vain—not even “OMG.”

Why have any bad words at all?

Because the player has tools to influence Helkena’s behavior. The player may use bad language—but it’s their responsibility to help Helkena stay on The Right Path.

And yes… that was the short answer.

One Last Thing

I’m keeping the full story of The Right Path very quiet. Only three of us currently know the entire narrative. Some voice actors will see pieces of it as needed, and anyone who volunteered is welcome to read the full script—once proofreading is complete and final revisions are made.

One more update: I changed some header tabs on the Faith Based Games website. For example, the Blog page is now titled What’s New!! I also hid a few unused sections, like the Forum page (which may return if there’s real interest).

I know this was a lot.

Please continue praying for this project—I need prayers, lots of them.

And if you need prayer, please reach out. We would be honored to pray for and with you.

Thank you to everyone supporting this project—through prayer, encouragement, and financial help.

Be blessed,

Sam 

🙂