Wesleyan Church Releases Video Game, Corners Theological Gaming Market

SEATLLE-- In an effort to boost membership amongst the elusive gaming demographic, the Wesleyan Church announced the release of a Wesleyan-based video game. Developed by Sanctisoft Developers, a subsidiary of the similarly named software monolith, this release hopes to corner the market on theologically based video games.

Fans of the reality-based game “The Sims©” will recognize the latest installment of the popular series. Entitled “The Sims©: Wesleyan Edition,” this expansion pack will feature Wesleyan-appropriate/inspired game-play.

“The Sims©” is a role-playing game in which players can customize a “Sim©”- a virtual person who is exposed to a wide variety of stimuli and undergoes numerous experiences. The player controlling the Sim© is able to choose career paths, make everyday decisions such as what to eat and wear, and is even able to see the consequences of those decisions within the game. If a player doesn't have their virtual person go to work, or chooses a life of crime, the virtual Sim© will experience the various repercussions of those decisions.

The Wesleyan edition will allow the player far greater control of the spiritual life of the Sim©. Whereas in previous editions of “The Sims©” the Sim© could only experience spirituality on a superficial and generic level, the Wesleyan Edition gives a much wider berth in regards to the Sim's spiritual well-being. The player can control how often the Sim© has devotions, goes to church, and even has built in parameters for gaging spiritual growth based upon which church the Sim© attends. Activities such as drinking alcoholic beverages, public dancing, and inappropriate interactions with the opposite sex (such as talking) can have negative effects on the overall Sanctification Level, which charts the sanctification of the Sim©, all the way from the lowest level of Sinner to the highest level of Saint. As the Sim© progresses in sanctification, the Sim© receives various rewards from the game, which leads to the overall fulfillment of the Sim©.

Although “The Sims©: Wesleyan Edition” has been authorized by the Wesleyan Church, many Wesleyans have issued detractions against the game, ranging from capitulation to culture to theological issues. Rev. Andy Senta is one such detractor:

“This game isn't Wesleyan at all- it's Calvinism in Arminian clothing. It gives the impression that life is simple causality- you make a decision, and there is a determined response. Basically, we're asking people to play God. And not just any God, but Calvinism's God. And with a simple cheat code, you can bypass doing the things for sanctification, and have it filled just by being saved. That's nothing but imputed righteousness. They might as well call it the Lutheran Edition."

However, most Wesleyans feel that this foray into the virtual world of “The Sims©” will help the Wesleyan Church get its name into the world of gaming. Mark Stromborg, lead developer for Sanctisoft, explains:

“These are exciting times for the Wesleyan Church, and for gaming in general. With the release of the Wesleyan Edition, gaming has taken a new step forward. Gone are the days of lame Christian games- now Wesleyans can hold their heads up high within the gaming world. In fact, the anticipated success of this expansion pack is so great that we have already begun developing expansion packs for other popular series. Be on the lookout for Grand Theft Auto©: Aldersgate in 2008.”