Gaming site to bring Bible to life
TORONTO, ON—The Canadian Bible Society is unveiling an innovative new online game this February, which they say will combine state-of-the-art gaming with a strong moral message. YaHero is an interactive gaming website where children can enter a virtual world to take on quests. It is aimed for children ages eight to 11, and goes live February 1.
"YaHero is the first ever Bible-based virtual world for kids," says Dale LoFranco, YaHero's executive director. Children are able to create and customize their own avatar to explore the virtual world. YaHero will unveil a new quest each month, which will include a series of mini-games, such as puzzles, quizzes and searches. Each quest has an overarching narrative and tackles a theme such as adversity, creation or wisdom. Marketing director Giorgio Gori explains that Yahero uses the allegory to help children interact with the biblical truths. "We know that kids are not reading the Bible," he says, "Reading books is becoming more and more old-fashioned. We also know that kids are spending an awful lot of time playing video games. So this is putting the Bible into a format that they love and understand.
"We are trying to get the Bible outside the walls of the church," Gori says. "In some of the games, the kids will need to find biblical clues or call up Bible reference passages. There will be Bible verses and Bible stories within the game which children can reference as they work through the mini games."
When children complete a quest, their parents will be sent an email asking if they would like to receive supplemental material related to it. Called Lumipacks, these will include audio-visual material and questions that will allow the parent to discuss with their children what they experienced in the quest. The Bible Society is also hoping to expand the YaHero range to include curriculum packages and books for families and churches.
"We're encouraging parents to interact with their children in the game," Gori says, "and parents will be asked to vet any of the friends their kids want to play with on the site."
"The emphasis is on fun for the kids," LoFranco adds. "We believe they will learn through extreme fun. We have to meet them where they are at, and to meet them there with the Bible.
"We want them to link the wisdom they learn in the YaHero world to the power of the Bible in the real world. We believe it can go head to head with anything the world has to offer."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
