Bible Adventures by Gabe Durham

$ 4.95

Release Date: March 30, 2015
168 pages
ISBN 13: 978-1-940535-07-4
 
In the beginning, a small unlicensed game development company was hit with divine inspiration: They could make a lot of money (and escape the wrath of Nintendo) by creating games for Christians. With the release of the 1990 NES platformer Bible Adventures, the developers saw what they had made, and it was good. Or, at least, good enough.

Based on extensive research and original interviews with Wisdom Tree staff, Gabe Durham's book investigates the rise and fall of the little company that almost could, the tension between faith and commerce in the Christian retail industry, culture's retro/ironic obsession with "bad games," and the simple recipe for transforming a regular game into a Christian game: throw a Bible in it and pray nobody notices.
 

Gabe Durham is the founder, editor, and publisher of Boss Fight Books. His novel FUN CAMP was one of BuzzFeed's 17 Books We Loved in 2013. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Kindle Store * Google Play * Audiobook

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"Gabe Durham's Bible Adventures is a riot and a joy. A+++" - Justin Taylor, author of Flings and The Gospel of Anarchy

“This fascinating book takes a look at the genesis of the infamous game company known as Wisdom Tree, as well as the development process behind its notorious video games. Gabe shares some insight into a side of early video game production that I had never stopped to consider before!” - Clyde Mandelin, author of Legends of Localization

"Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, Bible Adventures perfectly captures the wacky, wonderful story of Wisdom Tree from a larger perspective of the Christian product-consumer relationship. Featuring interviews with several ex-employees (including yours truly) and peppered with wit and personal anecdotes from the author, this book is a must-read." - Roger Deforest, Former Developer for Color Dreams/Wisdom Tree

Named on Unseen 64's Best Video Game Books

Named a "favorite nonfiction book of 2015 so far" by Dennis Cooper, author of The Marbled Swarm and My Loose Thread

"Durham refuses to rest on the easy ironies of mostly atheist coders creating Christian games ... Durham finds humanity where others might see cynicism." - Heavy Feather Review

"What brings it all together is the author’s sense of humor and his touch of earnestness ... I’m not one to impart my personal beliefs on anyone; but my opinion is you should probably read this book." - Obtain Potion

"Tells a fantastic story of very unusual area of the games industry ... The funniest videogame business book I've ever read." - Dome.fi

"Compelling ... There’s  more to the story than just discussing that game’s mechanics, marketing, and development. Durham digs in with the developer’s history – and it’s more interesting than it has any right to be." - Cliqist

Excerpts: Electric Literature, GamasutraEntropy

More Reviews: Goodreads

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