LEFT BEHIND GAMES:Changing Lives One At A Time Through Modern Media
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Leading the Way
Outreach Impact
Affecting Lives
Pass-It-On DVD
Endorsements are Pouring In!
Left Behind Games and the Media
The Controversial Questions & Answers
Musicians' Praise
Clues Revealed
An Alternative Choice in Video Games
To Our Shareholders
A Letter From "Left Behind" Authors
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Troy A. Lyndon, Chief Executive Officer
Often when I wake up, I thank our Lord in heaven…because He truly is LBG’s CEO. When we started this project five years ago, we were not prepared for what lay ahead. Our developers didn’t have any product to reference when creating the biggest budgeted Christian video game ever made. Our mainstream retailers knew people would buy it, but would customers look in the right place to find it? Even Christian retailers were out of their realm; they’re used to selling books, music, gifts, Bible software … but high-quality Christian games? Many said, “Let’s wait and see.”
Well, the good news is that we’re right on target to sell as many games this year as did the “Left Behind” book series in its first year.
Already, we’re getting emails from those whose lives have been changed by playing LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces, the PC Game (see “Impacting Lives” article below). The transforming impact our game is having on lives is similar to the book series, which caused it to become one of the most successful book series in history. Hence, we felt it appropriate to write a newsletter to report on how the game, too, is making a difference!
This new year is expected to be our first year of operational profitability. It gives me great joy to know that our passion to make a difference will impact the lives of those who play our games, as well as benefit shareholders who have financed this dream to bring quality Christian games to the world.
To our Lord, our Gamers and our Shareholders, we say “Thank You!”
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Outreach Impact
Churches are using the game to impact their youth. They are purchasing the game for their youth room, students are playing each other online, and youth pastors are distributing the trial Pass-It-On version of the game by the thousands.
 A code sheet is included in the game box that allows the purchaser to invite up to seven friends to join online for limited play by typing in a silver code. All the friends can meet up and play each other online. This has proven to be an effective tool for sharing Christ with video gamers.
“It thrills my heart to hear from youth pastors, who have participated in the 'Pass-It-On' disc program (an evangelistic outreach tool) and from gamers, who have played the game. Both are reporting positive impact that Left Behind: Eternal Forces PC Game is having on the lives of so many people. I'm looking forward to hearing more and more of these life changing stories as the positive moral message in the game is brought to the rest of the world.” Jerome Mikulich, Director of Outreach.
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The Game and Companion Website (www.dontbeleftbehind.com)
“I love the fact that it shares that there is hope today in Jesus Christ and it says it in gamers’ language!” says Phillip, a youth pastor in Arizona. “I’ve got kids who don’t talk about their faith – they don’t talk at all, but since I’ve given them the trial “Pass-It-On” version of the game, they talk about everything – even their faith!”
Many gamers are commenting about the game via www.leftbehindgames.com, revealing that numerous players have made decisions to follow Christ or rededicate their lives to Christ through this game companion website managed by All About God Ministries.
“I have committed the one sin that is probably the easiest, and that is stealing. Even though it was around the ages most teens do it, I still wish to redeem myself with God, in hopes that I can be saved. So, at an early age of 24 now, I am committing myself fully to Jesus and let him guide me. Thank you.” says Benjamin.
The stories continue to come in, “I just prayed to receive Christ as my Savior for the first time …. I've finally found Christ...and he saved my marriage. I'm now a newly found Christian instead of a corrupted young adult and loving every second of it." says Jarrett.
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Left Behind Games has received requests for over a million free Pass-It-On DVD’s. This DVD explains the game and gives up to four hours of free play. The game is designed to be passed on so numerous people are able to view the DVD and try the game.
We’ll continue to give these out for as long as we can. We want to encourage people to try the game and experience it for themselves.” If your ministry would like to receive a copy of the disc, please register here.
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After carefully reviewing our game, Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers, Concerned Women for America and numerous others have endorsed our game. Here are a few things they are saying:
- Focus on the Family, “Eternal Forces is the kind of game that Mom and Dad can actually play with Junior – and use to raise some interesting questions along the way.”
 http://www.pluggedinonline.com/
- Tammy Trent, (Singer, Songwriter, and Author) “It’s teaching them (gamers) about life, about morals, about making good decisions, the consequences to our decisions. I think its more about real life.”
- Promise Keepers, Coach Bill McCartney, Founder, “I just believe that every youth pastor is looking for this kind of a tool.”
 http://www.promisekeepers.org/
- The Four Square Church President Dr. Jack Hayford, “Anytime there is something that breaks through a realm of penetration with the truth, the gospel, the pragmatic reality of Jesus without religious frills, but something that seems practical and dynamic – you get excited about it.”
 http://www.foursquare.org/
- Concerned Women For America, Beverly LaHaye, “Here is a game we can heartily recommend.”
 http://www.cwfa.org/main.asp
- Dallas Anderson of the Billy Graham Center,“To actually see something come along that will give them (the new generation) moral input in a medium that makes sense to them … we’re pretty excited.”
 http://bgc.gospelcom.net/
- Kevin Palau of The Luis Palau Association,“If we can produce quality games that kids want to play, it’s just a tremendous way to share the good news. …As far as I know it’s really the first effort to produce a world-class quality game like that.
 http://www.palau.org
- “Left Behind” book series authors Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, “The quality of work is far superior than we had ever dreamed. It is superb!”
 http://www.leftbehind.com
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The media has, for the most part, supported the efforts of our project. Here are a few things they are saying:
The Associated Press ASAP calls it “…perfect content for a video game.”
AOL.com states, “…a positive moral message”
“I have to hand it to them, they know what they’re doing.” Kotaku.com
The LA Times says, “Eternal Forces’ looks and plays like a big-budget production.”
“One of the most highly anticipated gifts this holiday season,” says ABC World News.
Wired Magazine, “It actually kind of rocks.”
“A solid RTS with solid game play.” WarCry.com
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Isn’t the game about converting people or die?
Absolutely not. The purpose of our game was to introduce an alternative to the gratuitously violent games in the marketplace. Our game is a real-time strategy game, which means there is a lot of game play specific to finding recruits, building up housing and food supplies to support them…and looking after both the physical and spiritual health of all your recruits. The most successful way to fight, is through the means of spiritual warfare; PRAYER and WORSHIP. Soldiers and military weaponry are available, but once anyone plays the game, they’ll see how difficult it is to succeed by using these less effective means of warfare. And remember, this is NOT a first-person shooter where a guy gets a gun and is told to blow everyone away. It’s a strategy game, nothing violent by comparison to the dark content in the video game industry.
What about Left Behind theology?
When people come against us for the doctrinal view of Left Behind, we state that future prophecy teaching is NOT a part of the game. We recognize that not all Christian groups believe the world will end the same way, and we did not want that to be a barrier…so instead, we use the storyline of Left Behind as a fictional backdrop to the game stories.
How can you justify the violence in the game?
There is no violence, only conflict. When playing chess, if a bishop takes a pawn, you can show it violently by having the pawns’ head taken off with blood squirting out, or you could just show the conflict by having the pawn fall down. The fact is, our game is ‘less’ violent than a Star Wars game. And if a parent still has a problem with the conflict in the Star Wars’ movies or games, I’d recommend they buy a Nintendo Wii and stay away from the other console or PC games.
Is this a game about Christians against the other faiths; the Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists?
Absolutely not. The term Christian is never used to refer to the Tribulation Force. However, the Antichrist is the perfect badguy for people of all religions…since he wants to snuff out what anyone can believe. Imagine Hitler against the world times 10.
What about Timothy Simpson’s claims?
We spoke with Tim Simpson offline, and when we initially asked him about his complaints, he said it was the theology. When we clarified that we had removed any end-of-days teaching, and only use it as a fictional backdrop, Mr. Simpson has since changed his view and found something else to speak about. Unfortunately, when we asked him what the name of the first level character in the game was, which is “LEONARD”, he didn’t know the answer. And this is proof that many people say they played the game, but in reality, they haven’t.
How would you summarize the controversy?
We believe many people are unfairly using our game as a political or media opportunity to perpetuate traffic to their websites in an effort to increase their constituencies. In contrast, others who have spoken out have showed an honest attempt to help us resolve issues they may have found in certain levels of the game. When this is the case, by all means, we’ll make a game patch and publish it to insure our game holds up to the highest of standards and truth. All others that have spoken out against our game, declined from having a productive discussion offline. For them, we can only hope they’ll realize our heart to “make a difference” and work with us to make the game more reflective of the views we share.
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Here’s what Christian musicians are saying about the game…
“I’m sold…I’m totally sold,” says singer Crystal Lewis.
“…it’s a very, very cool idea. I’m stoked…” Joel Bruyere, Thousand Foot Crutch, Bass Player
“I’m really excited that the game is very uplifting and that it gives students the opportunity to really look at their faith.” Steve Arbanas, Five Stone Canvas, Lead Singer
“…pretty cool...Something that kids can really learn about the Lord but have a good time at the same time,” Jeff Gilbert, Kutless, Drummer
In the game itself, top Christian songs play between each mission. Players can click “Buy Now” and the game will pause while transporting a gamer, via the web, to Apple’s iTunes® where a gamer can immediately listen to the entire song or purchase the music.
A sample of song lyrics in the game…
Strong Tower by Kutless
You are my strong tower
Shelter over me
Beautiful and mighty
Everlasting King
You are my strong tower
Fortress when I'm weak
Your name is true and holy
And Your face is all I see
Hey Now by Toby Mac
Hey now, help is comin' any
day now. Hope it can reach me
when I'm way down. One love,
one God and I'm okay now
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There are 40 clues in the game that appear after accomplishing each mission. Each one offers a thought provoking insight and stimulating conversation piece.
INTRICACY REVEALED
How did the lens, retina, optic nerve, and all the other parts in vertebrates that play a role in seeing suddenly come about? Because natural selection cannot choose separately between the visual nerve and the retina. The emergence of the lens has no meaning in the absence of a retina. The simultaneous development of all the structures for sight is unavoidable. Since parts that develop separately cannot be used, they will both be meaningless, and also perhaps disappear with time. At the same time, their development all together requires the coming together of unimaginably small probabilities.
DNA - INFORMATION CODE
The DNA molecule is one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time. First described by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, DNA is the famous storehouse of genetics that establishes each organism's physical characteristics. It wasn't until mid-2000, that the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics jointly presented the true nature and complexity of the digital code inherent in DNA. We now understand that there are approximately 35,000 genes in each human DNA molecule, comprised of chemical bases arranged in approximately 3 billion precise sequences. Even the DNA molecule for the single-celled bacterium, E.coli, contains enough information to fill an entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica.
THE “SIMPLE” CELL
Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10-12 grams, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machinery built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.
An Alternative Choice in Video Games
LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces™ is a unique PC game based on the Left Behind books created by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. The series has sold more than 63 million copies. Players can join the ultimate fight of good versus evil, commanding Tribulation Forces or the Global Community Peacekeepers and uncover the truth about the worldwide disappearances.
All of your favorite characters: Bruce, Chloe, Buck, Rayford are in the game. Of course, Nicolae Carpathia leads the Global Community Peacekeeper forces. Those that are left behind after the Rapture must find hidden clues.
“Finally, we have an inspirational game for the marketplace which challenges game makers’ beliefs that gore is better by introducing one of the first high-quality games with a positive moral message. No blood, no gore, just great fun!” said Troy Lyndon, co-founder and CEO, Left Behind Games.”
Many unique features in this game make it a pioneer, not only in Christian gaming, but also in mainstream video games. When a player completes a mission, a “clue” fills the screen with thought-provoking biblical facts or archeological finds. A contemporary Christian song from EMI or Integrity Music plays as clues are displayed. The gamer can choose to skip and return to the action, learn more about the clues, or purchase the music online.
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Our initial research, based upon a Christianity Today survey to Left Behind book readers, shows that 92% of readers intend to buy our game for themselves or a family member. This represents millions of potential purchasers of our game. However, how quickly they migrate and make the purchase remains a guess. The inspirational games market has been estimated by professional industry analysts to be between $200-$700 million, depending who you speak to. This could account for up to 10% of the video game software market, which is currently over $7 billion.
Here is a quick update regarding our operational focus:
- Development: We have cost effective production teams in four countries: U.S., Ukraine, Romania and Brazil that consist of software developers, artists and production personnel. These cost savings provide us a significant long-term advantage over development by numerous other game publishers.
- Marketing: We have released the beta version of Dream Web Space at www.dreamwebspace.com, the clean and safe alternative to Myspace.com. We have received over 1 million requests from churches and ministries for our try and buy version of the game, and we believe a large percentage of gamers will sign-up for our social networking site with security features including language filtering and live monitoring. The revenue model for this business is primarily Internet advertising.
- Distribution: According to a recent poll by Zogby/American Bible Society, 51 percent of adults say entertainment providers should develop content with positive messages and even refer to God and the Bible. According to CNBC, the Inspirational or Christian Products marketplace is over $7 billion a year. We are currently building a direct distribution business to Christian retailers which we believe will position us as a leader in this space for years to come. This distribution channel which represents thousands of outlets, combined with normal retail outlets, gives us a significant distribution advantage over our competitors.
We wish all of our shareholders a prosperous year ahead and look forward to a bright and mutually beneficial relationship.
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Dear Friends,
Ever since we heard Josh McDowell say “we are losing between 50% to 70% of our youth to the world before they graduate from high school,” we have been praying for a solution to cut those odds in half. Now we think God is answering our prayers.
They are using cutting edge technology to reach a whole new generation that desperately needs the truth about Jesus and His plans for the future. The quality of work is far superior than we had ever dreamed. It is superb! We’re glad to have our names as a part of it. Through this game, a seeker has the opportunity to receive Christ. Can you imagine the outreach possibilities?
You’ll find this new game a breath of fresh air and a great evangelistic tool to win our youth and gamers for Christ. We are lending our full support to this outreach and encourage everyone to join us.
Your Friends,
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
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