Players level up spiritual life with new Adventist game app

Aug 15, 2013 –  Silver Spring, Maryland, United States…ANN staff

The first Seventh-day Adventist game for iPhone and iPad was downloaded 3,000 times in the first 48 hours of its release, tripling the benchmark analysts say a mobile app should meet in its first week to be considered successful.

The biblical character Abraham is one of eleven “heroes” featured on the first Adventist game app for iOS devices. Players earn points by correctly answering as many questions as possible in 60 seconds. Graphics courtesy Movinpixel Ltd./ANN

“Heroes” is a comic book style trivia game based on the lives of Abraham, David, Esther and other prominent biblical characters. Players can learn their stories and test their Bible knowledge by answering as many questions as possible within sixty seconds. Correct answers earn players “manna,” which they can trade for game helps, or “effects” as they level up.

App creator Sam Neves says the game is designed to enrich the lives of players by reintroducing them to the heroic characters of the Bible.

“I realized that to bring a sense of identity to a new generation, we need to remind them of who their heroes are,” Neves says. “And what better way, than to use a medium they are very familiar with?”

Neves, pastor of the Wimbledon International Seventh-day Adventist Church in South London, says he has observed a growing disconnect between young people and the Bible. “Heroes,” he says, addresses that trend by forcing players to turn to the Scriptures to score higher.

Neil Ah-Wan, chief designer for “Heroes,” says the game will find audiences outside of churches as well.

“It’s exactly the sort of thing that will connect with someone who isn’t interested in the Bible or even Christianity as such,” he says.

Neves says he hopes that engaging with biblical heroes will ultimately change players’ lives. “We want people to eventually know what it’s like to become disciples of the ultimate hero, Jesus Christ.”

“Heroes” was developed by Movinpixel, a small software development company based in the United Kingdom that specializes in mobile applications. Movinpixel previously developed the “Advent Hymnal” app and “iWorship.”

The free app “Heroes” is available in the iTunes App Store. For details, visit movinpixel.com/heroesthegame.