The Christian Game Developers Conference (CGDC) is an annual

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

for

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

s who profess the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. Attendees of the conference gather together to discuss how to improve their games through discussions, keynote speeches, and workshops.

History

The Christian Game Developers Conference was founded in 2002 by

computer engineer Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software. It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science. Computer engine ...

Tim Emmerich from

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

, apparently with the goal of providing greater support and experimentation for

Christian video game Christian video games are a video game genre and a form of Christian media that focus on the narrative and themes of Christian morals and Christianity. The term can also refer to Christian symbolism, mythology, media franchises, and Christian ...

s. In its first year, the conference consisted of 30 attendees, with subsequent years seeing attendances of 90 participants, "over 100" participants, and then 100 participants in the years 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively. In 2011, the conference hosted around 85 individuals and in 2012, the number of attendees once again exceeded 100 people. In 2011, the event was held at

George Fox University George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, and in 2013 it was hosted at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Those attending the event consist of members from game studios who are explicitly Christian as well as individual developers from more mainstream,

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

studios who themselves personally identify as Christian. Many attendees are motivated by the desire to change the wider perception of Christians and especially the negative stigma associated with Christian video games being poorly made. Developers evidently use the event as an opportunity to network with other Christians and to find a community of individuals who share their beliefs and experiences.

Debate over mission

According to sources interviewed from within CGDC, there is a recurring debate at the conference regarding how

evangelistic Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

Christian games should be, if at all. Attendees seem to be in disagreement over whether their games should be overt in their Christian subject matter or more allegorical with a message they may present.

External links

Official event website

References

{{Reflist Video game conferences Video game development Trade shows in the United States Recurring events established in 2002 Christian video games