I had to do a double-take to ensure I wasn't seeing things: The Bible is now available on Steam in the form of a Kinetic Novel. Yes really, a developer going by "Bible Games" has actually put it on Steam. This release supports Linux with a Native build too (Ren'py engine) because of course it needs to reach all God's children — something like that anyway.
Not only does it provide the good book, it also comes with an original soundtrack and an voice over from beginning to end. On top of that, there's even a trivia section so you can really prove your knowledge,
I don't think it really needs much of an explanation? Or maybe it does? I heard it's a bit unbalanced and gives lots of conflicting information that doesn't hold up well.
While some might think this is a little odd, or even a silly gimmick, it's managed a "Very Positive" rating on Steam so clearly some are enjoying their time spent in it with reviews like "I will become the greatest Bible player" and "atheists approved".
Even better, it has achievements, because as God knows, people sure do love earning things on Steam. Going by a Reddit post, the developer mentioned they did this because other ways of reading it on a PC were apparently bad.
Again, yes this is a real Steam "game" release, see it over here.
Oh they even made a little trailer for it:
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fenglengshun Nov 17, 2022
Nice! I would be glad if we could also have the Qur'an on Steam, as well as other religious texts. Heck, that might be the cleanest and nicest way to get some religious texts, especially as their mobile version tended to be rather ads-ridden.
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Quoting: CFWhitmanNowhere do I see any mention of which translation of the Bible this is. It's obviously not one of the common older translations. It seems like they could at least mention what translation it was.
NKJV, some reviews say.
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ZeroPointEnergy Nov 17, 2022
One of the foundational Diablo lore books I hear
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For what is worth, it's not the first time Renpy is used to write a bible book on. For example, here is "A Visual Gospel of Matthew" made in Indonesia. But it never reached steam (it was even before Steam Greenlight I think). Though it seems much more "gamey".
EDIT: added missing URL
Last edited by nullzero on 17 November 2022 at 10:13 am UTC
EDIT: added missing URL
Last edited by nullzero on 17 November 2022 at 10:13 am UTC
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Those articles are why I love GamingOnLinux. You always discover new weird games (or maybe not games in some cases) on Steam. Developers never cease to surprise me.
If only, I only knew this existed when I needed to learn verses from the Bible at prep school, might have been a great tool to help me learn them.
If only, I only knew this existed when I needed to learn verses from the Bible at prep school, might have been a great tool to help me learn them.
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Quoting: KlaasThe Bible seems to be made in renpy.Just like all those other Visual Novels for adults.
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Quoting: nullzeroFor what is worth, it's not the first time Renpy is used to write a bible book on. For example, here is "A Visual Gospel of Matthew" made in Indonesia. But it never reached steam (it was even before Steam Greenlight I think). Though it seems much more "gamey".
EDIT: added missing URL
Interesting.. ill def. try it.
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Quoting: fenglengshunNice! I would be glad if we could also have the Qur'an on Steam, as well as other religious texts. Heck, that might be the cleanest and nicest way to get some religious texts, especially as their mobile version tended to be rather ads-ridden.
Ya know, I think that would kinda cool. There have been a lot of attemps to make the Bible more accessible, especially to younger generations, and I don't think the steam format is a bad idea. I'd love to see other religious texts there too.
Quoting: redneckdrowAs a Methodist, I support any method that brings people closer to the Lord and willing to hear the good news!
But this guy's a shyster.
Quoting: wvstolzingThe reddit thread is interesting. The guy who made this claims he couldn't find an audiobook, or an accessible version for visually impaired people ... which is pretty implausible by itself; but then he goes on to tell how that gave him the impetus to prepare 'translations of the text into as many languages as he could', & hire voice actors in various languages to record his (?) translations, and so on.
Doesn't sound terribly serious (or even sane) to me.
I mean, pro-level bible software costs a ton (because it comes with pretty amazing interlinked text, Greek & Hebrew translations, historical commentaries, and so on), but basic e-book/audiobook type releases are a dime a dozen.
I have to agree with you that the fella's motives are suspect. I mean, there are numerous public domain versions of the Bible including the OEB on Github.. (Not yet complete, but the New Testament is finished.)
And as for Software: there's Xiphos, GnomeSWORD, BibleTime, a half-dozen other Linux-compatible clients, and about a thousand Android Apps. Each of them supports many different translations, and a few support braille, screen readers, and text-to-speech. So his argument that he couldn't find other software is bogus.
If he really wanted to spread The Good News, he wouldn't be charging money for it. Same reason I don't like the NIV, they charge money for it, and claim copyright on their translation of The Word; no one has the right to do that.
This could also be very simply a case we find too often in our computer world, especially in Linux:
https://xkcd.com/927
Didn't like what was out there, made thier own. Coincidentally, that's probably the impetus for almost every Bible translation/version ever created as well, lol. This one just seems to have a lot optimistic feature creep.
I must admit, I've never used bible software and the mobile stuff always looked... I dunno...scam-ish is the word I want to use. But I was raised in a household that didn't have access issues (I counted them as a teenager, 13 Bibles in 5 languages).
PS, nice to see a fellow Methodist!
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Quoting: sarmadWhat's with the "Sexual Content" label? 🤔
It's the Bible, there's rape and sex with minors in it.
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slaapliedje Nov 17, 2022
Quoting: sarmadWhat's with the "Sexual Content" label? 🤔Have you read the Bible? I haven't directly, but even I know there are tales of incest, rape, and lots of fornicating and sin. Granted, I think they left out the animal/human copulation of the flood story in the biblical version, that is definitely there in the Babylonian version.
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