The Christian Game Developers Conference (CGDC) is an annual

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

for

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for 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 ...

s who profess the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

religion. 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 Tim Emmerich from

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of 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 County. As of the 2020 United ...

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

Christian video game A Christian video game is an aspect of Christian media for video games, this video game genre focuses on the narrative and themes of Christian morals and Christianity. The term can also refer to Christian symbolism, mythology, media franchises ...

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, and in 2013 it was hosted at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

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