When you hear people mention “Angry Birds” or “Pokemon Go” or “World of Warcraft,” are you familiar with them? Your children certainly are.
Within a week of release, Pokemon Go already had more than 21 million players. World of Warcraft has seen more than 100 million accounts created over the game’s lifetime. The various Angry Birds games have altogether seen more than three billion downloads.
Today’s youngsters are growing up in a world where technology and gaming is commonplace. The question is, how can we channel that enthusiasm for gaming so that children want to dig into God’s Word?
Enter The Aetherlight: Chronicles of the Resistance, which some describe as The Chronicles of Narnia for the digital generation.
For generations, young readers have gone through the wardrobe to enter the magical land of Narnia. The allegorical fantasy stories provided a framework for children to learn and understand theology straight out of Scripture.
For today’s children, who’ve grown up on digital media and gaming, it’s not enough to tell them a story—they have to play it. The Aetherlight draws players into the Bible by engaging young imaginations with an epic allegory, just as Narnia did for generations past.
Once a beautiful land, Aethasia is now covered by a sickly, pervasive fog that corrupts everything it touches. But all is not lost. Rumors are spreading of a fledgling Resistance, whose members have the courage and audacity to try and restore Aethasia to its former glory, and to reinstate The Great Engineer back to the throne.
The game was created by Scarlet City Studios, a partner of American Bible Society that uses digital media to tell stories of redemption. By closely following the story of the Bible—but in a steampunk-inspired land—players make connections and discoveries for themselves, and see the Bible stories in a new light.
“We’re trying to connect young people with the story of Scripture,” says Tim Cleary, a youth minister who wrote the story behind The Aetherlight. “We want to bring it to life again in a way that touches their felt needs for games, for entertainment, and for education.”
“We know there’s a battle for the hearts and minds of young people today,” says American Bible Society President and CEO Roy Peterson. “Capturing the biblical imagination of kids through The Aetherlight is a great tool to help the next generation come to know God’s Word.”
The Aetherlight: Chronicles of the Resistance will be released in new episodes several times a year to provide a platform for genuine biblical engagement for your children. More than just a great game in a safe environment, purchasing each new episode unlocks a new part of the biblical narrative for them to explore.
Analytical tools help parents track their child’s progress. The Aetherlight creates opportunities for parents and children to discuss matters of faith and life in a way that youngsters can grasp and enjoy.
There’s even a companion Bible coming soon. Themed around the new action-adventure game, this special edition of the Bible will be a resource for players and help families build upon the bridge between the game’s allegory and the words of Scripture.
The Aetherlight: Chronicles of the Resistance is available for PC, Mac, iOS and Android, and can be downloaded at: https://theaetherlight.com/parents?referrer=salempubfeaturedstory
