Catechumen (video game)

Catechumen is a first-person shooter released in 2000 with Christian themes, created by N'Lightning Software Development. The game takes place in 171 AD, during the Roman Empire's persecution of Christians. Players control a catechumen—a Christian novice training for one year before being allowed into secret gatherings—whose mentor and fellow believers have been captured. The goal is to free them across eighteen levels. Enemies include possessed Roman soldiers and demons; the player wields eight Swords of the Spirit that fire energy beams to defeat demons and convert Roman soldiers, who then kneel and pray. Faith serves as the character's health, decreasing when damaged and restored by collecting scripture scrolls, while the Armor of God pickup offers extra protection. Puzzles involve finding keys, pressing buttons or levers, turning valves, and rearranging boxes. Satan is the final boss. Five difficulty settings range from "Fledgling" to "Impossible," and beating the game on the hardest setting unlocks a secret "Hall of Fame" area.

Ralph Bagley, founder and CEO of N'Lightning, conceived the game in 1996. A licensed minister at the Church of God in Christ in Medford, Oregon, and publisher of *The Christian Quarterly*, he had mixed feelings about playing games like Doom and Quake after church. Believing a market existed for Christian games that matched secular excitement without violent or sexual content, he pitched the idea to six investors but was turned down. After the Columbine High School massacre in April 1999, when violent games were partially blamed, two investors returned his calls. Bagley raised nearly $1 million from private investors, including a church attendee, and founded N'Lightning that same month. He hired staff from the recently closed local studio Trilobyte (developer of *The 7th Guest* and *The 11th Hour*) to form the core design team. Development lasted eighteen months, with around thirty people working on the game. The team used the Genesis3D engine, licensed for $10,000, and the total cost was $850,000. Bagley aimed for a game he would want to play, focusing on spiritual warfare rather than nonviolence, and later broadened the target audience to avoid being "preachy." The game was announced on July 18, 2000, with its title chosen because it made people question its meaning.