Video game teaches catechism

MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Church has launched a catechism video game to touch base with technology-savvy youth.                           

The three-dimensional game called “Paolo’s Journey,” developed by Fr. Maximo Villanueva Jr. of the Diocese of Balanga, Bataan, is based on Pope Benedict XVI’s “Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”                               

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who chairs the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education, said the Church needs to conduct a “new evangelization,” not for faith propagation, but to remind the faithful of the social teachings of the Church.                          The target gamers are Grade 3 pupils to college students.

In the game, 10-year-old Paolo falls into a deep well as he was looking for his kitten. Inside the well, he meets an angel who tells him to collect the three keys he needs to be able to return home.

As the player obtains a key, he advances to the next level of the game. Along the way, Paolo gets to slay creatures called Bloobas and collect scrolls. He also has to answer 45 catechism questions.

In the first or easy level, the questions would be related to the Sacraments; in the second or medium level, the player would be asked about the 10 Commandments; and in the third or difficult level, the player would be tested on Christian values.

The game could be played in five different languages: English, Filipino, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.        

Before creating the game, Villanueva studied computer animation at the New York Film Academy, and eventually had his internship at Nickelodeon. It took him a year to develop “Paolo’s Journey.”

Villegas said they have produced 1,000 copies of the game for distribution to bishops during their plenary assembly.

Each bishop would be given 10 copies for distribution to public school catechists in their dioceses.                       

The Church also plans to tie up with the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), a group of Catholic private schools.

Villegas, however, said traditional catechism would still be taught in schools.

“Catechism should first be heard... There is no substitute for the power of the Word. The video game is a complementary device to help our understanding,” he said.

CBCP also plans to sell the game in Catholic bookstores for P200.

Villanueva said there might be a follow-up to the game. This time Paolo would be looking for his love interest, Marissa, who also got lost. To find her, the player has to answer questions related to the parables in the Bible.