Wondering about religious references in BT1
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Holycannoli
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Wondering about religious references in BT1
I just read an interesting tidbit that Michael Cranford is a devout christian and put many christian references in BT1. I wonder if anyone knows what they are? I played this game years ago and I don't remember any references like this.
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Brian the Fist
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I do not know about any references in BT1, however all but one of the city names in The Bard's Tale II are taken from the New Testament.
Did anyone check the building with the credits for references (the one on the opposite side of the guild)?
Did anyone check the building with the credits for references (the one on the opposite side of the guild)?
The sudden scream of battle brings your party to a halt....
....will your stalwart band choose to fight or run?
....will your stalwart band choose to fight or run?
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Guest
I found these additional comments regarding religious references in the web:
Michael Cranford, a devout Christian, put many Biblical references into the first two Bard's Tale games. Most notable are a reference to the crucifixion in the first game and the Holy Spirit in the second. In fact, Cranford ended his video game career with the second game in the series and now programs web sites for religious groups.
Many fans of the Bard's Tale series don't realize that its creator has a very strong Christian faith which is even evident in the games—for example, there are direct references to Jesus and His crucifixion in first game, and all but one of the city names from the second game are taken directly out of the New Testament of the Bible. (In fact, the power of the Destiny Knight in Bard's Tale II is clearly stated to actually be that of the Holy Spirit.)
And he wasn't kidding—after leaving Interplay, Michael earned a bachelors degree in philosophy from the University of California, a Master of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology, and a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics from the University of Southern California with a disertation focus on ethics and technology. He has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in ethics and theology, and has publications in several New Testament journals and in scholarly journals of ethics and contemporary postmodern culture.
Michael is also founder and senior designer of the Irvine, California web site design company, Ninth Degree. Not surprisingly, his very first Internet web design project was a web site for Christian outreach called Sundoulos, "the web’s premier forum for discussions on theology, ethics, and culture."
Let's see if I can find more...
Michael Cranford, a devout Christian, put many Biblical references into the first two Bard's Tale games. Most notable are a reference to the crucifixion in the first game and the Holy Spirit in the second. In fact, Cranford ended his video game career with the second game in the series and now programs web sites for religious groups.
Many fans of the Bard's Tale series don't realize that its creator has a very strong Christian faith which is even evident in the games—for example, there are direct references to Jesus and His crucifixion in first game, and all but one of the city names from the second game are taken directly out of the New Testament of the Bible. (In fact, the power of the Destiny Knight in Bard's Tale II is clearly stated to actually be that of the Holy Spirit.)
And he wasn't kidding—after leaving Interplay, Michael earned a bachelors degree in philosophy from the University of California, a Master of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology, and a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics from the University of Southern California with a disertation focus on ethics and technology. He has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in ethics and theology, and has publications in several New Testament journals and in scholarly journals of ethics and contemporary postmodern culture.
Michael is also founder and senior designer of the Irvine, California web site design company, Ninth Degree. Not surprisingly, his very first Internet web design project was a web site for Christian outreach called Sundoulos, "the web’s premier forum for discussions on theology, ethics, and culture."
Let's see if I can find more...
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Guest
What is the crucifixion reference in BT1? Am I missing something obvious?
Not sure if Cranford had anything to do with this, but the character screen animation for the monk in the Apple 2 version of BT2 had the guy making the sign of the cross. I don't know if it was that way in BT1 -- I've only played the DOS version, which just has a guy in robes with a staff.
Not sure if Cranford had anything to do with this, but the character screen animation for the monk in the Apple 2 version of BT2 had the guy making the sign of the cross. I don't know if it was that way in BT1 -- I've only played the DOS version, which just has a guy in robes with a staff.
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Guest
Hmm the monk would definitely be a reference (I don't remember that animation), but there's references to the crucifixion? See this is what has me confused. I always considered myself a true Bard's Tale fan and I thought I knew just about all there was to know...but these references to christianity elude me!
And you know what it's like to think you knew it all for years and then you suddenly find out you didn't?
And you know what it's like to think you knew it all for years and then you suddenly find out you didn't?
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Molten Man
I wonder if the crucifixion thing is a reference to the Ybarrashield riddle: "... the one god lifts his thorn-crowned head..."
The phrase to open the stairs to level 4 of Mangar's Tower always seemed kind of religious to me (in addition to sounding really cool). Lots of "one god" stuff in the clues for that one, too.
This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend years ago who was a fan of BT2 and also a devout evangelical Christian. He was horrified by the idea of BT3 because Valarian, Lanatir, et. al. were referred to as "gods" and that was incompatible with real-life monotheism. Similarly, he would play any RPG, no matter how bloody, except for D&D which also has "gods" in it.
The phrase to open the stairs to level 4 of Mangar's Tower always seemed kind of religious to me (in addition to sounding really cool). Lots of "one god" stuff in the clues for that one, too.
This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend years ago who was a fan of BT2 and also a devout evangelical Christian. He was horrified by the idea of BT3 because Valarian, Lanatir, et. al. were referred to as "gods" and that was incompatible with real-life monotheism. Similarly, he would play any RPG, no matter how bloody, except for D&D which also has "gods" in it.