Old News
11-28-2008
Be looking for the next Chariots patch this weekend! We're in the process right now of getting the last details finalised so we can release the next patch. If you haven't bought your own copy of Chariots yet, now is a great time! http://www.chariotsgame.com Thanks for your support! Have fun!
11-26-2008 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Tomorrow we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday here in the USA. It is a time when we recognise the hardships that the first Pilgrims endured in the early days of our country, and the generosity of the Native Americans who taught the settlers how to survive in this strange new world. It is also a time when we reflect on our own blessings, and the many things we have to be thankful for, even during hard times. Food on the table, a roof over our heads, family and friends to share a meal with, and a God who loves us. This holiday we give thanks to God for all the many blessings He has given us!
-Sparkling
Our lead programmer welcomed a new baby daughter into his family on November 15th! CONGRATULATIONS!
11-17-2008 Work on new website begins! Again...
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26Heaven's Blessings Tiny Zoo was first founded in 2003. Our first volunteers join the Visions team in 2004. We've come a long way since then. We've taught ourselves from the ground up how to make a game. We've studied at the school of hard knocks and learned how to run a volunteer team from around the world using the Internet as our office. We've made new friends, and likely a few enemies as well. We have learned to keep pressing on, one step at a time, even if we don't quite know how to get where we're going, just never give up! We've prayed fervently. We've worked diligently. We've cried occasionally. We've laughed at our own mistakes, and marveled at the accomplishments of others. And in the end, by the grace and mercy of God our provider, we have accomplished the impossible! We have released our first game!!
We present to you, CHARIOTS!
Chariots is a racing game set loosely in ancient history. Players can race on foot, horseback or in a chariot. It is primarily a single player game, but can accommodate up to 14 players on a LAN or user-hosted Internet server. There are a variety of types of races as well as some collection quests for the players to complete. Chariots is unique in that it provides an immersive role-playing experience to the racing, where players must traverse the island of Cyprus to find the races in nearby cities. Actual historical names of Cyprus cities were chosen for the creation of this game, players may recognise some of them from archeological studies, or the Bible.
The idea for Chariots was drawn from our flagship project, VISIONS. Originally intended to be a team building exercise, we drew one tiny sliver of content from the Visions design document and converted it into a separate game playable by a single player. One of the goals however was that the bulk of the content of Chariots should be transferrable to Visions when we are done, so that even though we are not directly working on Visions, our time will not be wasted. Come January, we plan to begin the transition process wherein we will be converting the relevant content from Chariots to Visions and preparing for the first stage of our newly revised multi-stage launch plan.
Our goal for Visions is to launch the first stage of our multi-stage release in 2009. For those who are not familiar with our flagship project, Visions is a 3D graphics Christian MMORPG set in the 2nd century holy land. Visions will have quest and skill based gameplay, with three primary quest tracks: Professions, History, and Scripture. We have done some large amount of work on starting the game in Jerusalem, but due primarily to the constraints of working with a volunteer team we will be initially starting players in Cyprus. As our development continues, if player support is strong enough, we will then be able to expand the playable terrain onto the mainland of the Mediterranean region which will extend down to the Jerusalem area and beyond. Our primary goal at the moment however, is to get a fun playable fragment of the game online and available to players before 2010, if at all possible. Please show your support by praying for us, participating in the forums, and buying our games!
Finally, we would like to announce a new opportunity available to churches, schools, scout groups, missionaries, non-profit groups, CGDC members, and anyone who is trying to raise money for a good cause. We have been working very hard to put together a Fundraiser which will offer 40% of the sale price to the beneficiary. It's our way of helping you raise the money you need to do great things for God! And in turn, you help spread the word about Christian games into your communities. As more people learn about us, the more likely we are to succeed. While we don't make any profit from the fundraiser financially, we feel it is doubly worthwhile to help philanthropic causes and to aid our marketing efforts at the same time. If your group is interested in participating in our Fundraiser, please apply online today!
Thank you for your support!
Please note all donations are non-refundable, and non-tax-deductible.