Seasoned church communication leaders suddenly seemed to become like children again as participants of the 2023 Global Adventist Internet Network (GAiN) Asia conference in Jeju Island, Korea, enjoyed testing their Bible knowledge by playing the Heroes II app on September 16.
The Bible knowledge game, an initiative of the General Conference (GC) Communication Department and developed by Hope Software Services, allows people of all ages and experience levels to learn and relearn.
Heroes II project manager Jefferson Nascimento explained how the rounds of the contest would play out among all of those willing to give Heroes II a try, among the more than 230 attendees at the GAiN conference.
Leaders Vying for a Prize
The contest pitted Adventist communication leaders from across Asia in three rounds, Nascimento explained. Everyone could play in the first round, with the possibility of winning a special Heroes II–themed water bottle for the 100 top-scoring competitors.
In a second round, 10 finalists would compete against each other for a place in a final challenge for the three top scorers. The final round, hosted by GC Communication Department associate director Sam Neves, had the three top scorers compete for the main prizes, which included wireless headphones, wireless earbuds, and a Bose speaker.
Language barriers were not an issue with the game, as participants could choose their preferred language to play, with more than 70 options available.
About the Heroes II Bible Game
“How would you like to know God’s will for your life?” the Heroes II Bible trivia game site states. “Learn here how God interacted with people in the past. Their stories will shape the way you live and the decisions you make in real life.”
According to the game developers, “the Heroes Bible trivia game has taken the Bible quiz experience to a new level.” Among other features, the game allows participants of all ages and backgrounds to sharpen their Bible knowledge and challenge themselves to beat their best times as they discover or review the stories of the great heroes of the Bible. Participants can also challenge family and friends to answer the same questions they just answered.
Among other features, contestants can collect manna with every correct answer and use it to buy effects that help them answer the questions more quickly and efficiently. Contestants can also choose among special effects. For example, the “Abraham Effect” divides the usual four multiple-choice options in half, just as in the book of Genesis Abraham cut some animals in half.
Game Application History
The game application is based on years of research and trial and error. The first version of Heroes, created by Neves, was released in 2013. It presented a Bible trivia quiz in 2D graphics with the style of a comic book, the application site states. “Generating more than 10 million minutes of interaction with a biblical narrative, it became a pioneer game that opened the doors to many other Adventist games.”
“The Bible is the foundational document of Western civilization, but young people today know more about the comics than the classics,” Neves said. Thus, Neves envisioned Heroes speaking this new visual language through a trivia game “that brings … ancient stories to life.”
The Heroes II version, released by Hope Channel in 3D in March 2021, includes significant improvements to the original application by integrating elements of storytelling, technology, and graphics. The process of improving the application included the work of hundreds of volunteers from different countries who organized in groups to improve the game’s graphics, gameplay, and user experience, according to the app site. They also incorporated more engaging storytelling elements and made the game more accessible by translating it into other languages and marketing it across multiple platforms.
As of September 2023, the application has been downloaded almost 940,000 times.
