We recently spoke with Marty Bee, creator of Rev 7, a Christian FPS based on the first three chapers of Revelations;

<FPS> 1) What first sparked the idea in you to create this game? Not the overall desire but the specific thing that gave you the kick in the pants to get started.

<Marty> I was drawn to the extreme popularity at the time of the series of books. So I thought it would be cool to do a game based on the book of Revelation. Problem is I never got past the first 3 chapters! There was just so much there in the letters to the 7 churches. So Rev7 is just an allegory to the first 3 chapters of the Book of Revelation.

<FPS> 2) When you switched engines from the Reality Factory engine to the 3D Game Studio engine, what advantages did you see that will now be put to use in Rev 7?

<Marty> Actually it was the other way around. Reality Factory built on an already stable engine called Genesis3D. The advantages were manifold, menu system and changing of controls was already in place, melee actors were easy to implement and the lighting and mirrors were easier in the Reality Factory shell.

<FPS> 3) There are few Christian games available at this time, even fewer in the FPS genre. What made you choose a "shooter" to showcase your talents and get your message across?

<Marty> The FPS was the shortest development time. RPG's, strategy games and so on are truly massive projects. Also I had had the most exposure to shooters at the time, Quake, Half-Life and one called "The Undying".

<FPS> 4) Clive Barker's Undying seems a strange sort of inspiration for a "Christian" FPS. Is the game truly Christian or merely based on biblical concepts?

<Marty> Yes, Rev 7 is really a "Christian" game. Probably more so than I know only because it is really a commentary (however imaginative) on the first 3 chapters of Revelation.

<FPS> 5) If you've played some of the others, how does Rev 7 compare?

<Marty> I haven't really played the others too much but I wanted to hit a niche that no one else had gone into. The Reality Factory version of the game made that possible. I had tried the "traditional" look but my sense of humor was taking over and it started to morph into something entirely different. It began to look more like "American McGee's Alice" than Quake or something medieval.

<FPS> 6) I could definitely see the American McGee's Alice influence in the screenshots, particularly the characters. I also saw a bit of another third-person shooter, Rune, in the levels, along with those hints of Quake and a little K.I.S.S.: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child (from the circus levels of course).

<Marty> I need to mention one other influence who is really outside of game design, German Expressionism. It first came up in a silent movie called "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". All the sets were tilted, out of kilter and distorted. Nothing was square. This influence also affected one of my other heroes, Tim Burton (ala Nightmare Before Christmas.)

<FPS> 7) I think I'll have to go see Dr. Calgari now. Our tastes are somewhat in sync. Give us a taste of what the creatures/enemies you'll be fighting against will be like (from a personality perspective).

<Marty> For instance, in the Pergamum level (Club Hades) you meet little flying imp devils that shoot flame out of their tridents (they have T-shirts that say "Club Hades"). When you kill them they fall over in the air and pound their fists saying "No, No, No, NO!!!" and fade away. In the second level you meet a cross between a country sheriff and the devil named "Beezelbubba".

<FPS> 8) And the weapons?

<Marty> The weapons are all hood ornaments from cars of the fifties. They are painted with hot rod flames, and your ammo is junk food. I had tried to make some sort of gun(s) that were like the insane gun Jim Carry pulled out in the Mask. But I wasn't having any luck.

My overall look to the game was also affected by an architectural style called "googie". Seen most often in the Jetsons and old motel signs. A natural shape for this era was the "flying wing". This is seen in the hood ornaments and insane fins seen on the cars of the era. The HUD for the game is based on the tailight of a 59 Caddy.

Junk food, initially the first level is all about our walk with Christ and "devotions", also known as Quiet Time. Usually you do this in the morning with (thus junkfood becomes health and ammo.)

<FPS> 9) Is there a final boss in the game or do you come face to face with thealmighty? What's your motivation to conquer the forces of evil all the way through?

<Marty> In the last level your goal is to become seated on the throne with (that is to share his reign).

<FPS> 10) What other game(s) would you most closely compare the graphical look of Rev 7 to?

<Marty> Very similar to OddWorld, Alice, and maybe a dash of Ratchet and Clank...

<FPS> 11) How about gameplay?

<Marty> Alice comes the closest with a nod and wink to Quake 1 (loved that game...)

<FPS> 12) If your game became suddenly the most popular thing on the net, what changes or advances would you make to the next version (which would of course be extremely well funded) to make it what you would have liked the original to be?

<Marty> I'd move to the Quake 3 engine! (or the Doom 3 engine)... those boys at iD just have it together when it comes to code, speed and responsiveness coupled together with eyecandy.

<FPS> 13) Is there a Rev 7-2 on the way? Perhaps a Kings-3? ;) If not, what is your next project in this genre?

<Marty> Actually I have done one more game (with another partially started) based on a "horror survival" look. You are part of an elite group of Christians called the "Fourthman Group" that confronts the occult. In the first game (which is finished by the way) called XIBALBA you must investigate the disappearance of another agent in a Mayan tomb.

<FPS> 14) Is there anything else you'd like to say about Rev 7 to the world?

<Marty> Some folks would say its "too dark" (they would DEFINITELY say that about XIBALBA). But I LOVE what John Bunyan said about Pilgrim's Progress when people said the same thing about it "Bright clouds bring no water...".

<FPS> Marty, thank you for the interview. From what I've seen I greatly anticipate your coming projects' releases.