Religion Meets Gameplay: IMD’s Mission to Redeem Video Gaming for God’s Glory 

In a world more and more dominated by digital leisure, one group is boldly entering into the online game house with a Gospel imaginative and prescient. 

Intelligent Media & Design (IMD) is a nonprofit ministry creating high-quality, biblically grounded video video games designed to have interaction younger individuals with Scripture. IMD develops and publishes immersive, gospel-centered video games which might be supplied utterly freed from cost, with the aim of discipling the following technology and supporting the native church in outreach and biblical literacy. 

The inspiration for IMD struck Drayton Cosby almost a decade in the past. Through prayer, the Lord placed on his coronary heart to achieve the following technology proper the place they’re. This place, he realized, was the online game house—an space that desperately wants biblical content material. 

Cosby intently noticed the speedy developments in units and expertise from 2005 to 2015, significantly the emergence of Apple merchandise. He famous how his personal youngsters, now 19, 16, and 12, had been partaking with video video games. A pivotal second got here after weeks of prayer when he noticed a imaginative and prescient of his daughter enjoying a biblical recreation that featured an angel strolling via totally different tales within the Bible.  

Cosby initially wrestled with the concept, but it surely caught with him.  

“I couldn’t get it off my heart and off my mind,” he stated. He even prayed for God to take it away if it wasn’t His will. Instead, after 21 days of prayer at his church, he felt much more excited and passionate in regards to the thought. 

His resolve was additional cemented by observing societal issues—from excessive suicide charges to declining church attendance and biblical literacy amongst youth—all whereas the gaming business continued to growth. 

While many individuals agreed his thought for biblical video games was fascinating, additionally they thought it was not doable. Cosby remained devoted. He formally opened IMD’s doorways in October 2018. 

As CEO and founder, Cosby wears a number of hats.  Although he didn’t have a background in recreation growth when he began IMD, his experience spans enterprise, advertising, fundraising, communications, finance, and software program operations growth.   

He leads a various group of builders, enterprise leaders, pastors, and schooling professionals. IMD not solely develops video games but in addition acts as a writer, with a imaginative and prescient to launch extra biblical video games annually. 

“We also want to usher in a generation of game developers that want to create biblical games and give them a platform to be able to publish those games,” Cosby stated.  

Steam, the PC gaming platform the place IMD homes their video games, has greater than 50,000 video games on its system. Yet, the high-quality, biblical video games obtainable on that world platform had been minimal. 

“Pretty much every game that you play doesn’t have a whole lot of purpose to it,” Cosby stated. “The vision really is to redeem that space and create more visible biblical games that people can access.”  

Cosby elaborated on the imaginative and prescient: “We want to make sure that God is ever present and on people’s minds.” 

Cosby emphasizes the significance of content material for teenagers: 

“We definitely absorb what we see and hear. … If we’re collecting and absorbing things that are going to change our heart, and we’re not equipped to really discern that, then it’s almost like leading a lamb to the slaughter.” IMD’s answer is to supply “rich, biblical truth that really is counteracting everything that they’re hearing from everywhere else.” 

Their flagship model, The Anointed, options video games about God’s chosen, biblical leaders that had been set aside for a divine objective. This initiative seeks not solely to coach younger individuals about biblical heroes but in addition to level them to the Gospel: 

“When they accept Christ into their heart, they also have the same anointing power and spirit that those kings and priests had,” Cosby stated.  

Cosby described The Anointed model as “a lifestyle,” with the Bible as the first supply for the narrative. Their present and upcoming product lineup consists of: 

• Heart of David: This high-quality, story-rich recreation for ages 13 and up follows 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 2. The full title is slated for subsequent 12 months, with early entry deliberate for individuals who wish-list it. 

• Mobile recreation: Currently in growth, this recreation is designed primarily for youthful households, concentrating on ages 5 to 12. 

• Multiplayer prototype: Players can customise their very own characters, changing into considered one of David’s males, and have interaction in survival parts like looking, fishing, crafting, constructing strongholds, and happening missions inside Judean environments. This multiplayer expertise is designed to construct off the story mode. 

IMD intends to launch their merchandise over the following few years. They additionally plan a merchandise line to help the ministry. 

A core a part of IMD’s technique entails equipping and partnering with the church to disciple via video video games. Currently, they’re working with about 30 church buildings to supply instruments that transcend leisure as assets dad and mom and church buildings can belief.  

Cosby notes that many church buildings already use secular video games to attach with children as a consequence of an absence of high-quality biblical choices. IMD seeks to fill this hole, providing a device that may assist church buildings attain their college students and meet them the place they’re. 

IMD additionally envisions younger individuals utilizing these video games as an outreach device. These video games might help children invite mates who might really feel alienated from church however can be open to gaming alongside believers. Ultimately, Cosby hopes to assist church buildings facilitate religion discussions. 

Cosby sees the gaming house as a “new landscape for the Gospel.” He hopes gaming helps construct a bridge to deliver individuals into group quite than away from it.  

“We want to try to use this to get people back to church,” he states. 

IMD has already witnessed vital success and profound non secular impression. 

A two-hour demo of their Heart of David recreation, launched in late 2022, has seen over 46,000 installs, all with a minimal promoting price range. The recreation has been performed in over 130 nations, together with 28 the place the Bible is banned. Initially solely in English, the sport now has a Spanish translation, with extra to come back, reaching heavy Steam customers in locations like China and Russia.  

Cosby recounted a narrative of a youth pastor who created a sensory room in his church for individuals with particular wants. He launched the Heart of David recreation to an autistic, non-communicative son from a household attending his church. After enjoying the sport for a few hours, the younger artificial direct eye contact with the pastor and recounted every thing he discovered about David. He began asking questions on God and ultimately selected to observe Christ.  

“We want the church to lead,” Cosby stated. “They can use this [game] to meet people where others can’t go.” 

Cosby has a deep coronary heart for those that have studying disabilities, noting how multi-sensory studying via video games might help them soak up biblical tales extra simply via textual content, music, and interactive play. 

Looking to the long run, IMD is poised for vital progress. Their instant aim is to boost $15 million over the following three years to finish the present recreation, develop different merchandise, and fund promotion and distribution. Cosby emphasizes that each one help, whether or not via merchandise or donations, will go instantly to making sure anybody can entry the video games at no cost. 

To obtain their imaginative and prescient, IMD plans to develop its growth group, recruiting specialists in areas like animation, sound, artwork, and communications. They purpose to create titles that stand toe-to-toe with main business video games in addition to to boost the bar towards the idea that Christian leisure lacks excellence in design and execution. 

“As parents, we have to guard hearts, and we have to be present,” Cosby stated. “And I know that can be hard sometimes. … No matter what tool [kids are] using, we have to make sure that it’s biblically sound. So, my hope is that they would see the game that we’re building, not look at it like a video, but look at it like an immersive, extravagant, awesome opportunity to be able to share the word of God.” 

Cosby encourages dad and mom to step into their children’ world—to not imitate it or affirm every thing in it, however to faithfully converse fact from God’s phrase inside it. 

IMD’s dedication to assembly the following technology the place they’re with biblically sound and high-quality content material marks them as a pioneering pressure in Christian media. As Cosby says, God is working mightily on this house, and IMD is simply at “the tip of the iceberg.” 

To study extra about Intelligent Media and Design, help their mission, or entry their demo, go to: imdinteractive.org. 

IMD has been an NRB member since 2025.