About The Legend of Elkanah
>>> PLAY HERE <<<
The Legend of Elkanah is a simple storybook-style game recounting an alternate version of the story told in 1 Samuel 1 in the Bible. Depending on what choices you make you might experience a version of the story fairly close to the original account, or something very different.
My intent isn't to try and skewer the Bible as if it were some kind of women-hating manual, but instead to explore what it might have really been like for a person like Hannah to live in such a society.
An interactive game is an interesting way to do this because it lets me explore what choices she might make, and what ones clearly she couldn't. I think if you get inside it a little bit you may find that Hannah's world is very small indeed.
S.C.U.M.
This game was created for The Games Collective Pageant III: S.C.U.M.
S.C.U.M. is an ultrafeminist manifesto that advocates genocide against all men. The purpose of participating in the Pageant III was to respond to this manifesto, though really it's just a starting point. While reading it, I simply got to thinking about patriarchy and certain stories from the Bible, and there you have it.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment, please! I really do like to hear what people think about what I create, even a small note is a big encouragement. If I could ask one question, it would be: is this just pretentious crap, or was it genuinely interesting to play? Feel free to answer either way =)
I found the game interesting......but I'm unclear as to what age it is aimed at. I (literally) found the game because Jud posted it on Facebook....how do other people find it? I'm just curious.....could they find it in a search....and what would they be searching for?
By the way, I played it because it's a Sunday evening and since I'm not feeling well....I'm killing time in front of the computer.....otherwise, I would feel I was too busy to play! I'm glad (actually) that I took the time to play this! It WAS interesting and did shed new light on the Bible story.
Have you read "The Red Tent"? It's about the wives of Jacob. It's written by a Jewish woman and sheds light on the lives of these women. Truly an interesting read!
Hi Nancy! Thanks for your comments. The game is really intended for adults, though there's nothing particular unsuitable for children it's hard to imagine children enjoying it. Actually most adults wouldn't enjoy it, either, though =)
It was created for something called the Games Collective Pageant which is a group of game developers who make small games from time to time on a different theme and then share with each other. I'm not sure how one would find a game like this online without somehow being connected with somebody else in that group.
The theme for this pageant in particular was S.C.U.M. which is an "ultrafeminist manifesto" written by a woman who advocated killing all men-- certainly a case of extremism in the extreme. She also tried to murder Andy Warhol, almost sucessfully.
The manifesto itself contains a lot of references to patriarchy and so I decided to look at a bible story from that angle. It's definitely a critical slant on the story; for instance Elkanah isn't portrayed as a very understanding husband and if Hannah asserts herself too much he will divorce her-- it's not clear that that was historically quite so easy or that he was the sort of person to do that. I also didn't do any particular research, so I think it should be taken with a grain of salt!!
I had heard of the Red Tent, but I didn't know what it was about! Actually I am looking for a book to read and I think Michelle maybe was given a copy that she hasn't read, so we might have it laying around the house. If so I think I will start on it, it would be interesting to see something (hopefully) more well-researched than my game but potentially dealing with the same topics.
Thanks for your feedback, and I'm really glad you got something out of the game! A lot of people who approach it are expecting something more "fun" but the goal was more to create something "interesting". Take care!
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