Facebook’s First Game on the Life of Jesus hits 1 MILLION players, launches in 4 new languages

‘JOURNEY OF JESUS: THE CALLING’ HITS 1 MILLION PLAYERS,LAUNCHES IN 4 NEW LANGUAGES
Facebook’s First Game on the Life of Jesus Crosses Cultural Borders With Language Options

LightsideGames.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Aug. 16, 2012 – Journey of Jesus: The Calling hit nationwide news in May as the first social game, on Facebook, on the life of Jesus. Now only three months later, the game announces 1 million players and a total of nine languages.

At its launch, Journey of Jesus featured English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and German versions. Today users speaking Turkish, Indonesian, Russian, and Tagalog, can also play in their native tongues.

"Journey of Jesus is in more languages than a standard game because it’s more than a game. It’s meant to go more places and do more than games typically do,” Brent Dusing, Lightside Games founder and CEO said. “The importance of putting the message of Jesus in someone’s native language is critical. When I lived in Africa I learned that to speak to a person in his native language is to speak to his heart."

Users log onto Facebook, type Journey of Jesus: The Calling into the search bar, register and enter a world of high-quality graphics, music, game play and the latest social features. Each player begins a biblically accurate quest through New Testament times and the life of Jesus; hidden items and clues advance the player through the story.

The country of Turkey, with a population of 73.5 million ranks sixth among Facebook users with 30.8 million people on the site. By comparison, the United States, with 330 million people, claims the top spot with 155 million users. Whether a country is predominately Christian or not, Dusing sees interest.

“There’s a curiosity about Jesus,” Dusing said. “People from all different nations and creeds want to know more about Him. Journey of Jesus is a way for people to have fun and explore answers to questions they have about Jesus and his claims to be God.”

As it inaugurates new languages, Lightside will introduce a friendly competition to gain players. When a nation reaches a given number of users, every player in that country receives a reward item commemorating a prominent local Christian landmark. (With new online tools, players can track user growth by country and monitor progress toward the goal.)

Along with its first social game, Journey of Moses, which launched in 2011, Lightside Games now reach 3 million people worldwide. And it is grabbing the interest of Silicon Valley. Journey of Jesus: The Calling now counts investor Tim Draper of Draper Associates among its backers. Draper is known as one of the early investors in Skype, Tesla and Hotmail.

To learn more about Journey of Jesus: The Calling visit: www.LightsideGames.com

Hexify Launches Lightside Games to Focus on Christian Entertainment

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.  Hexify, the developers of the first Biblically-based Facebook game, Journey of Moses, is launching Lightside Games to focus on creating games specifically for the Christian audience.

"Lightside Games' core mission is to create high-quality, engaging Christian social games by leveraging the world's biggest technology platforms to reach gameplayers all over the globe," said Brent Dusing, Chairman and CEO of Hexify and Lightside Studio Head. "Authenticity is core to what we do at Lightside. Stories and themes from the Holy Bible are the foundation of our games. We strive remain true to God's message."

Lightside, a wholly owned studio of Hexify, will continue to produce high quality Facebook games that incorporate fun gameplay, quality graphics, great music and the newest Facebook social features. Plans include games that focus on both New and Old Testament stories and themes. Lightside Games will be free to play while players can purchase goods along the way to help enhance their experience.

"There are all types of games online -- games about monsters, zombies, mafias and farms. At Lightside, we make games about the Bible," said Dusing. "We transform the Biblical stories that many of us hold dear into fun, entertaining and uplifting games."

Hexify, the parent company of Lightside, launched Journey of Moses, to meet a void in the market for a biblically based game in August 2011. Players experience the many twists and turns as they explore milestones in the life of Moses -- from growing up in the king's house as an Egyptian to his exile in the wilderness. Then, after an encounter at the burning bush, Moses' life is changed and he eventually leads the Israelites out of Pharaoh's rule.

For more information about Lightside Games, visit www.hexify.com.