Creating a Catholic Video Game w/Bisong Taiwo

An interview with the creator of the 'Sainthood' video game!

Not even a year into starting this website, we got in contact with a filmmaker named Bisong Taiwo who had just made a short film, Mary’s Way of the Cross, and since then has developed a really cool video game: Sainthood.

I finally got the app for the iPhone and tried it out and it’s awesome! It’s a relaxing strategy game that places you on a fictional island where you help develop the local Catholic community while also uncovering the island’s mystical past.

I sent a bunch of questions over to Bisong for an interview, check out his responses below:

Bisong Taiwo: Catholic filmmaker and game designer

Who are you and where are you from?

My name is Bisong Taiwo. I'm a Nigerian-Canadian filmmaker, video game designer, and software developer (in no particular order), born and raised in Nigeria and currently based in Canada.

Were you raised Catholic, or did you come to the Faith later in life?

My dad is Baptist and my mom Catholic, and I went to both churches growing up. I stuck with Catholicism once I got to University because I love its history and most especially its beautiful sacred art in all its forms: paintings, sculpture, poetry, music, etc.

What inspired you to start making video games? Were there favorite games of yours growing up?

I've played video games since I can remember. I can't list any favorites because I played and loved everything from every genre. My friendships were based almost entirely on the games they had. I would get into trouble at school because I would spend all my time in the computer labs playing games. Once I found out one could program games in Flash, I knew I was going to be doing this for the rest of my life.

A still from the game

How did you get to making 'Sainthood'?

Sainthood was born simply because I wanted a good Christian game to exist. My definition of "good Christian game" is two-fold: first, it must show Christianity in a good light, i.e it cannot be based solely on the negative aspects of Christianity, not because those don't exist, but because there are many other options on the table in that regard. It had to be a game that showed off Christianity at its core: love God, and love your neighbor. The second was to make it of a high enough quality to genuinely attract people from all walks of life. Many folks who go to Cathedrals are not even Christian, and so these buildings have been evangelizing for centuries just by being beautiful works of art.

What were some of your key inspirations in making 'Sainthood'?

Death Stranding is a major inspiration. The idea of connecting the world by serving its isolated inhabitants is absolutely brilliant, and actually is fundamentally Christian in nature. That was the jumping off point, and the first mechanic I implemented was delivering packages to the island's inhabitants. Other inspirations have come from many different places; The fixed isometric 8x8 grid is from Into The Breach, the randomly generated provisions and building locations are from rogue-likes, the stories are from life experiences and stories from Africa, and the character of the Prioress is a direct rebuttal of the stern and steely stereotype we typically see in media.

Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding was one of the inspirations Taiwo had in making Sainthood

Do you have plans to add more content to the game down the road?

Yes, the game has a Prayer Mode, which is separate from the main game, where you can listen to and pray the entire Rosary. I've recently added the Divine Mercy Chaplet as well, and I hope to add more prayers as time goes on.

You're also a filmmaker, what films do you love that inspire you?

I love pretty much everything by Andrei Tarkovsky and Terrence Malick. Words I would use to describe their films are philosophical, dreamy, reflective and meditative, and I think this is a very interesting space for Christian films to explore. This style of filmmaking doesn't seem to be popular outside of cinephiles unfortunately, due in part to their glacial pace, but I would love to make films in this style forever. My main takeaways that I bring to my own works are the use of music, sound design, and voice-overs as major driving forces, as well as the use of dreams, internal reflection, and non-linear montage sequences. On the other side of that coin is Mel Gibson, who's films I love as well. He tends to tackle the divine from a gritty, brutal perspective. Watching a Gibson film after a Malick/Tarkovsky film is kind of like waking up to a brutal reality after having a vision from God.

Still from Mary’s Way of the Cross (2023)

What are some of the filmmaking projects you've worked on?

Recently, I directed Mary's Way of the Cross (it's available to watch on Prime Video!). It's a re-imagination of the Stations of the Cross prayer, from the Virgin Mary's perspective and her internal reflection. I made a similar reflective short film a couple years prior called Woman: Proverbs 31 which streamed on Formed for a few years. Earlier still, I directed a micro-budget feature called Time Sleeper, also available on Prime.

What future projects do you have on the docket?

I've been commissioned by our local film exhibition center to direct a film for their upcoming 50th anniversary event this September. It's going to be a short film about temptation told through dance choreography. On the video game side, I have a few prototypes I'm testing that may grow into bigger games in the future. Given our rich Catholic history, there is infinite potential and source material to adapt to video games and cinema. We owe it to ourselves to support, partake and carry on the tradition of creating sacred art using the artistic mediums available to us today, and this will always be my goal.

Here’s where you can check out Bisong’s work!

Filmography: https://www.bisongtaiwo.com/

Sainthood Game: https://www.sainthoodgame.com/

X: https://x.com/bisong_taiwo