Church levels in YOUR video games!?

So hi duders, I have need of your invaluable wisdom. Right now I am making a church in Hammer (part of the SDK) and am nearly done with all the architecture and general plans of the building. I'm doing this in my spare times for shits and giggles but that doesn't mean I want it to be any less than awesome. I have been looking at lots of photos of churches (from all over the world) but I'm struggling to really get an idea of what the interior of lots of different churches look and feel like. I know I could go to my local church and check it out, but last time I popped in to say hi I burst into flames and the local priest gouged his eyes out with a spoon, it wasn't pretty (I got ash everywhere!). Anyways, this is a long winded way to ask a simple question. What video games have churches in them? Extravagant churches, small town churches, exteriors, interiors, old, new, yada yada yada. I am looking to get some hands on experience wandering around these levels, getting a feel of how it should look (or how it shouldn't look). I have checked out the Left 4 dead Church with noclip and even took a walk around the Ravenholm map in HL2, although the exterior for that church was a little uninspiring. Batman Arkahm Citys church was helpful, although its Belltower makers no sense to me in terms of how a normal human being without a Bat grapple would use it, and I really want my church to feel like it is fully explorable by just a normal guy.

So what games have you played with impressive church levels? What about god awful church levels? (excuse the pun). Any hints, tips or ideas feel free to drop them below, and if this thread is in the wrong place then sorry about that!

Assassin's Creed franchise has quite a few churches and cathedrals.

Every World War 2 shooter, ever, period.

Also, Resistance Fall of Man had a church in it.

Red Dead Redemption probably does.

Darksiders (Twilight Cathedral).

Church the gb wiki list.

Oblivion's "churches" stick out to me for some reason. Assassin's Creed also a fantastic suggestion

Are you looking for just games with interiors of churches or any game with churches, cuz there is a whole page dedicated to in game churches? Games with interiors of churches that I can think of is Resistance, Uncharted Drakes Fortune and Dark Souls.

I loved Anor Londo in Dark Souls on a purely aesthetically pleasing level. Its towering grandeur, bathed in twilight, took my breath away. I actually got through most of it in one go (with some help) but I could see how it could be hellish for anybody with no such luck. I would say it's my favorite church level.

Church levels in YOUR video games?

It may be more likely than you think!

Click HERE to do your free church level scan!

Heretic/Hexen had the whole gothic thing going for it. 40k has grim-dark gothic stuff, as does Quake. Vampire Masquerade has some church stuff in it.

The cool church designs are probably all European ones, though. We spent a few weeks looking at them in my Western Civ class in college and I found it fascinating.

Final Fantasy 7 is what I think about when I think video game churches. It had a really good looking interior church.

@CyborgDuo: How did I forget about the Anor Londo Cathedral? I was thinking of the Undead Parish and the old Undead Parish.

the Assassin's Creed games would definitely be best for reference. I think it was in Brotherhood that there's a full on mission type where you go in and climb around some really excellent re-creations of Rome's greatest churches.

Duke Nukem 3D had a button behind an alter that turned all the lights red, inverted the cross, and opened up a secret passage to a Sliced open Doom Marine. That was pretty cool.

Resistance: Fall of Man (there was a huge controversy, pretty sure insomniac got sued)

Left 4 Dead (small church but its a church)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (later in the game, huge ass church)

Oh just take a camera and go into your church when their isn't a service you heathen.

But right, this almost definitely depends on the type of church you're making. Also architectural style of said church, and period of church. If the designers working on AC were to see a flying buttress hanging off the side of a pre-Reinassance pseudo arch then so help they would faint.

Anyway, someone previously mentioned the church in Resistance: Fall of Man. That is specifically Manchester Cathedral, an Anglican church beholden to all of the quirks of how that religion designs their churches. Specifically the wall separating part of the church, the major factor in differentiating it from a Catholic cathedral. Now if you are doing a Catholic cathedral I would very specifically suggest the cathedral in the original Uncharted, it is a small dark space but it effectively gives the idea of what such a buildings interior is like. Now someone tell me if this is wrong but I can't actually think of a cathedral that has its interior effectively shown in an AC game. In AC: Brotherhood there is what looks like an abbey Monteriggioni, not a full cathedral.... Actually strike that, the ending of Brotherhood has the interior of the Santa Maria Aracoeli, that would do entirely.

Now if your trying for something other than Europes big Cathedrals then you got me, anyone know a game featuring Colonial style puritan churches?

Edit: And basically everyone else beat me to the points without a wall of text. Just go buy a book on churches.

@SSully said:

Resistance: Fall of Man (there was a huge controversy, pretty sure insomniac got sued)

I believe Insomniac laughed that one away, actually. Like, literally, publicly laughed at it. I'm not sure where I heard that so don't take it as gospel truth, but I did hear it.

Anyway, it did get the game more sales and recognition.

Dead Space 2 is a great example as you are traversing through the church of Unitology, so that one really sticks out for me, plus creepy as hell.

Half life 2: the lost coast, has a beautiful monastery .

there's the haunted cathedral in Thief 1. 

@believer258 said:

@SSully said:

Resistance: Fall of Man (there was a huge controversy, pretty sure insomniac got sued)

I believe Insomniac laughed that one away, actually. Like, literally, publicly laughed at it. I'm not sure where I heard that so don't take it as gospel truth, but I did hear it.

Anyway, it did get the game more sales and recognition.

For good reason, it was a silly lawsuit

I remember a scene in Uncharted the original, you blast your way into a church to find they got snipers on the rafters and shotgunners creeping up through the pews.

Man, they should make a Face/Off game for the church scene. You can do a Nic Cage Combat Flip.

The Cathedral of Light in World of Warcraft.

Does the Ravenholm level in HL2 ever set in a church? I remember the priest, but nothing else.

I'm gonna dig into the well and suggest Command & Conquer: Renegade, which had you not ony defend a large church against a huge Brotherhood of Nod attack, but also had you subsequently attack the Temple of Nod itself.

Admittedly an old game and limited in graphical power, but hey.

Surprised no one mentioned Hitman 2. That!

gta 3, but it's outside. you can't walk into it.

Thanks everyone for all your input, it's been a big help in terms of which direction to be looking. I apologize if my post last night wasn't clear, I was making a thread at 1am (never a good idea). To be more clear, the church I am designing is set in a small abandonned town, much like Ravenholm, but situated further north (going for a winter setting eventually). Like I said, I am looking for inspiration from everywhere. I've posted up some screenshots of what I have achieved over the past week.

Gallery

@Phatmac: Ravenholm never had a church that you go into but at the end of the level Father Grigori calls a lift thing to take you from a rooftop over to the church. Valve only designed the exterior in what looks like an afternoon, but I guess the player was never meant to pay much attention to it.

EDIT. Finally got all 3 pictures to load!

@Brodehouse said:

I remember a scene in Uncharted the original, you blast your way into a church to find they got snipers on the rafters and shotgunners creeping up through the pews. Man, they should make a Face/Off game for the church scene. You can do a Nic Cage Combat Flip.

You go into that Church three times actually. First you come up through the floor and out through a secret door. Second, you come in at the rafters and platform/puzzle solve to exit through a window. Lastly you charge through the front door and exit through a secret passage under the altar. They really got their use out of that environment and made it feel complete.

If I remember correctly, there is a church level in Mafia too. 

The cathedral level from Thief.

One of the best designed levels I have ever played.

I remember a church in Mafia. It was a fairly small normal one.

If I remember correctly, there is a church level in Mafia too. 

@believer258 said:

Red Dead Redemption probably does.

yea there is at least one of those small chapels in one of the gang hideouts. but I wouldn't really call that a church. I don't remember a "proper" church being in there though. edit2: oh no, there is a more church-y church in Blackwater!

Resistance: Fall of Man features a church that doubled as a refugee hideout, if I recall correctly. (Edit: the Resistance church has been mentioned already, whoops!) Metro 2033 had you go into a church as well, I think. I might have mixed that up with something else though.

Assassin's Creed II definitely has at least one church that is part of those interior-climbing challenges.

Oh and there's the church in the beginning of Dante's Inferno but that gets destroyed very quickly.

Assassin's Creed

Full Stop

@DeF said:

Oh and there's the church in the beginning of Dante's Inferno but that gets destroyed very quickly.

Ah yes THAT church. I remember that, as I'm sure Brad does as well. Thanks!

Silent Hill 3.

@Willza92 said:

@DeF said:

Oh and there's the church in the beginning of Dante's Inferno but that gets destroyed very quickly.

Ah yes THAT church. I remember that, as I'm sure Brad does as well. Thanks!

Brad? Why Brad?

I only remember Ryan famously suffering perpetual torment during the trials at the end.

@DeF said:

@Willza92 said:

@DeF said:

Oh and there's the church in the beginning of Dante's Inferno but that gets destroyed very quickly.

Ah yes THAT church. I remember that, as I'm sure Brad does as well. Thanks!

Brad? Why Brad?

I only remember Ryan famously suffering perpetual torment during the trials at the end.

I think in Dantes Inferno Quick Look (might have been the quick look of the demo) Brad died twice or three times on the bit where the floor is collapsing under your feet, it was funny (not in a mean spirited way but in like a slap stick way). And yes, I remember Ryans Inferno, it was one of the first videos where I watched and enjoyed Ryan and Jeffs personality more than the actual content, as I was a relative newbie to the site back then and the GB Crew were just voices on videos for me back then.

The suburbs level in Twisted Metal: Black had a church with a health pack in it. Made me not wanna miss church!

Devil Summoner 2 had a sweet church, it's where lucifer hung out

@believer258 said:

Also, Resistance Fall of Man had a church in it.

Goddammit........goddammit. Fuck that level and its bullshit checkpointing. That level occasionally brings back bad memories.

As for the question, didn't Red Orchestra 2 have quite a few buildings that were churches you had to conquer in the single player campaign?

Oblivion had great churches, I think Skyrim had a few as well.

@Willza92 said:

@DeF said:

@Willza92 said:

@DeF said:

Oh and there's the church in the beginning of Dante's Inferno but that gets destroyed very quickly.

Ah yes THAT church. I remember that, as I'm sure Brad does as well. Thanks!

Brad? Why Brad?

I only remember Ryan famously suffering perpetual torment during the trials at the end.

I think in Dantes Inferno Quick Look (might have been the quick look of the demo) Brad died twice or three times on the bit where the floor is collapsing under your feet, it was funny (not in a mean spirited way but in like a slap stick way). And yes, I remember Ryans Inferno, it was one of the first videos where I watched and enjoyed Ryan and Jeffs personality more than the actual content, as I was a relative newbie to the site back then and the GB Crew were just voices on videos for me back then.

Ha, I gotta check out the QLs of that then. I remember dying there multiple times as well because of my clumsiness :D

I'd say that vampire the masquerade had a church in it if I remember right.

the notre dame level from timesplitters 2 came to mind first for some reason

I don't know if it counts but, GT5 has a pretty stunning replica of San Galgano Abbey to gawk at. 
 

One of my favorite church is from Xenogears, in Nisan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bys5E87o3Qc quick view at 1:25 and then more details around 5:30+

There is really cool one in Half-Life Lost Coast.

The cathedral in Dragon Quest VIII is super boring and terrible, so don't make anything like that. Go for something extravagantly Gothic or Byzantine.

@Mesklinite said:

I'd say that vampire the masquerade had a church in it if I remember right.

which one. redemption or bloodlines?

@DeF: I'd say bloodlines because it sounds familiar? but I can't remember.