Watch Pat, Terry, and Gordon on your iPod as they bring you amazing stories and celebrity interviews.
Have you experienced the presence of God?
Ron DiCianni: Painting the Resurrection?
Become a CBN partner and receive The Transforming Word: Verses to Overcome Fear and Experience Peace, our special DVD/CD gift to you.
CBN Partners are making a difference sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Find out how.
Chief Technology Officer for Digital Praise, Inc.
Formerly the Principal Engineer and Director of Software Engineering at The Learning Company (TLC)
Helped build the development team at Disney
Interactive; Long time Game Developer at Activision with over 20 software titles to his credit.CBN.com – Peter Fokos' daughter was nine-years-old, and Peter wanted to use Dance Dance Revolution for her homeschool exercise program. The problem was that the music wasn't always fit for young ears. She asked her dad to create a Christian version of the game and Dance Praise was born.
Like the popular Dance Dance Revolution game where players dance to songs through an interactive dance pad, Dance Praise offers the same fun with one big difference – Dance Praise uses wholesome Christian music.
This means that Dance Praise is a wonderful game for the whole family. Peter says that Dance Praise is especially popular with church groups/youth groups. The game pulls generations together – it's a great social activity. Not only that, but it is a great form of exercise.
Dance Praise has a "dance mode" and an "exercise mode." The exercise mode will give players more of a workout. Because of this, Dance Praise has received some remarkable testimonials from some of its users. One lady has lost a little over 78 lbs. using Dance Praise (especially when the weather is bad), as well as other activities, as apart of her work out routine.
It is easy to use. You just hook it up to your PC or MAC computer and let the fun begin. The original Dance Praise has one dance pad and 52 songs by popular Christian artists, such as Audio Adrenaline, David Crowder Band, The Newsboys, tobyMac, and Sarah Kelly.
Dance Praise 2 will be coming out this fall. It will be compatible to the first Dance Praise with more songs and new features. About 2 1/2 years ago there were 52 songs in the program. Peter says two days later they got requests for more music.
Dance Praise 2 will have all the music available, 52 songs, a new expansion pack, and will be compatible with Dance Praise 1.
There will be an expanded exercise mode to keep track with your progress. There is also Dance Praise Party, that can allow up to ten players. They are now working on Dance Praise 2 that has more songs and things that people loved the original Dance Praise for.
Dance Praise has gone international. Peter’s partners, Tom and Bill Bean set up the product in Hong Kong and have received a wonderful response. They are also trying to distribute products in England, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.
THE CARDIO WORKOUT
In Exercise Mode, dancers can set goals for “total time danced” or “total calories burned. Most people can burn nearly as many calories in a 30-minute Dance Praise workout as the amount of pounds they weigh:
WEIGHT |
CALORIES BURNED |
CALORIES BURNED |
135 |
129 |
258 |
150 |
143 |
286 |
175 |
167 |
334 |
When choosing “calories burned,” Dance Praise not only automatically tracks and displays how many calories have been consumed, but also causes animated food items to “fly” off the screen! According to the Centers for Disease Control, 10 percent of preschoolers and 15 percent of kids aged 6-19 in the U.S. are currently overweight. Dance Praise is a great workout for kids too!
DIGITAL PRAISE HISTORY
Peter started Digital Praise, the company that created Dance Praise, with Tom and Bill Bean four years ago – they attended the same Sunday school class. Peter did video game programming in the entertainment industry for 24 years with the last seven years working at a company called The Learning Company.
One day, Peter was reading the Bible and praying and asked God what to do about his part in the gaming industry. There were smaller companies that he could have been a part of. His wife suggested that he start his own company.
Today, Digital Praise has over 15 products. A few popular titles are Max Lucado's Hermie and Friends, Adventures in Odyssey, and Veggie Tales Dance Dance Dance. Peter and his associates didn't start their company to make a profit; they started it to do the Lord's work. Also, they didn’t think people would buy the products or respond to them the way they have.
But Peter knows that God wanted Him to start the company. The products keep kids interested. None of Digital Praise’s products have any violence. All the games based on biblical principles and the company wants to stay upbeat and encouraging – it is not called to do violent games.
PARENTAL ADVISORY
Peter has advice for parents as far as the computer games are concerned: go and look at what children are playing. Peter believes that everything you are putting into your mind, body, and soul will affect you in some way.
Parents should play the games with their kids and help guide them to good games, including Christian games. People need to be careful of what they put into their minds. Many people should be aware that they play games where they can commit virtual sin – if you kill someone in a game, you are virtually killing someone. Peter remembers an example that Jesus gave: even if you look at a woman lustfully you commit adultery in your heart (Matthew 5:28).
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
