Playing With Religion In Digital Games

Author : Heidi A. Campbell
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253012635
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Playing with Religion in Digital Games written by Heidi A. Campbell and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. From the Shinto-inspired Japanese video game Okami to the internationally popular The Legend of Zelda and Halo, many video games rely on religious themes and symbols to drive the narrative and frame the storyline. Playing with Religion in Digital Games explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices. For example, how does religion help organize the communities in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft? What role has censorship played in localizing games like Actraiser in the western world? How do evangelical Christians react to violence, gore, and sexuality in some of the most popular games such as Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto? With contributions by scholars and gamers from all over the world, this collection offers a unique perspective to the intersections of religion and the virtual world.

Author : F.G. (Frank) Bosman
Publisher : MDPI
ISBN 13 : 3038978302
Total Pages : 182 pages
Book Rating : 4.05/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Sacred & the Digital written by F.G. (Frank) Bosman and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-04-18 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Video game studies are a relative young but flourishing academic discipline. But within game studies, however, the perspective of religion and spirituality is rather neglected, both by game scholars and religion scholars. While religion can take different shapes in digital games, ranging from material and referential to reflexive and ritual, it is not necessarily true that game developers depict their in-game religions in a positive, confirming way, but ever so often games approach the topic critically and disavowingly. The religion criticisms found in video games can be categorized as follows: religion as (1) fraud, aimed to manipulate the uneducated, as (2) blind obedience towards an invisible but ultimately non-existing deity/ies, as (3) violence against those who do not share the same set of religious rules, as (4) madness, a deranged alternative for logical reasoning, and as (5) suppression in the hands of the powerful elite to dominate and subdue the masses into submission and obedience. The critical depictions of religion in video games by their developers is the focus of this special issue.

Author : Vít Šisler
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1315518317
Total Pages : 319 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion written by Vít Šisler and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Game studies has been an understudied area within the emerging field of digital media and religion. Video games can reflect, reject, or reconfigure traditionally held religious ideas and often serve as sources for the production of religious practices and ideas. This collection of essays presents a broad range of influential methodological approaches that illuminate how and why video games shape the construction of religious beliefs and practices, and also situates such research within the wider discourse on how digital media intersect with the religious worlds of the 21st century. Each chapter discusses a particular method and its theoretical background, summarizes existing research, and provides a practical case study that demonstrates how the method specifically contributes to the wider study of video games and religion. Featuring contributions from leading and emerging scholars of religion and digital gaming, this book will be an invaluable resource for scholars in the areas of digital culture, new media, religious studies, and game studies across a wide range of disciplines.

Author : Frank G. Bosman
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429018681
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Gaming and the Divine written by Frank G. Bosman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-28 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book formulates a new theological approach to the study of religion in gaming. Video games have become one of the most important cultural artefacts of modern society, both as mediators of cultural, social, and religious values and in terms of commercial success. This has led to a significant increase in the critical analysis of this relatively new medium, but theology as an academic discipline is noticeably behind the other humanities on this subject. The book first covers the fundamentals of cultural theology and video games. It then moves on to set out a Christian systematic theology of gaming, focussing on creational theology, Christology, anthropology, evil, moral theology, and thanatology. Each chapter introduces case studies from video games connected to the specific theme. In contrast to many studies which focus on online multiplayer games, the examples considered are largely single player games with distinct narratives and ‘end of game’ moments. The book concludes by synthesising these themes into a new theology of video games. This study addresses a significant aspect of contemporary society that has yet to be discussed in any depth by theologians. It is, therefore, a fantastic resource for any scholar engaging with the religious aspects of digital and popular culture.

Author : Heidi Campbell
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 041567610X
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.06/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Digital Religion written by Heidi Campbell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital Religion offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and new media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of new media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From cell phones and video games to blogs and Second Life, the book: provides a detailed review of major topics includes a series of case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations considers the theoretical, ethical and theological issues raised. Drawing together the work of experts from key disciplinary perspectives, Digital Religion is invaluable for students wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the field.

Author : Philippe Bornet
Publisher : Theologischer Verlag Zürich
ISBN 13 : 3290220109
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.05/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Religions in Play written by Philippe Bornet and published by Theologischer Verlag Zürich. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Often dismissed as "not serious", the notion of play has nevertheless been at the centre of classical theories of religion and ritual (Huizinga, Caillois, Turner, Staal, etc.). What can be retained of those theories for the contemporary study of religions? Can a study of "play" or "game" bring new perspectives for the study of religions? The book deals with the history of games and their relation to religions, the links between divination and games, the relations between sport and ritual, the pedagogical functions of games in religious education, and the interaction between games, media and religions. Richly illustrated, the book contributes to the study of religions, to ritual, game and media studies, and addresses an academic as well as a general public. Philippe Bornet, Dr. Phil., born in 1977, is Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the Faculty of Lettres of the University of Lausanne, with focus on the history of interrelations between India and Europe. Maya Burger is Professor of Indian Studies and History of Religions at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lausanne, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations.

Author : Rachel Wagner
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136512136
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Godwired written by Rachel Wagner and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Godwired offers an engaging exploration of religious practice in the digital age. It considers how virtual experiences, like stories, games and rituals, are forms of world-building or "cosmos construction" that serve as a means of making sense of our own world. Such creative and interactive activity is, arguably, patently religious. This book examines: the nature of sacred space in virtual contexts technology as a vehicle for sacred texts who we are when we go online what rituals have in common with games and how they work online what happens to community when people worship online how religious "worlds" and virtual "worlds" nurture similar desires. Rachel Wagner suggests that whilst our engagement with virtual reality can be viewed as a form of religious activity, today’s virtual religion marks a radical departure from traditional religious practice – it is ephemeral, transient, rapid, disposable, hyper-individualized, hybrid, and in an ongoing state of flux.

Author : Heidi A. Campbell
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000434966
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.65/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Digital Religion written by Heidi A. Campbell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and digital media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of digital media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From mobile apps and video games to virtual reality and social media, the book: • provides a detailed review of major topics including ritual, identity, community, authority, and embodiment; • includes a series of engaging case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations; • considers the theoretical, ethical, and theological issues raised. This unique volume draws together the work of experts from key disciplinary perspectives and is the go-to volume for students and scholars wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the subject area. Thoroughly updated throughout with new case studies and in-depth analysis of recent scholarship and developments, this new edition provides a comprehensive overview of this fast-paced, constantly developing, and fascinating field.

Author : Joseph Laycock
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520284917
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Dangerous Games written by Joseph Laycock and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-02-12 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1980s saw the peak of a moral panic over fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. A coalition of moral entrepreneurs that included representatives from the Christian Right, the field of psychology, and law enforcement claimed that these games were not only psychologically dangerous but an occult religion masquerading as a game. Dangerous Games explores both the history and the sociological significance of this panic. Fantasy role-playing games do share several functions in common with religion. However, religionÑas a socially constructed world of shared meaningÑcan also be compared to a fantasy role-playing game. In fact, the claims of the moral entrepreneurs, in which they presented themselves as heroes battling a dark conspiracy, often resembled the very games of imagination they condemned as evil. By attacking the imagination, they preserved the taken-for-granted status of their own socially constructed reality. Interpreted in this way, the panic over fantasy-role playing games yields new insights about how humans play and together construct and maintain meaningful worlds. LaycockÕs clear and accessible writing ensures that Dangerous Games will be required reading for those with an interest in religion, popular culture, and social behavior, both in the classroom and beyond.

Author : F. G. (Frank) Bosman
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9783038978312
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.10/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sacred & the Digital. Critical Depictions of Religions in Video Games written by F. G. (Frank) Bosman and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Video game studies are a relative young but flourishing academic discipline. But within game studies, however, the perspective of religion and spirituality is rather neglected, both by game scholars and religion scholars. While religion can take different shapes in digital games, ranging from material and referential to reflexive and ritual, it is not necessarily true that game developers depict their in-game religions in a positive, confirming way, but ever so often games approach the topic critically and disavowingly. The religion criticisms found in video games can be categorized as follows: religion as (1) fraud, aimed to manipulate the uneducated, as (2) blind obedience towards an invisible but ultimately non-existing deity/ies, as (3) violence against those who do not share the same set of religious rules, as (4) madness, a deranged alternative for logical reasoning, and as (5) suppression in the hands of the powerful elite to dominate and subdue the masses into submission and obedience. The critical depictions of religion in video games by their developers is the focus of this special issue.