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- Convenors:
-
Kathrin Trattner
(University of Bremen)
Bodil Stelter (University of Bremen)
Send message to Convenors
- Chair:
-
Kathrin Trattner
(University of Bremen)
- Format:
- Panel
- Location:
- Zeta room
- Sessions:
- Friday 8 September, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Vilnius
Short Abstract:
Going beyond media-immanent approaches, the panel focuses on how religious and non-religious actors negotiate values in the field of gaming. We seek contributions on how players, producers or journalists express and negotiate their individual or collective (world-)views in relation to gaming worlds.
Long Abstract:
Religion has been a reoccurring theme in video games since the ascension of this highly technological medium. It is therefore unsurprising that Study of Religion scholars took to this new frontier soon by investigating representations of religion(s) in video games (e.g., Šisler 2014, Wagner 2013). Although references to religion can be found aplenty within games, some scholars (Radde-Antweiler 2018) contend that the medium’s industry and consumer base – besides a few noteworthy exceptions (Luft 2014) – are for the most part situated in highly secularized environments. We argue that both – religious and non-religious actors – are interesting subjects of investigation from the perspective of the Study of Religion as they both negotiate values in the field of video gaming. We understand values as discursive expressions of “rights”, “goods” and “shoulds” shedding light, beyond the term “religion”, on how players, producers or journalists express and negotiate their individual or collective (world-)views in relation to the gaming world.
In line with the conference’s theme of “Religions and Technologies”, this panel proposed by the International Academy for the Study of Gaming and Religion (IASGAR) aims to highlight these much-neglected environments in which games are made, played, and discussed. In an attempt to look beyond game-immanent representations, we therefore invite papers investigating both religious and secular actors and their expressions and negotiations of values in and through video games. For example, how do Christian missionaries use Pokémon Go for evangelization? Or how do players express their sense of right and wrong in moral decision making in RPGs? We explicitly encourage papers focusing on secular actors as much as religious groups and individuals engaging with this field. In this way, we hope to incite comparison and discussion upon the similarities and differences of the religious and the secular in this highly technological field.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 8 September, 2023, -Paper short abstract:
The paper focuses on players’ negotiation of their own conduct of communication. Drawing from a sample of YouTube commentaries of "The Last of Us: Part II"-videos, I will show how players discuss, regulate and reflect on their own discourse.
Paper long abstract:
The release of the sequel to the widely beloved video game “The Last of Us” in 2020 led to a series of controversies in the video game sphere. The topics of these controversies, led by gamers as well as the gaming press and even mainstream feuilleton, touched on a wide spectrum both political and cultural; from allegations of homophobia towards the fanbase, to corruption and misinformation allegations from the players towards gaming media and producers. Those particular instances of discourse, I argue, are ideal moments to study value-formations in gamevironments (Grieve et. al. 2020). How did players’ views differ on representations of femininity, masculinity and LGBTQ characters? How did the game’s commentary on violence clash with the players every day gaming experiences and expectations? How did discussions of the game and media content mirror the players’ perception of their own subculture? In short, what values and value-systems have come into conflict when players discussed “The Last of Us: Part II”?
In my paper, I will focus on the specific aspect of players’ negotiation of their own conduct of communication. Drawing from a sample of YouTube commentaries I will show how players discuss and reflect on their own discourse, regulating and condemning certain forms of speech and action, and drawing lines to what they deem “too extreme”. I will have a closer look on both encouraging and discouraging regulatory tactics players deploy on each other as well as gaming medias’ community management strategies. Taking all actors and their vantage-points seriously, I will show how the common narrative of “toxic internet culture” is both reproduced and challenged in these contexts, allowing for deeper insights into players’ value-laden perspective on their inhabited mediatized spaces.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will examine how fans of the first-person shooter Halo video game franchise in fan forums discuss and reflect upon the position of 'religion' within these games, and where a special focus will be on the connection made between religion and the alien antagonists of the series.
Paper long abstract:
In the military science fiction video game series known as Halo—one of the most popular first-person shooters (FPS) of the 21st century— the player (in the form of a human super-soldier) battles hordes of alien monsters that seek to destroy humanity. The aliens in question primarily belonging to a theocratic alien civilization known as the Covenant whose Prophets call for the extermination of humanity, as it is allegedly the will of their gods. The few existing scholarly examinations of these games all note the pervasiveness of religious themes and symbolism within the narratives of the games, yet no studies have been conducted on how the fans of these games consider these elements. Considering the immense popularity of these games— and the prevalence of religious themes within them— I would argue that it is of utmost interest to examine how fans of this franchise reflect upon the position of 'religion' within these games, as well as in the 'real' world. As my paper will aim to illustrate, this particular fan community stands as a fascinating example of how individuals negotiate their values and views in relation to gaming worlds. Therefore, this paper intends— through the use of thematic analysis— to explore fan discussions relating to the portrayal of religion in these games, and how this in turn relates to fan perceptions regarding the position of religion within the Halo franchise, as well as the world outside of the games. A special emphasis will also be placed on how fans of the games reflect upon the franchise's alien antagonists and their alleged connection to religion, as a remarkable number of fan discussions concerning religion involve these monsters.
Paper short abstract:
Given that the majority of game developers and players are demographically likely to be secular; studying religious representation without culture does not suffice. Which (cultural) values inform game development? And what do players from various cultures do with religious representation?
Paper long abstract:
Young people in the West are more likely to encounter religion in videogames than in places of worship like churches, mosques, or temples. For this paper I interviewed developers and players of games such as Assassin’s Creed to find out how and why religious representation is so appealing for, on the one hand, (mostly secular) developers in the biggest cultural industry to use in their games; and, on the other hand, for (mostly secular) audiences the world over. Based on extensive fieldwork, I argue that developers of videogames and their players engage in a pop theology through which laymen reconsider traditional questions of religion, by playing with them. Games allow us to engage with religious questions and identities in the same way that children might play house or pretend to be soldiers. This requires a radical rethinking of religious questions as neither a question of representation nor of belief or disbelief; but as worldviews to be played with, tried on, and discarded at will.
Paper short abstract:
How does existential horror feel in the player-body? Using an autoethnographic game experience analysis of SOMA (Frictional Games 2015) , this presentation will extend on the ways rhythmanalysis (Levfebre 2004) offers actor-centred game research insight to embodied play experiences.
Paper long abstract:
Regarded as the most existentially terrifying game, SOMA (Frictional Games 2015) is a challenging emotional journey contemplating simulation, reality, identity, and the meaning of life. SOMA, as many other horror games, rely on atmosphere and environmental storytelling in conveying subtle nuances of creepy, spooky, and horrific scenes. However less interpreted into play experiences is the concept of rhythm.
How does existential horror feel in the player-body? In an emotionally frightful game, the relationship with the game becomes intimate where the player-body’s rhythm connects with the game world’s rhythm. Especially a game like SOMA, which in story contemplates on simulation, threat of AI’s and robots, and the Cartesian mind-body dilemma, elicits survival fear and anxiety whilst contemplating on existence.
Focusing on rhythms offer promising ground in looking at the nuances of game experiences, and existential meaning-making (e.g., Rautalahti 2021), in the case of SOMA. The rhythms and breaks in the game world bleed into the player-body through the computer screen.
Using an autoethnographic game experience analysis of SOMA, the presentation will extend on the ways rhythmanalysis (Levfebre 2004, 27) offers actor-centred game research insight to embodied play experiences (e.g Apperley 2010). While Henri Lefebvre modelled rhythmanalysis as a sociological framing device “seen from the window”, here, seen through the screen illuminates the unique relations of time, measure and feel (e.g., game feel Swink 2009) of embodied play experiences. This approach considers the scholar as an actor in reflecting the embodied aesthetic and emotional gaming experiences beyond representations.
Overall, the horror genre relies deeply on rhythm as a storytelling tool, I argue. Timing of jump scares, cueing sound effects, or sensing the antagonist characters movements require designing and feeling rhythm.
In a game called SOMA, hinting towards a somaestethic understanding of embodied experiences, existence is meaningfully questioned and converged with the player-body.
Paper short abstract:
In my presentation I will discuss death positive indie videogames, that have in recent years gained popularity. I will delve into how these games can help the player reframe thoughts and values attached to death and dying.
Paper long abstract:
Depictions of death in videogames have often been seen as merely violent signifiers of losing. However, new death positive videogames have gained popularity and attention in recent years. These games show how technology can offer a fresh way for the player to face death in a safe way and give space to ponder on life’s (and death’s) big questions. For example, a game titled Mortician’s tale (2017) allows the player to get to know different burial rituals and can offer a way to become familiar with new options. These kinds of games can teach the player, why it can be beneficial to prepare and plan for your own end-of-life and talk about the topic openly with others.
In my presentation, I will discuss what kind of values these types of games promote – how they can help to shape our understanding of what is good death, how to prepare for it and how to even deal with grief. Death positive videogames subvert our expectations on what end-of-life looks like in games. These types of videogames can be seen as one way of normalizing discussions about death in everyday lives in the western world, in which mortality has become quite a taboo topic. Technology is offering us new ways to become once again familiar with death and dying. These games can give the player freedom to get to know this topic on their own terms and at their own pace. As media representations of death and dying can have a powerful impact on how people today view death, it is important to delve deeper into how the topic is portrayed in these exceptional games.