The Pop Theology of Videogames: Producing and Playing with Religion
Young people in the West are more likely to encounter religion in videogames than in places of worship like churches, mosques or temples. Lars de Wildt interviews developers and players of games such as Assassin's Creed to find out how and why the Pop Theology of Videogames is so appealing to m...
| Summary: | Young people in the West are more likely to encounter religion in videogames than in places of worship like churches, mosques or temples. Lars de Wildt interviews developers and players of games such as Assassin's Creed to find out how and why the Pop Theology of Videogames is so appealing to modern audiences. Based on extensive fieldwork, this book argues 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 play with religious questions and identities in the same way that children play at being a soldier, or choose to 'play house.' This requires a radical rethinking of religious questions as no longer just questions of belief or disbelief; but as truths to be tried on, compared, and discarded at will. Junge Menschen im Westen begegnen Religion eher in Videospielen als in Gotteshäusern wie Kirchen, Moscheen oder Tempeln. Lars de Wildt interviewt Entwickler und Spieler von Spielen wie Assassin's Creed, um herauszufinden, wie und warum die Pop-Theologie der Videospiele das moderne Publikum so anspricht. Basierend auf umfangreicher Feldforschung argumentiert dieses Buch, dass Entwickler von Videospielen und ihre Spieler eine „Pop-Theologie“ betreiben, durch die Laien traditionelle Fragen der Religion spielerisch neu überdenken. Spiele ermöglichen es uns, mit religiösen Fragen und Identitäten zu spielen, so wie Kinder Soldat spielen oder „Vater-Mutter-Kind“ spielen. Dies erfordert ein radikales Umdenken in Bezug auf religiöse Fragen, die nicht länger nur Fragen des Glaubens oder Unglaubens sind, sondern Wahrheiten, die nach Belieben ausprobiert, verglichen und verworfen werden können. [Mit KI übersetzt] |
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| Item Description: | "Amsterdam University Press" Chapter 1. Introduction Part I. Producing Religion "Which choices lead game-makers to use religion in their videogames?" Chapter 2. Making Religion at Ubisoft Chapter 3. Indie-pendent: the Arthouse Gods of Indie games Part II. Consuming Religion "How do players make sense of and relate to religion in videogames?" Chapter 4. Public Religion on Videogame Forums Chapter 5. Single-player Religion Part III. Conclusion Chapter 6. Conclusion: Pop Theology. Complete bibliography Index |
| Physical Description: | 1 Online-Ressource (138 pages), illustrations |
| ISBN: | 90-485-5513-2 978-90-485-5513-0 |
