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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Communication studies > Media studies
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eGods - Faith versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming (Paperback)
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eGods - Faith versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming (Paperback)
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William Bainbridge takes an in-depth look at the fantasy religions
that exist in 34 different massively multiplayer online roleplaying
games. He categorizes the religions, noting similarities across the
games. He points, for instance, to the prevalence of polytheism: a
system which, Bainbridge argues, can function as an effective map
of reality in which each deity personifies a concept. Religions are
as much about conceptualizing the self as conceptualizing the
sacred. Most games allow the players to have multiple avatars, an
idea Bainbridge likens to contemporary scientific ideas about
personality. He also focuses on sacred spaces; the prevalence of
magic and its relationship to the computer program and programmer;
the fostering of a tribal morality by both religion and rules
programmed into the game; the rise of cults and belief systems
within the game worlds (and how this relates to social science
theories of cult formation in the real world); and, of course, how
the gameworld religions depict death. As avatars are immortal,
death is merely a minor setback in most games. At the same time,
much of the action in some gameworlds centers on the issue of
mortality and the problematic nature of resurrection. Bainbridge
contends that gameworlds are giving us a new perspective on the
human quest, one that combines the arts and simulates most aspects
of real life. The quests in gameworlds also provide meaning for
human action, in terms of narratives about achieving goals by
overcoming obstacles. Perhaps meaning does not naturally exist in
our universe, but must be created by us, both in our fantasies and
in day-to-day life. Like the games analyzed in this book, he says,
traditional religions are fantasies that should be respected as
works of art in a future civilization of disbelief.
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