Not-So-Sacred Quests

Religion, Intertextuality and Ethics in Video Games

Authors

  • Mark Cameron Love Woosong University Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.v29i2.191

Keywords:

Religion, Intertextuality, Ethics, video games, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Abstract

While many video games are replete with religious images and intertextuality, the role and purpose of religion and religious intertextuality in video games has not been extensively examined. In this article, I list some occurrences of religion in a variety of video game genres and reflect on the functions religion and religious intertextuality perform in video games. I then proceed to closely play a video game, Bethesda Softworks The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, to examine the roles religion plays in one video game. I conclude that religion in video games operates in a multitude of ways. The most intriguing role it plays is cultural critique as it challenges the close player to reflect on her/his identity and attitudes by demanding the player to ethically evaluate her/his actions in the game world and how they relate to the real world.

References

Games

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. 1999. Microsoft Game Studios.

Archon: The Light and the Dark. 1983. Electronic Arts, Inc.

Archon II: Adept. 1983. Electronic Arts, Inc.

Dante’s Inferno. 2010. Electronic Arts

Diablo II. 2000. Blizzard Entertainment

Diablo III. Forthcoming. Blizzard Entertainment.

Dungeons and Dragons. 1974. TSR

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. 2002. Bethesda Softworks.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. 2006. Bethesda Softworks.

Medieval 2: Total War. 2006. Sega.

Neon Genesis Evangelion. 1999. Bandai.

Silent Hill. 1999. Konami.

Starcraft. 1998. Blizzard Entertainment.

The Sims 2. 2004. EA Games.

World of Warcraft. 2004. Blizzard Entertainment.

Xenogears. 1998. Square EA.

Film

Constantine. 2005. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Warner Bros.

Friday the 13th Part 2. 1981. Directed by Steve Miner. Paramount Pictures.

The Last Temptation of Christ. 1988. Directed by Martin Scorcese. Universal Studios.

The Matrix. 1999. Directed by Laurence Wachowski and Andrew Wachowski. Warner Bros. Pictures.

Neon Genesis Evangelion. Directed by Hideaki Anno. Gainax.

Psycho. 1960. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Paramount Pictures.

Pulp Fiction. 1994. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Miramax Films.

The Shining. 1980. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros.

Television

South Park. 1997– . Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Comedy Central.

Supernatural. 2005– . Created by Eric Kripke. Warner Brothers Television.

The Simpsons. 1989– . Created by Matt Groening. Fox.

Touched by an Angel. 1994–2003. Created by John Masius. CBS.

Web Sites

Diii.net. http://diablo.incgamers.com/

GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/

Giant Bomb. http://www.giantbomb.com/

Planet Elder Scrolls. http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/

The Imperial Library. http://www.imperial-library.info/

Tv Tropes. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage

Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page

Literature

Aarseth, Espen. 2007. “I fought the law: Transgressive play and the implied player.” (Situated play, Proceedings of DiGRA 2007 conference). http://www.digra.org/dl/db/07313.03489.pdf (accessed april 9, 2010).

Althusser, Louis. 1998. “Ideology and ideological state apparatuses.” In Literary theory: An anthology, edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, 294–304. London: Blackwell Publishers. Originally published in B. Brester, trans., Lenin and philosophy (London: New Left Books, 1971).

Alvermann, Donna E., and Margaret C. Hagood. 2000. “Critical media literacy: Research, theory and practice in ‘New Times.’” The Journal of Educational Research 93(3): 193–205. doi:10.1080/00220670009598707

Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1981. “Discourse in the novel.” In The dialogic imagination, ed. Michael Holquist, trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist, 259–422. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1984. Rabelais and his world. Trans. Hélène Iswolsky. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Bogost, Ian. 2008. Unit operations: An approach to videogame criticism. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Consalvo, Mia, and Nathan Dutton. 2006. “Game analysis: Developing a methodological toolkit for the qualitative study of games.” Game Studies: The international journal of computer game research 6(1). http://gamestudies.org/0601/articles/consalvo_dutton (accessed November 11, 2009

Covington, William G. 1997. “Media literacy—an integral part of a liberal education.” International Journal of Instructional Media 24(1): 37–42.

Denzey, Nicola. 2004. “Biblical allusions, biblical illusions: Hollywood blockbuster and scripture.” Journal of Religion and Film 8(1). http://www.unomaha.edu/~jrf/2004Symposium/Denzey.htm (accessed December 6, 2009).

Detweiler, Craig, editor. 2010. Halos and avatars: Playing video games with God. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

———. 2010. “Introduction: Halos and avatars.” In Halos and avatars: Playing video games with God, edited by Craig Detweiler, 1–18. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Dyer, R. 1977. “Victim: Hermeneutic project.” Film Form 1(2): 1–10.

Eco, Umberto, Stefan Collini, Jonathan Culler, and Richard Rorty. 1992. Interpretation and overinterpretation. (Tanner lectures in human values). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBo9780511627408

Fielding, Julien R. 2003. “Reassessing The Matrix/Reloaded.” Journal of Religion and Film 7(2). http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol7No2/matrix.matrixreloaded.htm (accessed December 6, 2009).

Forbes, Bruce D. and Jeffrey H. Mahan, eds. 2000. Religion and popular culture in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gee, James Paul. 2005. Why video games are good for your soul: Pleasure and learning. Melbourne: Common Ground.

Greenblatt, Stephen. 1988. Shakespearean negotiations. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Hayes, Elisabeth. 2007. “Gendered identities at play: Case studies of two women playing Morrowind.” Games and Culture 2(1), 23–48. doi:10.1177/1555412006294768

Hayse, Mark. 2010. “Ultima IV: Simulating the religious question.” In Halos and avatars: Playing video games with God, ed. Craig Detweiler, 34–46. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Harpold, Terry. 2007. “Screw the grue: Mediality, metalepsis, recapture.” Game Studies 7(1). http://gamestudies.org/0701/articles/harpold (accessed April 22, 2010).

Kazlovic, anton Karl. 2004. “The structural characteristics of the cinematic Christ-figure.” Journal of Religion and Film 8. http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art8-cinematicchrist.html (accessed October 7, 2009).

Kincheloe, Joe. 2009. “Christian soldier Jesus: The intolerant savior and the political fundamentalist media empire.” In Christotainment: Selling Jesus through popular culture, edited by Shirley R. Steinberg and Joe L. Kincheloe, 23–50. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Krzywinska, Tanya. 2006. “Blood scythes, festivals, quests, and backstories: World creation and rhetorics of myth in World of Warcraft.” Games and Culture 1(4): 383–396. doi:10.1177/1555412006292618

Lindley, Craig A. 2005. “The semiotics of time structure in ludic Space as a foundation for analysis and design.” Game Studies 5(1) http://gamestudies.org/0501/lindley/ (accessed Nov. 27, 2009).

Lawrence, D.H. 2002. Sketches of Etruscan places and other Italian essays. (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of D.H. Lawrence). Ed. Simonette de Filippis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Martin, Robert M. 2002. There are two errors in the the title of this book: A sourcebook of philosophical puzzles, problems and paradoxes. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press.

Newgren, Kevin. 2010. “Bioshock to the system: Smart choices in video games.” In Halos and avatars: Playing video games with God, edited by Craig Detweiler, 135–148. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Paul, Deirdre Glenn. 2000. “Rap and orality: Critical media literacy, pedagogy, and cultural synchronization.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 44(3): 246–151.

Raessens, Joost. 2006. “Playful identities, or the ludification of culture.” Games and Culture 1(1): 52–57. doi:10.1177/1555412005281779

Riffaterre, Michael. 1990. “Compulsory reader response: The intertextual drive.” In Intertextuality: Theories and practices, edited by Judith Still and Michael Warton, 56–78. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Rockwell, Geoffrey. 2002. “Gore galore: Literary theory and computer games.” Computers and the Humanities 36: 345–358. doi:10.1023/a:1016174116399

Scholtz, Christopher P. 2004. “Religious education and the challenge of computer games: Research perspectives on a new issue.” http://c-p-scholtz.de/Scholtz_RE_andf_Computer_Games.pdf (accessed april 2, 2010). Originally published in Towards a European perspective on religious education, edited by Rune Larsson and Caroline Gustavsson, 256–267. Stockholm/Skellefteå: Artos and Norma.

Semali, Ladi. 2000. “Implementing critical media literacy in school curriculum.” Advances in Reading/Language Research 7: 277–298.

Simkins, David W., and Constance Steinkuehler. 2008. “Critical ethical reasoning and role-play.” Games and Culture 3(3–4): 333–355. doi:10.1177/1555412008317313

Squire, Kurt. 2002. “Cultural framing of computer/video games.” Game Studies 2(1), http://www.gamestudies.org/0102/squire/ (accessed June 16, 2009).

Still, Judith, and Michael Worton, editors. 1990. Intertextuality: Theories and practices. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Williamson, Dugald. 1999. “Media education in the university: enhancing media-literacy through first-year undergraduate coursework.” Journal of Educational Media 24(3): 203–215.

Zagal, José P. and Amy Bruckman. 2008. “Novices, gamers, and scholars: Exploring the challenges of teaching about games.” Game Studies 8(2), http://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/zagal_bruckman (accessed June 16, 2009).

Published

2011-04-20

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Love, M. C. (2011). Not-So-Sacred Quests: Religion, Intertextuality and Ethics in Video Games. Religious Studies and Theology, 29(2), 191-213. https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.v29i2.191