research-article

Bibles and BioShock: Affording Religious Discussion on Video Game Forums

Authors:

Stef AupersAuthors Info & Claims

CHI PLAY '17: Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play

Pages 463 - 475

https://doi.org/10.1145/3116595.3116625

Published: 15 October 2017 Publication History

Abstract

This study sets forth to analyze and categorize attitudes shown by communities of players on internet forums, debating religious worldviews in games such as BioShock and Assassin's Creed. It does so in light of the theo- and technological affordances that shape these discussions through the platforms of digital games and internet forums. Is the predominance of religion in games, as noted by other scholars, actually a topic of discussion for players themselves? And if so, which games afford discussion? What attitudes are displayed? And what are the motivations behind these attitudes? A multi-method approach is presented, analyzing 91 discussions and 20 interviews; rooted in extensive familiarization with the relevant games. Research outcomes include a typology of user attitudes, part of which actively seek out enchantment in the face of secularization. These are theorized in the context of two affordances: the theological affordances of some interactive systems to invite play with religious worldviews in a secularizing world; and the technological affordances of the internet forum as a platform that affords but shapes forum discourse.

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Wolf SFriedrich PHurtienne J(2024)Still Not a Lot of Research? Re-Examining HCI Research on Religion and SpiritualityExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3651058(1-15)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Bibles and BioShock: Affording Religious Discussion on Video Game Forums

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI PLAY '17: Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play

October 2017

590 pages

ISBN:9781450348980

DOI:10.1145/3116595

General Chairs:
Ben Schouten
Eindhoven University of Technology and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands
,
Panos Markopoulos
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
,
Phoebe O. Toups Dugas
New Mexico State University, USA
,
Program Chairs:
Paul Cairns
University of York, UK
,
Tilde Bekker
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677054
Wolf SFriedrich PHurtienne J(2024)Still Not a Lot of Research? Re-Examining HCI Research on Religion and SpiritualityExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3651058(1-15)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613905.3651058
Larsen BCarstensdottir E(2023)“Anything a Guardian Does Is Canonical”: Player Understanding of Canon in DestinyProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36110297:CHI PLAY(237-263)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3611029
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