Gaming And The Divine

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Gaming and the Divine

Author : Frank G. Bosman
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429018681
Total Pages : 229 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis Gaming and the Divine by : Frank G. Bosman

Download or read book Gaming and the Divine written by Frank G. Bosman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-04 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book formulates a new theological approach to the study of religion in gaming. Video games have become one of the most important cultural artifacts of modern society, both as mediators of cultural, social, and religious values and in terms of commercial success. This has led to a significant increase in the critical analysis of this relatively new medium, but theology as an academic discipline is noticeably behind the other humanities on this subject. The book first covers the fundamentals of cultural theology and video games. It then moves on to set out a Christian systematic theology of gaming, focusing on creational theology, Christology, anthropology, evil, moral theology, and thanatology. Each chapter introduces case studies from video games connected to the specific theme. In contrast to many studies which focus on online multiplayer games, the examples considered are largely single player games with distinct narratives and ‘end of game’ moments. The book concludes by synthesizing these themes into a new theology of video games. This study addresses a significant aspect of contemporary society that has yet to be discussed in any depth by theologians. It is, therefore, a fantastic resource for any scholar engaging with the religious aspects of digital and popular culture.

Evolution, Games, and God

Author : Martin A. Nowak
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674075536
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution, Games, and God by : Martin A. Nowak

Download or read book Evolution, Games, and God written by Martin A. Nowak and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to the reigning competition-driven model of evolution, selfish behaviors that maximize an organism’s reproductive potential offer a fitness advantage over self-sacrificing behaviors—rendering unselfish behavior for the sake of others a mystery that requires extra explanation. Evolution, Games, and God addresses this conundrum by exploring how cooperation, working alongside mutation and natural selection, plays a critical role in populations from microbes to human societies. Inheriting a tendency to cooperate, argue the contributors to this book, may be as beneficial as the self-preserving instincts usually thought to be decisive in evolutionary dynamics. Assembling experts in mathematical biology, history of science, psychology, philosophy, and theology, Martin Nowak and Sarah Coakley take an interdisciplinary approach to the terms “cooperation” and “altruism.” Using game theory, the authors elucidate mechanisms by which cooperation—a form of working together in which one individual benefits at the cost of another—arises through natural selection. They then examine altruism—cooperation which includes the sometimes conscious choice to act sacrificially for the collective good—as a key concept in scientific attempts to explain the origins of morality. Discoveries in cooperation go beyond the spread of genes in a population to include the spread of cultural transformations such as languages, ethics, and religious systems of meaning. The authors resist the presumption that theology and evolutionary theory are inevitably at odds. Rather, in rationally presenting a number of theological interpretations of the phenomena of cooperation and altruism, they find evolutionary explanation and theology to be strongly compatible.

God in the Machine

Author : Liel Leibovitz
Publisher : Templeton Foundation Press
ISBN 13 : 1599474506
Total Pages : 157 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (994 download)

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Book Synopsis God in the Machine by : Liel Leibovitz

Download or read book God in the Machine written by Liel Leibovitz and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2014-02-21 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What might Heidegger say about Halo, the popular video game franchise, if he were alive today? What would Augustine think about Assassin’s Creed? What could Maimonides teach us about Nintendo’s eponymous hero, Mario? While some critics might dismiss such inquiries outright, protesting that these great thinkers would never concern themselves with a medium so crude and mindless as video games, it is important to recognize that games like these are becoming the defining medium of our time. We spend more time and money on video games than on books, television, or film, and any serious thinker of our age should be concerned with these games, what they are saying about us, and what we are learning from them. Yet video games remain relatively unexplored by both scholars and pundits alike. Few have advanced beyond outmoded and futile attempts to tie gameplay to violent behavior. With this rumor now thoroughly and repeatedly disproven, it is time to delve deeper. Just as the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan recently acquired fourteen games as part of its permanent collection, so too must we seek to add a serious consideration of virtual worlds to the pantheon of philosophical inquiry. In God in the Machine, author Liel Leibovitz leads a fascinating tour of the emerging virtual landscape and its many dazzling vistas from which we are offered new vantage points on age-old theological and philosophical questions. Free will vs. determinism, the importance of ritual, transcendence through mastery, notions of the self, justice and sin, life, death, and resurrection all come into play in the video games that some critics so quickly write off as mind-numbing wastes of time. When one looks closely at how these games are designed, their inherent logic, and their cognitive effects on players, it becomes clear that playing these games creates a state of awareness vastly different from when we watch television or read a book. Indeed, the gameplay is a far more dynamic process that draws on various faculties of mind and body to evoke sensations that might more commonly be associated with religious experience. Getting swept away in an engaging game can be a profoundly spiritual activity. It is not to think, but rather to be, a logic that sustained our ancestors for millennia as they looked heavenward for answers. As more and more of us look “screenward,” it is crucial to investigate these games for their vast potential as fine instruments of moral training. Anyone seeking a concise and well-reasoned introduction to the subject would do well to start with God in the Machine. By illuminating both where video game storytelling is now and where it currently butts up against certain inherent limitations, Liebovitz intriguingly implies how the field and, in turn, our experiences might continue to evolve and advance in the coming years.

The Sacred & the Digital

Author : F.G. (Frank) Bosman
Publisher : MDPI
ISBN 13 : 3038978302
Total Pages : 182 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (389 download)

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Book Synopsis The Sacred & the Digital by : F.G. (Frank) Bosman

Download or read book The Sacred & the Digital written by F.G. (Frank) Bosman and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-04-18 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Video game studies are a relative young but flourishing academic discipline. But within game studies, however, the perspective of religion and spirituality is rather neglected, both by game scholars and religion scholars. While religion can take different shapes in digital games, ranging from material and referential to reflexive and ritual, it is not necessarily true that game developers depict their in-game religions in a positive, confirming way, but ever so often games approach the topic critically and disavowingly. The religion criticisms found in video games can be categorized as follows: religion as (1) fraud, aimed to manipulate the uneducated, as (2) blind obedience towards an invisible but ultimately non-existing deity/ies, as (3) violence against those who do not share the same set of religious rules, as (4) madness, a deranged alternative for logical reasoning, and as (5) suppression in the hands of the powerful elite to dominate and subdue the masses into submission and obedience. The critical depictions of religion in video games by their developers is the focus of this special issue.

Playing as Others

Author : Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies Benjamin J Chicka
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781481315463
Total Pages : 235 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (154 download)

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Book Synopsis Playing as Others by : Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies Benjamin J Chicka

Download or read book Playing as Others written by Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies Benjamin J Chicka and published by . This book was released on 2021-10-15 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No contemporary form of pop culture has as large a social impact as video games, an entertainment industry whose yearly revenues continue to rise. Gamergate rocked the gaming industry when isolated incidents of male gamers threatening female game developers and critics grew into a sustained campaign of harassment against minorities and the historically marginalized. These events negatively revealed the political, ethical, and theological meaning latent within video games and gaming communities, but constructive reactions to the situation showed that video game creators and consumers were interested in thinking about games differently. In the wake of Gamergate, the voices of those marginalized and ignored as the other became louder, and alternative gaming experiences reflecting their perspectives more commonplace. Playing as Others traces the development of video game culture in response to marginalization and explores the ways in which the content of video games can generate theological insight and positive ethical impact. Benjamin Chicka shows how the interactivity and compelling narratives provided by emerging styles of video games can provide powerful lessons in listening to, accepting, and helping those often harmed or outright neglected by society. Bringing Paul Tillich's theology of culture into conversation with Emmanuel Levinas' ethical concept of responsibility toward the other, Chicka shows that video games as art form aid in the overcoming of estrangement. If culture, art, and technology have the power to reveal divine depth, video games offer a unique opportunity to foster redemptive face-to-face encounters in a way that is impossible for even the most practical discussions of philosophy and theology. With their fully formed characters and morally challenging stories, the games considered here, such as Gone Home; Papers, Please; and 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, can become a means to personal fulfillment and a desire for justice. For nonmarginalized players, virtual encounters are opportunities to listen to the call of the other and carry that lesson into the real world.

Philosophy Through Video Games

Author : Jon Cogburn
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 113585968X
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (358 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy Through Video Games by : Jon Cogburn

Download or read book Philosophy Through Video Games written by Jon Cogburn and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-09-10 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can Wii Sports teach us about metaphysics? Can playing World of Warcraft lead to greater self-consciousness? How can we learn about aesthetics, ethics and divine attributes from Zork, Grand Theft Auto, and Civilization? A variety of increasingly sophisticated video games are rapidly overtaking books, films, and television as America's most popular form of media entertainment. It is estimated that by 2011 over 30 percent of US households will own a Wii console - about the same percentage that owned a television in 1953. In Philosophy Through Video Games, Jon Cogburn and Mark Silcox - philosophers with game industry experience - investigate the aesthetic appeal of video games, their effect on our morals, the insights they give us into our understanding of perceptual knowledge, personal identity, artificial intelligence, and the very meaning of life itself, arguing that video games are popular precisely because they engage with longstanding philosophical problems. Topics covered include: * The Problem of the External World * Dualism and Personal Identity * Artificial and Human Intelligence in the Philosophy of Mind * The Idea of Interactive Art * The Moral Effects of Video Games * Games and God's Goodness Games discussed include: Madden Football, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Sims Online, Second Life, Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Elder Scrolls, Zork, EverQuest Doom, Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto, Civilization, Mortal Kombat, Rome: Total War, Black and White, Aidyn Chronicles

Atlas Rising

Author : Blake Severson
Publisher : Shattered Dimensions Publications
ISBN 13 : 9781734447569
Total Pages : 550 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (475 download)

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Book Synopsis Atlas Rising by : Blake Severson

Download or read book Atlas Rising written by Blake Severson and published by Shattered Dimensions Publications. This book was released on 2021-04-15 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new groundbreaking Virtual Reality MMO, a giant corporation with unknown motives, and a regular druid lost in the mix.Atlas finally gets the chance to play the latest VRMMO game. The first of its kind to feature a true Full Dive experience. Atlas must brave this new world head on, armed with his spells and the ability to shapeshift.A strange dungeon forces him to reevaluate everything he thought he knew about this game. Is the company behind this game truly what it seems to be, or is there a nefarious purpose hidden below the surface?

Playing with Religion in Digital Games

Author : Heidi A. Campbell
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253012635
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Playing with Religion in Digital Games by : Heidi A. Campbell

Download or read book Playing with Religion in Digital Games written by Heidi A. Campbell and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-28 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. From the Shinto-inspired Japanese video game Okami to the internationally popular The Legend of Zelda and Halo, many video games rely on religious themes and symbols to drive the narrative and frame the storyline. Playing with Religion in Digital Games explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices. For example, how does religion help organize the communities in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft? What role has censorship played in localizing games like Actraiser in the western world? How do evangelical Christians react to violence, gore, and sexuality in some of the most popular games such as Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto? With contributions by scholars and gamers from all over the world, this collection offers a unique perspective to the intersections of religion and the virtual world.

Halo: Divine Wind

Author : Troy Denning
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1982174919
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (821 download)

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Book Synopsis Halo: Divine Wind by : Troy Denning

Download or read book Halo: Divine Wind written by Troy Denning and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An original novel set in the Halo universe—based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! October 2559. With the galaxy in the suffocating grip of a renegade artificial intelligence, another perilous threat has quietly emerged in the shadows: the Keepers of the One Freedom, a fanatical and merciless Covenant splinter group, has made its way beyond the borders of the galaxy to an ancient Forerunner installation known as the Ark. Led by an infamous Brute named Castor, the Keepers intend to achieve what the Covenant, in all its might, failed to: activate Halo and take the last steps on the path of the Great Journey into transcendence. But unknown to Castor and his new, unexpected ally on the Ark, there are traitors to the cause in their midst—namely the Ferrets, composed of Office of Naval Intelligence operative Veta Lopis and her young team of Spartan-IIIs, who have been infiltrating the Keepers to lay the groundwork for Castor’s assassination. But with ONI’s field operations now splintered and cut off by the Guardian threat, Veta’s original mission has suddenly and dramatically escalated in scope. There’s simply no choice or fallback plan—either the Ferrets somehow stop the Keepers or the galaxy faces an extinction-level event….

Dungeon Born

Author : Dakota Krout
Publisher : Divine Dungeon
ISBN 13 : 9781950914050
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (14 download)

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Book Synopsis Dungeon Born by : Dakota Krout

Download or read book Dungeon Born written by Dakota Krout and published by Divine Dungeon. This book was released on 2016-10-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Weapons, power, wealth! All of this can be found within the dungeons of the world. You just need to survive long enough to claim them.

The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games

Author : Felipe Pepe
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781999353308
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (533 download)

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Book Synopsis The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games by : Felipe Pepe

Download or read book The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games written by Felipe Pepe and published by . This book was released on 2019-09 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reviews over 400 seminal games from 1975 to 2015. Each entry shares articles on the genre, mod suggestions and hints on how to run the games on modern hardware.

Playing to Win

Author : David Sirlin
Publisher : Lulu.com
ISBN 13 : 1411666798
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (116 download)

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Book Synopsis Playing to Win by : David Sirlin

Download or read book Playing to Win written by David Sirlin and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2006-04-01 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winning at competitive games requires a results-oriented mindset that many players are simply not willing to adopt. This book walks players through the entire process: how to choose a game and learn basic proficiency, how to break through the mental barriers that hold most players back, and how to handle the issues that top players face. It also includes a complete analysis of Sun Tzu's book The Art of War and its applications to games of today. These foundational concepts apply to virtually all competitive games, and even have some application to "real life." Trade paperback. 142 pages.

Game Theory and Behavior

Author : Jeffrey Carpenter
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262047292
Total Pages : 725 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Game Theory and Behavior by : Jeffrey Carpenter

Download or read book Game Theory and Behavior written by Jeffrey Carpenter and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-12-06 with total page 725 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to game theory that offers not only theoretical tools but also the intuition and behavioral insights to apply these tools to real-world situations. This introductory text on game theory provides students with both the theoretical tools to analyze situations through the logic of game theory and the intuition and behavioral insights to apply these tools to real-world situations. It is unique among game theory texts in offering a clear, formal introduction to standard game theory while incorporating evidence from experimental data and introducing recent behavioral models. Students will not only learn about incentives, how to represent situations as games, and what agents “should” do in these situations, but they will also be presented with evidence that either confirms the theoretical assumptions or suggests a way in which the theory might be updated. Features: Each chapter begins with a motivating example that can be run as an experiment and ends with a discussion of the behavior in the example. Parts I–IV cover the fundamental “nuts and bolts” of any introductory game theory course, including the theory of games, simple games with simultaneous decision making by players, sequential move games, and incomplete information in simultaneous and sequential move games. Parts V–VII apply the tools developed in previous sections to bargaining, cooperative game theory, market design, social dilemmas, and social choice and voting. Part VIII offers a more in-depth discussion of behavioral game theory models including evolutionary and psychological game theory. Supplemental material on the book’s website include solutions to end-of-chapter exercises, a manual for running each chapter’s experimental games using pencil and paper, and the oTree codes for running the games online.

Pathfinder Lost Omens

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781640782020
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis Pathfinder Lost Omens by :

Download or read book Pathfinder Lost Omens written by and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Test your convictions. In a land without fate and a world too often void of justice, it falls to the gods to make or break the people who call upon them for salvation -- or draw their ire. Swear yourself to the might of the gods and the power of their causes, or reject their offerings to live a life that's yours and yours alone! Lost Omens Gods & Magic offers details on major gods found in the Inner Sea region, including what forms their pleasure or wrath might take. It also presents rules for over a hundred other deities and philosophies so you can find the cause that best fits your convictions and take up weapons and magic in its service!

Redeeming Productivity

Author : Reagan Rose
Publisher : Moody Publishers
ISBN 13 : 0802474632
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis Redeeming Productivity by : Reagan Rose

Download or read book Redeeming Productivity written by Reagan Rose and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2022-10-04 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Feeling overwhelmed and unproductive? The answer isn’t to do more. What image forms in your mind when you think of productivity? An assembly line? Spreadsheets? Business suits or workplace uniforms? In the ancient world, productivity didn't conjure images like these. Instead, it referred to crop yield and fruit bearing. This agrarian imagery helps us understand productivity through a biblical lens. Jesus taught, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (John 15:8). Who doesn’t want to have a truly productive life—to bear much fruit? But how does this happen in the places we hold dear—the home, workplace, and in our communities? We often feel overworked and overrun, defeated and discouraged. The world says be productive so that you can get all you can out of this life. The Bible says be productive so you can gain more of the next life. In Redeeming Productivity, author Reagan Rose explores how God’s glory is the purpose for which He planted us. And he shows how productivity must be firmly rooted in the gospel. Only through our connection to Christ—the True Vine—are we empowered to produce good fruit. This book shows how we can maintain the vitality of that connection through simple, life-giving disciplines. Readers will discover manageable applications like giving God the first fruits of our days. Additionally, Reagan discusses how our perspective on suffering is transformed as we see trials as God’s pruning for greater productivity.

Theology of Play

Author : Jürgen Moltmann
Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 136 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Theology of Play by : Jürgen Moltmann

Download or read book Theology of Play written by Jürgen Moltmann and published by HarperCollins Publishers. This book was released on 1972 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Cypher System Rulebook

Author : Monte Cook
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781320511445
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (114 download)

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Book Synopsis Cypher System Rulebook by : Monte Cook

Download or read book Cypher System Rulebook written by Monte Cook and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-28 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: