Fig. 1. Halos and Avatars. Courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.
Westminster John Knox Press has published a book called "Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God" edited by Craig Detweiler from the Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture at Pepperdine University.
Publication Data
Detweiler, Craig (Ed.). Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God. Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0664232771.
Description
Craig Detweiler's collection of up-to-the-minute essays on video games' theological themes is an engaging and provocative book for gamers, parents, pastors, media scholars, and theologians--virtually anyone who has dared to consider the ramifications of modern society's obsession with video games and online media.
Top contributors address timely topics such as video games as the new storytelling medium; the theological implications of violent or apocalyptic video games like Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Resident Evil; the impact of avatars, ;second lives; and social networks on our spiritual lives; the competitive aspects of gaming and the nature of play in Madden NFL and Guitar Hero; the active future of gaming (and faith) accompanying the Wii; medical ethics and theology in controversial games such as BioShock; and the rise of Islamogaming, analyzing how games can function as tools of identity formation and social protest for minority religions. Additional material includes interviews with current game designers, including Rand Miller, cocreator of Myst and Riven, and a helpful chapter from the Fuller Youth Institute on how parents and pastors can effectively talk to teens about gaming.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Halos and Avatars
Craig Detweiler
Section 1: Playing Games with God
1. From Tekken to Kill Bill: The Future of Narrative Storytelling?
Chris Hansen
2. Ultima IV: Simulating the Religious Quest
Mark Hayse
3. The Play Is the Thing: Interactivity from Bible Fights to Passions of the Christ
Rachel Wagner
4. Islamogaming: Digital Dignity via Alternative Storytellers
Heidi Campbell
5. Wii Are Inspirited: The Transformation of Home Video Consoles (and Us)
Kutter Callaway
Section 2: Halos
6. Myst and Halo: A Conversation with Rand Miller and Marty O'Donnell
Lisa Swain
7. Madden Rules: Sports and the Future of Competitive Video Games
Matthew Kitchen
8. Poets, Posers, and Guitar Heroes: Virtual Art for a Virtual Age
Andrew McAlpine
9. BioShock to the System: Smart Choices in Video Games
Kevin Newgren
Section 3: Avatars
10. 'Til Disconnection Do We Part: The Initiation and Wedding Rite in Second Life
Jason Shim
11. Role Playing: Toward a Theology for Gamers
Daniel White Hodge
12. Cybersociality: Connecting Fun to the Play of God
John W. Morehead
Conclusion: Born to Play
Craig Detweiler
Appendix: Beyond "Turn that Thing Off!" Elevating the Gaming Conversation between Parents & Kids
Kara Powell and Brad M. Griffin
Notes
List of Contributors
Index
About the Author
Craig Detweiler directs the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture at Pepperdine University. He is the author of Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century, and coauthor of A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture. He is also a coeditor of Westminster John Knox Press's upcoming A Concise Dictionary of Popular Culture and Religion. He blogs at purplestateofmind.com.
The book can be ordered online at Amazon.