Procedural Religion in Videogames A narratological and ludological analysis of how religious ideas are reflected, rejected and reconfigured in Final Fantasy X and Bloodborne Kristofer Fjøsne Sjølie Masteroppgave i Religion og Samfunn ved det teologiske fakultet UNIVERSITETET I OSLO 07/05/2018 II Procedural Religion in Videogames A narratological and ludological analysis of how religious ideas are reflected, rejected and reconfigured in Final Fantasy X and Bloodborne Kristofer Fjøsne Sjølie Masteroppgave i Religion og Samfunn ved det teologiske fakultet UNIVERSITETET I OSLO 07/05/2018 III © Kristofer F. Sjølie 2018 Procedural Religion in Videogames Kristofer F. Sjølie http://www.duo.uio.no/ Published: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo IV Abstract Videogames are an expressive medium. Much like with other forms for entertainment and popular culture, its purpose is to engage an audience and entertain. Popular culture has become more widely accepted as a platform that overlaps the lines between low- and high culture (Løland, Martinsen, Skippervold 2014: 10 – translated), and as a result; opens for new ways to study and interpret various aspects of society. Videogames, in comparison to other types of popular culture, open for new ways to interpret these aspects, as they allow the consumer to interact with the product, and through this interaction, new interpretations can be created. This is a study on how the videogames Bloodborne and Final Fantasy X reflect, reject or reconfigure religious ideas and investigate what kind of religious critique that is implied in their procedural rhetoric. The study uses the theories of procedurality, procedural representation and procedural rhetoric, developed by videogame-designer and academic Ian Bogost in 2010 and procedural religion, coined by professor Vit Šisler in 2016. These theories allow for a new way to look at the expressive and persuasive capabilities of videogames through their computational design. To analyze a videogame’s structure, the study will also use the terms of game world, player/character and game activities, coined by professor Óliver Pérez Latorre in 2015 to look at the game’s design from various standpoints. Through their ludological and narratological structure I have made the discovery that Final Fantasy X’s procedural religion express a rhetoric of no-religion, whereas Bloodborne’s expresses religion as an unchangeable entity at its core, only corrupted by human intervention. I have also found that the religious critique implied in the games carries resemblance to the modern philosophical thinkers of Friedrich Nietzsche and Karl Marx. However, while FFX endorses Nietzsche’s critique of religion, Bloodborne critiques it. Videogames carry a reflection of how we perceive various aspects of modern society. The rhetorical value of analyzing videogames is found in their participatory nature. Allowing oneself to be immersed, not just by the narrative, but also the ludic design, allows for meaningful representation to be created that could not be expressed in other types of popular culture. V VI Preface That it should be a bittersweet moment to hand in my thesis proves that the last two years have been filled with productivity and high motivation. I had never imagined that I would write a thesis about religion and videogames; the best of two worlds. In many ways, it is a dream come true. I would lie if I said that the road has not been bumpy, but it was well worth it, and most days were filled with motivation rather than discouragement. All of it will be missed. Now that the thesis is completed, I have to thank everyone who has shown me support and encouraged me. I want to thank the Theological Faculty of Oslo that offered us master- students to travel during our studies. My time at Union Theological Seminary was fantastic and helpful, much because of the amazing people I met there. I also want to thank all of my friends and fellow videogame-enthusiasts who have shown incredible interest in reading my thesis. I cannot wait to show it to you. I also want to thank Liv Bjørkedal, my friend and colleague, who has read through the thesis and corrected my grammar. I am forever grateful. I want to thank my parents, who have shown nothing but support. It has been invaluable. Last, but not least, I want to thank my supervisor Elisabeth Tveito Johnsen: Thank you for your encouraging and specific feedback. Your faith in this thesis and in me has done nothing but increase my motivation. Without your support and guidance, this thesis would never have seen the light of day. I could not have wished for a better advisor. VII VIII List of contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Videogames as an expressive medium ........................................................................ 1 1.2 Research question and terminology ............................................................................. 3 1.3 Earlier research ............................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Religious critique in videogames ................................................................................ 7 1.5 Research design ........................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Consideration of research ............................................................................................ 8 1.7 The thesis buildup and overall structure ...................................................................... 9 2 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Selection .................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Establishing the material ........................................................................................... 14 2.3 Role as a researcher ................................................................................................... 16 2.4 Analytical strategy ..................................................................................................... 19 3 Theory .............................................................................................................................. 21 3.1 Procedural rhetoric .................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Procedural religion .................................................................................................... 28 3.3 Ludological design of videogames ............................................................................ 34 4 Final Fantasy X ................................................................................................................ 42 4.1 Game world and narrative – Level one ..................................................................... 42 4.2 Game world and narrative – Level two ..................................................................... 47 4.3 Player/character and narrative – Level one ............................................................... 48 4.4 Player/character and narrative – Level two ............................................................... 52 4.5 The ludology of player/character – Level one ........................................................... 54 4.6 The ludology of player/character – Level two ........................................................... 56 4.7 The ludology of the game world – Level one ............................................................ 57 4.8 The ludology of the game world – Level two ........................................................... 58 4.9 The ludology of game activities – Level one ............................................................ 60 4.10 The ludology of game-activities – Level two ........................................................ 62 4.11 Major findings from Final Fantasy X .................................................................... 63 4.12 Religious critique in the ludological and narratological structure – Level three ... 63 5 Bloodborne ....................................................................................................................... 66 IX 5.1 Game world and narrative – Level one ..................................................................... 66 5.2 Game world and narrative – Level two ..................................................................... 71 5.3 Characters and narrative – Level one ........................................................................ 73 5.4 Characters and narrative – Level two ........................................................................ 79 5.5 Ludology of the player/character – Level one ........................................................... 82 5.6 Ludology of the player/character – Level two ........................................................... 84 5.7 Ludology of the game world – Level one .................................................................. 86 5.8 Ludology of the game world – Level two ................................................................. 87 5.9 Ludology of game activities – Level one .................................................................. 89 5.10 Ludology and game activities – Level two ............................................................ 91 5.11 Major findings from Bloodborne