Triggered to Thinking

In a previous post, I examined learning and symbols in video games and gaming communities. This can be a fascinating aspect of culture to examine, and I would like to explore a few different angles of this topic in this post.

The anthropologist Helen Thornham, in her book Ethnographies of the Videogame, argued that, “Games are not played or experienced in a vacuum, but are contingent upon other relations, and other gaming experiences, which frame and produce the practice and meaning of gaming” (Thornham, 2011, p. 8). Games can often gain meaning as they relate to and expand within different gaming communities and symbols.

Simon Baldetti analyzed the significance of gaming communities and competitions surrounding the strategy game StarCraft. He provides the following example:

“South Korea, Gwangalli Beach, 2005. An event attended by over one hundred thousand people. Two young men sit across from each other, each in front of their own keyboard and monitor. They are professional StarCraft players—a real-time strategy game made by Blizzard. The crowd erupts in coordinated chants, waves banners, wears jerseys bearing their favorite player’s name. The commentators call out every move with the solemnity of a rite. If you didn’t know what you were watching, you could almost mistake it for a religious ceremony.”

Could an event like this be understood in a way similar to a religious ceremony?Personally, I have played in and won a competition based on the strategy game Warcraft III, and the competition can be fierce. StarCraft and Warcraft players may use specific terms when discussing strategy, teamwork, and tactics that could be unintelligible to those who are unfamiliar with the game. This specialized language, accessible primarily to those familiar with the tradition of the game, relates to one aspect of religious experience. Rebecca Alpert notes that religious communities often develop their own language and terminology that distinguishes insiders from outsiders (Alpert, 2015, p. 2).

The game StarCraft includes three playable races: the human-like Terrans, the Zerg, which are modeled after an alien swarm, and the Protoss, an ancient alien race powered by psionic abilities. The Protoss have powerful units called Templars, and the StarCraft lore includes examples of priests known as the “Dark Templars.” These Dark Templars are considered heretics and were exiled. The lore of the game can function in a way similar to religion within the world of the game and the actions of its characters. Baldetti (2026) concludes:

“You don’t need to believe that StarCraft is a religion to recognize that, for millions of people, it functions in a religious way: it gives shape to communities, ritualizes time, outlines horizons of meaning, demands total dedication, and offers moments of transcendence—even if that transcendence manifests itself at 600 actions per minute on a mechanical keyboard.” 

Shanny Luft, a professor of religion at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, has engaged in a community analysis of Christian gamers. He argues that religion is a focal point for how evangelical Christian gamers experience the video game world due to three factors: self-identification, the choices they make during gaming, and how they view the content of their games (Luft, 2014, p. 155). His research focuses primarily on the evangelical Christian movement within Protestant Christianity and examined four websites.

Luft’s analysis determined that Christian gamers can be a subculture within the broader field of video game players. Within this community, there was an emphasis on bringing religious values into the gaming experience (Luft, 2014, p. 160). Luft’s questionnaire analysis revealed that there was a perceived difference between the Christian gaming community and non-Christian gamers. Only 16 out of 74 participants believed there was not a difference between Christian and non-Christian gamers. The biggest difference was the way Christian gamers focused on respectful online conduct when playing games such as Call of Duty or Halo (Luft, 2014, p. 160).

One participant wrote:

“In Call of Duty, Battlefield you are interacting with real people. Now, this is the part that matters. How you interact with them. Yes, you are trying to kill them in the game, or work together to accomplish the quest, but in either case, how do you treat them? Do you curse them out when they kill you, or tell them how that was a good shot? This would fall under the ‘loving other people’ that I mentioned before” (Luft, 2014, p. 161).

In my previous post, I examined Bonnie Nardi’s anthropological account of playing World of Warcraft. I discussed the sense of empowerment that comes from players of this game, but now I would like to discuss how Huizinga’s theory of the magic circle relates to the community of World of Warcraft players.The magic circle is represented by the meaningfulness of play among those engaged in the game (Nardi, 2010). Huizinga (1955) postulated that a magic circle comprises a feeling of being “apart together” and the creation of a new social order in which non-players are not participants. Nardi notes, “Instances in which players entered zones inhabited only by a formal group (a party, raid, arena team, or battleground team) were distinctive enclosures productive of powerful play experience” (Nardi, 2010, p. 119).

I saw the concept of the magic circle when I was involved with Warcraft III groups. Non-players couldn’t understand the game, but it felt meaningful to me as I collaborated with other guild members and won matches. I was in a “magic circle” while playing Warcraft III.

In a similar fashion, Dmitri Williams and his team of researchers studied World of Warcraft players who belonged to guilds, or in-game communities, in World of Warcraft. They found that about one-third of players used the game to strengthen ties with offline friends. His team also found that a small percentage of players, around 5 percent, created new friendships in the game that extended into their lives outside of the game (Mäyrä, 2015, p. 172).

This connection between the game and finding offline meaning and interests is related to Stef Aupers, Julian Schaap, and Lars de Wildt’s qualitative research, which found that some participants in their study examined how World of Warcraft influenced them. They concluded, “In this variety, respondents argue explicitly that their encounter with religion, spirituality, magic, and mysticism online has contributed to a veritable spiritual quest in offline life” (Aupers et al., 2018, p. 162).

Daniel White Hodge also engaged in qualitative interviews of gamers. His study involved an analysis of 38 gamers between the ages of nine and 38. Hodge noted, “They consider video games a highly communal, story-driven medium that can actually create spiritual spaces within participants’ lives. While games can offer a simplistic perception of life as solvable or winnable, the virtual worlds created by game designers have also created a generation comfortable with mystery, eschatology, and the numinous” (Hodge, 2010, p. 164).

Story was seen to be an important factor for the gamers interviewed in the study. Many recurring narratives in gameplay can relate to theology, such as narratives of quest, companionship, apocalypticism, heroism, victory, and post-apocalyptic worlds (Hodge, 2010, p. 164). Apocalyptic-themed video games can be popular due to the ability for players to construct their own narratives and be free from predetermined scenarios (Yoon, 2024, p. 418).

Hodge also examined how some players found spiritual and theological meaning in games like Halo 3. In these games, players can play as the hero and save the world from disaster (Hodge, 2010, p. 165). For some participants in Hodge’s survey, video games were seen as a form of outlet to deal with problems outside of the game.

One respondent named Anthony stated:

“Well, I love playing the FIFA soccer series, which is similar to the Madden series for the NFL. The experiences you have in FIFA are extremely competitive and you can experience dramatic feelings caused by winning and losing in the comfort of your own living room. Primarily, gaming is a way for me to relax and be actively involved in a sport that I really enjoy without having to go outside and get a game started with people who are really busy or when there is no soccer on television” (Hodge, 2010, p. 170).

It is also important not to cast judgment about video game players, as we cannot assume players think that shooting people on the street would be acceptable. Hodge’s research concluded that “For them, an almost religious ritual experience also occurred every time they played certain games, especially games that challenged them and made them think” (Hodge, 2010, p. 172).

This experience is similar to religion or attending a church service to avoid the issues of the world. According to Hodge, “New paths in theological thought must be forged in order to continue building connections between digital worlds and God’s kingdom. Video games play an essential role in that journey” (Hodge, 2010, p. 175).

Apart from spiritual and communal aspects, gaming has provided therapeutic benefits for some video game players. Anthony Bean has analyzed the therapeutic usage of video games, and he has provided examples of how video games can foster various facets of emotional and intellectual development. Video games have also been linked to improved reading abilities and the ability for individuals with social deficiencies to improve their social skills (Bean, 2020, p. 83).

Minecraft is one example of a game that can be useful for promoting social engagement and problem-solving skills. Bean also examines the significance of employing the archetype of playing the hero, as it allows the player to become a part of the story. Players do this by playing as the avatar of the game.

Bean notes:

“As players empathize, project, and participate in the avatar’s journey, they link their own personal self and history to the character, inherently imprinting upon the character being played. Through the linking of their own personal self and history, the player experiences the same transformation as their character via the storyline, becoming consciously and unconsciously healed through the gameplay” (Bean, 2020, p. 90).

I believe that video games can help people identify with different characters and their different quests in the game. This could thus be used as a meaningful way for self-expression or gaining meaning from the actions of the story.

Video games and gaming communities can have stories and experiences that could be seen as similar to the sacred. Events, stories, and characters within the Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy universes invite speculation, debate, and reverence. Gaming communities can thus create and discuss symbolic meanings within games, and games can have deep meaning. The significance of gaming communities and symbols should continue to be explored by researchers.

References

Alpert, R. (2015). Religion and sports: An introduction and case studies. Columbia University Press.

Aupers, S., Schaap, J., & de Wildt, L. (2018). Qualitative in-depth interviews: Studying religious meaning-making in MMOs. In V. Šisler, K. Radde-Antweiler, & X. Zeiler (Eds.), Methods for studying video games and religion (pp. 153–168). Routledge.

Baldetti, S. (2026, March 12). Stadiums, monks, and aliens: The religion of StarCraft. Gaming and Religion. https://gamingandreligion.substack.com/p/stadiums-monks-and-aliens-the-religion

Bean, A. M. (2020). Working with video gamers and games in therapy: A clinician’s guide. Routledge.

Hodge, D. W. (2010). The soul of the game: Christianity and video games as religion, story, and soul. Paternoster.

Huizinga, J. (1955). Homo ludens: A study of the play-element in culture. Beacon Press. (Original work published 1938)

Luft, S. (2014). Hardcore Christian gamers: How religion shapes evangelical play. In H. Campbell & G. Grieve (Eds.), Playing with religion in digital games (pp. 154–169). Indiana University Press.

Mäyrä, F. (2015). Games and culture. SAGE.

Nardi, B. (2010). My life as a night elf priest: An anthropological account of World of Warcraft. University of Michigan Press.

Thornham, H. (2011). Ethnographies of the videogame: Gender, narrative and praxis. Ashgate.

Yoon, S. (2024). Medieval fantasy in video games and apocalypse in digital culture. In L. DiTommaso, J. Crossley, A. Lockhart, & R. Wagner (Eds.), End-Game: Apocalyptic Video Games, Contemporary Society, and Digital Media Culture (pp. 415–430). De Gruyter.