Lars De Wildt
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View article: Hidden Monsters: Conspiracy Aesthetics in Video Games
Hidden Monsters: Conspiracy Aesthetics in Video Games Open
Concerns about conspiracy theories arise alongside attempts to debunk them, to pathologize their theorists, or to blame governments and media for spreading misinformation. Often overlooked is the fact that cultural industries thrive on the…
View article: Grieving <i>World of Warcraft</i>’s Chinese server shutdown
Grieving <i>World of Warcraft</i>’s Chinese server shutdown Open
Twenty years of game scholarship established that players form profound attachments to the virtual worlds and inhabitants of Massively Multiplayer Online [MMO-]games, that are near-indistinguishable from their attachment to offline relatio…
View article: Chapter 6 Encoding/Decoding Entertainment Media
Chapter 6 Encoding/Decoding Entertainment Media Open
Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model of cultural analysis was born as a critique of linear sender/message/receiver-models of communication, which Hall argued concentrate on message exchanges without questioning who sends and who receives …
View article: Popularisation/Outreach Lars de Wildt for analysis
Popularisation/Outreach Lars de Wildt for analysis Open
All public outreach and popularisation for later analysis
View article: Outreach/Popularisation Lars de Wildt
Outreach/Popularisation Lars de Wildt Open
collection of outreach/popularisation for independent analysis
View article: Breaking Barriers
Breaking Barriers Open
This chapter analyzes the emergence of Arab videogame cultures and industries. Videogames are a massively popular medium with skyrocketing economic relevance, becoming an increasingly important form of cultural production. The Middle East …
View article: Participatory conspiracy culture: Believing, doubting and playing with conspiracy theories on Reddit
Participatory conspiracy culture: Believing, doubting and playing with conspiracy theories on Reddit Open
The popularization and normalization of conspiracy theories over the last decade are accompanied by concerns over conspiracy theories as irrational beliefs, on the one hand; and their advocates as radical and extremist believers on the oth…
View article: 1. Introduction
1. Introduction Open
Religion is surprisingly common in videogames.That is odd: religion was supposed to disappear under modernity, but survives in media despite decreased church attendance.It is now far more likely for young people to encounter religion in vi…
View article: 5. Single-player Religion
5. Single-player Religion Open
This chapter builds on the previous chapter by conducting in-depth interviews with 20 players: Why do they individually play with religion?and How do they adopt worldviews (albeit temporarily) that are not usually theirs?Players, whether a…
View article: 3. Indie-pendent: The Art-house Gods of Indie Games
3. Indie-pendent: The Art-house Gods of Indie Games Open
This chapter argues on the basis of 35 interviews with independent developers (most centrally from the Melbourne indie scene) that despite the promise of their art-house independence; religious and irreligious "indies" alike cannot escape …
View article: 4. Public Religion on Videogame Forums
4. Public Religion on Videogame Forums Open
This chapter focuses on player communities.Based on an analysis of discussions on religion in games, among thousands of players on videogame fora, this chapter argues that players are prompted not just to play in isolation, but to collecti…
View article: 2. Making Religion at Ubisoft
2. Making Religion at Ubisoft Open
This chapter takes a look into the offices of Ubisoft Montréal, which is with 3500 staff members the biggest game studio currently in the world, and the main place of development for Assassin's Creed during most of the franchise's lifespan…
View article: 6. Pop Theology
6. Pop Theology Open
This chapter concludes that there is a disjunction between the production and consumption of religion in videogames.On the one hand, the production of games leads to a commodification and "sameness" of religion in videogames, hollowing out…
View article: The Pop Theology of Videogames
The Pop Theology of Videogames Open
Religion is surprisingly common in videogames.That is odd: religion was supposed to disappear under modernity, but survives in media despite decreased church attendance.It is now far more likely for young people to encounter religion in vi…
View article: Pop Theology
Pop Theology Open
This chapter concludes that there is a disjunction between the production and consumption of religion in videogames. On the one hand, the production of games leads to a commodification and “sameness” of religion in videogames, hollowing ou…
View article: Public Religion on Videogame Forums
Public Religion on Videogame Forums Open
This chapter focuses on player communities. Based on an analysis of discussions on religion in games, among thousands of players on videogame fora, this chapter argues that players are prompted not just to play in isolation, but to collect…
View article: Making Religion at Ubisoft
Making Religion at Ubisoft Open
This chapter takes a look into the offices of Ubisoft Montréal, which is with 3500 staff members the biggest game studio currently in the world, and the main place of development for Assassin’s Creed during most of the franchise’s lifespan…
View article: Indie-pendent: The Art-house Gods of Indie Games
Indie-pendent: The Art-house Gods of Indie Games Open
This chapter argues on the basis of 35 interviews with independent developers (most centrally from the Melbourne indie scene) that despite the promise of their art-house independence; religious and irreligious “indies” alike cannot escape …
View article: Introduction
Introduction Open
Religion is surprisingly common in videogames. That is odd: religion was supposed to disappear under modernity, but survives in media despite decreased church attendance. It is now far more likely for young people to encounter religion in …
View article: Single-player Religion
Single-player Religion Open
This chapter builds on the previous chapter by conducting in-depth interviews with 20 players: Why do they individually play with religion? and How do they adopt worldviews (albeit temporarily) that are not usually theirs? Players, whether…
View article: Poly-truth, or the limits of pluralism: Popular debates on conspiracy theories in a post-truth era
Poly-truth, or the limits of pluralism: Popular debates on conspiracy theories in a post-truth era Open
Conspiracy theories are central to “post-truth” discussions. Official knowledge, backed by science, politics, and media, is distrusted by various people resorting to alternative (conspiratorial) explanations. While elite commentators lamen…
View article: Marketable religion: How game company Ubisoft commodified religion for a global audience
Marketable religion: How game company Ubisoft commodified religion for a global audience Open
Videogame companies are selling religion to an overwhelmingly secular demographic. Ubisoft, the biggest company in the world’s biggest cultural industry, created a best-selling franchise about a conflict over Biblical artefacts between Mus…