21st Century Soul Guides: Leveraging Myth and Ritual for Game Design


Rusch Doris C.
2018 DiGRA Nordic '18: Proceedings of 2018 International DiGRA Nordic Conference

This paper takes its departure from the observation that myth and ritual once served the important psychological function of helping us come to grips with the Givens of Existence: death, isolation, freedom of choice, and meaninglessness. It explains the transformational and meaning-generating power of myth from an existential, archetypal and depth psychology perspective and proposes games as potent vehicles for myth in the 21st century. It provides suggestions on how game designers can become modern Soul Guides by accessing their unconscious to birth viable symbols and create emotionally resonating experiences for others, and how they can glean inspiration from different types of rituals to inform mythic gameplay experiences that can contribute to a meaningful life.

 

4x Gamer as Myth: Understanding through Player Mythologies


Harrington Johnathan
2016 DiGRA/FDG '16 - Proceedings of the First International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG

In this paper, we shall argue that games, being textual systems, can be understood semiotically - signs, or units, are being constantly renegotiated within the game due to their ergodicity. However, the mythologies outside of them remain, leading to a potential discrepancy between what is and what is understood. An understanding of player mythologies can, on one hand, help us formulate a better systemic classification of these interactions, while on the other hand, help us escape the restrictions the mythologies they belong in pose.