Procedural religion: Methodological reflections on studying religion in video games

Transcription

1 649923NMS / new media & societyšisler research-article2016 Article Procedural religion: Methodological reflections on studying religion in video games new media & society 2017, Vol. 19(1) The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalspermissions.nav DOI: journals.sagepub.com/home/nms Vít Šisler Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic Abstract The article discusses the methodological aspects of studying religion in video games. It examines the concept of procedural religion, that is, the representations of religion via rule-systems in games, and investigates how we can formally analyze these representations. The article uses Petri Nets, a mathematical and a graphical tool for modeling, analyzing, and designing discrete event systems, in order to analyze how religion is represented in the rule-systems of two different mainstream video games Age of Empires II, developed in the United States, and Quraish, developed in Syria. By comparing the rule-systems of both games, the article provides empirical evidence on how game rule-systems migrate between cultures and influence local game production by providing local game developers with pre-defined formulas for expressing their ideas while simultaneously limiting the scope of such expression with schematized patterns. On a more general level, the article discusses what rule-system analysis can tell us about video games as cultural and religious artifacts. Keywords Analysis, methodology, Petri Net, procedural rhetoric, religion, rule-systems, video games Introduction In his manifesto, Zimmerman (2013) declared the 21st century a ludic century, that is, one that is going to be defined by games. As he argues, the 20th century was a century of Corresponding author: Vít Šisler, Institute of Information Studies and Librarianship, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, U Krize 8, Prague 5, Czech Republic. vit.sisler@ff.cuni.cz

2 Šisler 127 information, where the moving image was the dominant cultural form. According to Zimmerman, the rise of the moving image was tightly bound to the rise of information; film and video as media represent linear, non-interactive information that is accessed by the viewer. In the 21st century, information has been put at play and game-like experiences are replacing linear media. Media and culture in the ludic century are becoming increasingly systemic, modular, customizable and participatory. The ways that people spend their leisure time and consume art, design, and entertainment are increasingly through games or experiences very much like games (Zimmerman, 2013). People in the 21st century use digital media to recreate religious practices: they visit online shrines, take virtual pilgrimages, and incorporate social media into their spiritual routines (Campbell and Grieve, 2014: 2). This is in line with the countless examples throughout the history of the religious appropriation of the latest technologies for spreading their faiths, ranging from the printing press spreading the bible to the use of radio and television for televangelism (Campbell, 2010: 5). Religious new media users frequently act in line with the trajectory set forth by their community s negotiations with previous media (Campbell, 2010: 22). Video games pervade much of society, regardless of age or gender, and open new forms of representation. Game authors increasingly use mythologies and belief systems as their referents, making tangible connections to the outside world. Video games with explicitly religious content appear on the market. They come from diverse religious traditions and backgrounds, ranging from proselytization to education and cultural dialog (Campbell, 2010; Šisler, 2009). As a consequence, games can reflect, reject, or reconfigure religious ideas and are a source for the production of religious practices and ideas in modernity (Geraci, 2012). The study of religion and gaming has not received much attention in the study of religion and media. Few attempts have been made to overcome this gap. There is a small yet growing amount of literature dedicated to the topic of religion and gaming, like Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God edited by Detweiler (2010) and egods: Faith versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming by Bainbridge (2013). A volume, Playing with Religion in Digital Games, edited by Campbell and Grieve (2014) recently explored how digital games have become a key element in contemporary life: both in its sacred and profane expressions. Campbell and Grieve (2014: 2) argue that video games are an important space for exploring the intersection between religion and contemporary culture. Echoing Zimmerman s notion of the ludic century, Campbell and Grieve contend that just like films helped to illuminate and expose the religiosity of the 20th century, digital games now depict the religious world of the 21st century. Video games have properties that precede their content: games are models of experience rather than textual descriptions or visual depictions thereof (Bogost, 2011: 4). When we play games, we operate those models with our actions constrained by their rules. When analyzing how religion is represented in video games, we also have to investigate critically the ways in which religion is (or is not) embedded in the rule-systems of video games; in other words, how religion functions on the games procedural level. In this article, I examine the concept of procedural religion. By this, I mean the representation of religion via the rule-systems in video games. Furthermore, I discuss the

3 128 new media & society 19(1) key methodological issues stemming from studying procedural religion in video games. In particular, my aim is to investigate: 1. How is religion represented via a video game s rule-system? 2. How we can formally analyze these representations? 3. What research methods can we use for such analyses? 4. What can such analyses tell us about video games as cultural and religious artifacts? This article stems from my previous research on the representation of religion, particularly Islam, in video games (Šisler, 2009, 2012, 2013a, 2013b, 2014). Yet, the current text focuses specifically on questions about methods and on the broader implications of using rule-systems for constructing religious representations. Despite growing academic interest in religion and digital gaming, there is currently no established, formal method for analyzing game rule-systems. This article aims to fill this void and provides an example of such a method a Petri Net (PN) model analysis and investigates how it could be used for the study of procedural religion. Video games have a strong popular appeal and economic relevance. The modular, customizable, and participatory culture of the ludic century converges with the broader transformation of contemporary religiosity, which emphasizes the role of the individual and privatization of faith. As such, religion in gaming can have an impact on the collective imagination as well as communicate distinctive religious identities to global audiences. This article seeks not only to present a concrete method on how to study procedural religion, but also situate such research within a wider discourse of how digital media intersect with the religious world of 21st century. Analyzing video games Video games as cultural artifacts are being studied within the field of game studies, which places video games in their broader social context (Aarseth, 2001; Bogost, 2007; Ferna ndez-vara, 2014; Juul, 2003; Raessens and Goldstein, 2005). Within this field, a number of formal video game definitions have evolved commonly aiming to explain the ways the games work, how they differ from other types of entertainment, and help choose appropriate methods for analyzing them. There has been a particular debate on the narratological versus ludological approach: whether games should be understood as novel forms of narrative and can thus be studied using theories of narrative (Atkins, 2003; Murray, 1997), or whether games should be understood as a separate category and their study should involve analyses of the abstract and formal systems they describe (Aarseth, 2001; Eskelinen, 2001). Although there exists mutual agreement today that objects studied within the field of game studies could clearly have qualities of both games and stories, the focus of this article is on the rules of a game; not on the representational and narrative elements (which I have discussed elsewhere, see Šisler (2008, 2014)). For the sake of this article, I have adopted the formal Juul s (2003) definition of a game:

4 Šisler 129 A game is a rule-based formal system with a variable and quantifiable outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels attached to the outcome and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable. (p. 35) Juul s definition perceives games primarily as systems with quantifiable outcomes. At the same time, it is unconcerned with matters of audiovisual representation and digital computation being that it s a definition of a game and not of a video game. For the sake of this article, I consider a video game to be any game (as defined by Juul) meeting Manovich s (2001) underlying principles of new media, that is, numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability, and transcoding. Thus, in this case, video game is an umbrella term for a broad variety of digital artifacts, regardless of the platform on which they operate. For the sake of brevity, the following text focuses only on single-player games where the rule-system is set by a computer code and is not negotiated by the players. Similar to various game definitions, there exist different methodological approaches to video game analysis (Aarseth, 2003; Ferna ndez-vara, 2014; Lankoski and Björk, 2015; Malliet, 2007; Natkin and Vega, 2003). Many video games use religious symbols or construct symbolic social and religious universes. Therefore, most of the existing analyses of religion in video games focus on game-immanent religious narratives and largely applied methods of content analysis (Masso and Abrams, 2014). Attempts have been made to transcend media-centered logic and include actor-centered research as well; discussing the role and impact of games religious narratives on gamers (Radde- Antweiler et al., 2014). In this article, I analyze games as texts and deliberately separate the content of the game from its context. In other words, I perform close reading of the games; consciously excluding interpretations and meanings depending on the materials outside of the work under scrutiny. In my previous research, I have extensively analyzed designers motivations for creating religiously oriented video games (Šisler, 2008, 2012, 2013a) as well as the broader political, social, cultural, and religious framework in which these games authors operate (Šisler, 2013b, 2009). Procedural religion On the level of text, video games could include heterogeneous elements: narrative structure, audiovisual signifiers, and rule-system governing players interaction with the game. The rule-system is particularly important because it shapes and limits the choices and decisions players can make during the game as well as their possible outcomes. Bogost (2007) argues that games open a new domain of persuasion. He calls this new form procedural rhetoric: the art of persuasion through rule-based representations and interactions rather than spoken word, images, or moving pictures. In other words, procedural representation is a representation of real or imagined systems through rule-based models (Bogost, 2007: 5). Despite the critique of procedural rhetoric (Möring, 2013, see below), the concept has been adopted in the field of religion and game studies. Bogost himself introduces the

5 130 new media & society 19(1) term procedural religion to game studies and discusses the procedural rhetoric of religious video games. However, he does not define procedural religion and describes it rather vaguely as the representation of function of systems of ethics and belief through procedural rhetoric (Bogost, 2007: 292). Since then a number of researchers have discussed the representation of religion through rule-systems in video games (Newgren, 2010; Schut, 2014; Šisler, 2012, 2014; Wagner, 2015). Newgren (2010) analyzes the moral and ethical choices in the mainstream action game, Bioshock (2K Games, 2007), and compares them with the proselytizing in Christian video games. Schut (2014) discusses the properties of the video game medium and the bias of games towards what he calls mechanized religion. My own research (Šisler, 2012, 2014) analyzes the procedural representation of Islam in mainstream Arab and American video games. Finally, Wagner (2015) examines how procedural rhetoric shapes digital worship using the examples of Christian video games. Despite the importance of these studies, existing research provides rather anecdotal evidence on procedural religion. Moreover, the research methods are not explicitly and sufficiently described in any of these studies. In other words, although the authors discuss procedural religion, they have not crafted a method for testing their findings. This article aims to fill this void and provide an example of a formally defined method for the description and analysis of procedural religion. In doing so, it aims to open a debate on the broader implications of using rule-systems for constructing religious representations; a debate that could be supported by empirical and verifiable evidence. PN as a method for analyzing procedural religion Popper (2002) claims that theories cannot be proven to be true or, in other words, validated, but only falsified. A key requirement for this process is the ability to communicate the results of our research to other researchers; including the exact ways we reached our conclusions. Before analyzing how religion functions in a game procedural layer, we have to be able to describe that layer in a formalized system of representation. This must be a description that can be understood by researchers outside the fields of information or computer science, including scholars of religion and game studies in particular. This formal analysis of rule-systems can be seen as a fundamental, or underlying, method in that it provides an understanding of the game that can be used for further analysis in later steps (Lankoski and Björk, 2015). There are several modeling languages that could be appropriated for the description and analysis of video game rule-systems, for example, Deterministic Finite State Machine (DFSM) or PN. In this article, I argue that the PN model meets the requirements of a formalized system of representation as outlined above: 1. PN can be used to model complex game rule-systems (see Natkin and Vega, 2003). 2. PN s mathematically defined structure enables the modeled system to be formally analyzed (see Brom and Abonyi, 2006).

6 Šisler PN s graphical notation is relatively simple and easy to understand (see Araújo and Roque, 2009). 4. The PN rule-system model can be reconstructed, analyzed, and falsified by other researchers. In a nutshell, PN is both a mathematical and a graphical tool for modeling, analyzing, and designing discrete event systems (Zhou and Zurawski, 1995). Originally created by German mathematician, Carl Adam Petri, for the purpose of describing chemical processes, PN can be applied to many different areas; including the design and analysis of software applications and video games (Natkin and Vega, 2003). In the case of video game rule-system analysis, PN is a graphic representation of the actions players can take in the game and their possible outcomes. PN is essentially a graph consisting of places and transitions and the arcs that connect them. Input arcs connect places with transitions, while output arcs start at a transition and end at a place. Places may contain tokens: the current state of the modeled system is given by the number of tokens at each place. Transitions are active components; they model activities that can occur (the transition is fired), thus changing the system s state. Transitions are only allowed to fire when they are enabled, which means that all the preconditions for the activity must be fulfilled (i.e. there are enough tokens available at the input places). When the transition is fired, it removes tokens from its input places and adds some tokens at all its output places (for a detailed description, see Brom and Abonyi, 2006; Natkin and Vega, 2003: 83 84). In the examples provided in this article, I use a refined version of PN, where transitions (i.e. events that may occur) are signified by bars and places (i.e. conditions) are signified by circles. The input and output arcs, describing what places are pre- and/or post-conditions for which transitions, are signified by arrows (see Figure 1). Case studies The following two case studies use the games, Age of Empires II (Ensemble Studios, 1999) and Quraish (Afkar Media, 2007), as examples in order to illustrate the PN analysis of how religion functions in these two games rule-systems. For the sake of clarity, I do not analyze a game s rule-system as one large element but limit my analysis only on the segment of a game s rule-system that directly deals with religion. Age of Empires II Age of Empires II is a real-time, strategy game set in the Middle Ages. Players in the game gather resources, build towns, create armies, and engage in combat with computercontrolled enemies (or each other). The game has won multiple awards and has had a significant impact on future games in its genre. Importantly, the game features religion and incorporates it into its rule-system. The game contains five different campaigns; each of them retelling the story of a famous historical figure. I have chosen Joan of Arc s campaign for analysis, since it deals explicitly with the representation of Christianity. In the second level of Joan of Arc s

7 132 new media & society 19(1) Figure 1. Elements of PN model: (a) simple PN with two places and one transition; (b) the same PN after the transition has fired; (c) PN with a condition to start building a monastery, players need to have resources available; and (d) PN with a transition which can be repeated endlessly. campaign (The Maid of Orleans), the players main goals are (1) to escort Joan to Orléans, (2) to command the French army and drive away the British forces, and (3) to not allow the cathedral in Orléans to be destroyed in the course of battle. Although religion is present in the analyzed level from the very beginning in the narrative and audiovisual layers (i.e. the players goal is to protect the cathedral in Orléans that is visually depicted on the map), players can engage with religion in the rule-system layer only after building a monastery. We can describe the rule-system governing players actions in this level via a PN model (see Figure 2). The PN representation allows for parallel branching, that is, multiple actions can start and be running at the same time. Players have to (a) amass resources in order to (b) build a monastery and (c) train monks. The players can command monks to (d) convert enemy units, (e) heal friendly units, or (f) gather relics that generate gold when placed in a monastery. Furthermore, immediately after building the monastery, players can (g) research and develop various technologies that provide players monks and other units with additional bonuses and advantages (such as the sanctity technology, which increases the health of all monk units). Quraish Quraish is a real-time, strategy game created by a Syrian game company, Afkar Media, in The game deals with the origin and spread of Islam. During the particular missions, the players take part in many real, historical events and visit historical places like Mecca, Medina, or Jerusalem. By situating the player inside a simulated world, the authors aim to develop a deeper understanding of the broader geographical, social, and economic processes that determined the historical spread of Islam and to communicate Islamic moral and ethical values to the player (see Šisler, 2014).

8 Šisler 133 Figure 2. PN analysis of the rule-system governing how religion functions in the Age of Empires II game. The game s second campaign (Conquest of Syria) retells the story of Khālid ibn al-walīd, a companion of the prophet Muhammad and a commander of Muslim forces in their early conquests. In the seventh level of Khālid ibn al-walīd s campaign (The Conquest of Jerusalem), the players have only one main goal: (1) to destroy all units of the Byzantine army defending Jerusalem. Similar to Age of Empires II, religion is embedded into the procedural layer of the game through a specific building, the mosque, in Quraish (see Figure 3). Players have to (a) amass resources in order to (b) build a mosque and (c) train imams. The players can command imams to (d) convert enemy units, (e) heal friendly units, (f) boost faith, or (g) boost morale. Furthermore, after building the mosque, players can (h) research and develop technologies such as writing, conviction, or healing that provide additional bonuses (e.g. writing increases the imams reach and power).

9 134 new media & society 19(1) Figure 3. PN analysis of the rule-system governing how religion functions in the Quraish game. Interpreting the results of PN analysis The PN model can be used for a formal analysis of the ways in which religion is represented via a video game s rule-system. The fundamental question is what can such an analysis tell us about video games as cultural and religious artifacts? Moretti (2005: 53) describes processes through which we reduce the texts to a few elements, abstract them from the narrative flow, and construct new, artificial objects (like literary maps, graphs, and trees). Moretti argues that these artificial constructs are more than the sum of their parts and possess emerging qualities, which were not visible at the lower level. Similar to Moretti s maps, graphs, and trees, the reality of the game s text undergoes a process of deliberate reduction and abstraction in the PN model. Moretti, in a

10 Šisler 135 different context, calls this type of approach a distant reading; where distance is not an obstacle but rather a specific form of knowledge. There are fewer elements and hence a sharper sense of their overall interconnection (Moretti, 2005: 1). In the following paragraphs, I argue that the distant reading of game rule-systems through the PN model enables us to (1) reconstruct (and falsify) other research as well as investigate the processes of (2) schematizing religion in video games and (3) culturally appropriating video game patterns. The PN model simultaneously provides an effective method for (4) comparative analysis of different video game rule-systems. Reconstruction Performing a formal analysis of game rules can be done both from the perspective that games are artifacts and that they are activities. In most cases, the formal analysis blurs the distinction, because both the components of a system and how these components interact with each other need to be considered (Lankoski and Björk, 2015: 23). When analyzing board, card and dice games, rule books give transparent access to the underlying system. A formal analysis could be done simply by observing these components. This is generally not possible with video games: video game rules are typically not explicitly explained outside the text of the game they have to be reconstructed through the process of playing that is through close reading of the game. On the contrary, the PN model enables us to visualize the results of our close reading in a form that is accessible to other researchers. This allows other researchers to critically evaluate and falsify our research without the need to replay the games in question. Schematization When we analyze the ways in which religion is represented through the rule-systems in Age of Empires II and Quraish, we see in both games that religion is schematized as a system of advantages and bonuses. This process generally remains the same regardless of what religion the player civilization adheres to (in Age of Empires II the players can play as Saracens, Franks, Persians, Chinese, etc., whereas in Quraish they play as Pagan Bedouins, Muslim Arabs, Christian Byzantines, and Zoroastrian Persians). Procedurally speaking, all religions in Age of Empires II and Quraish are equal and have almost identical effects. The distinctions between individual religions manifest themselves only in the textual or audiovisual layer of the games, typically as names and graphical depictions of the religious buildings. In other words, religion in both games is essentially a database of effects, bonuses, and penalties in the procedural layer. It s about the relation between quantifiable processes, where everything is a question of the acquisition and allocation of resources and their proper management. The function of religion is to help players become more economically and militarily successful. Several authors have argued that this mode of representing religion is typical for video games (Bogost, 2007; Schut, 2014; Šisler, 2014). As Schut (2014: 255) suggests, game rules and computer programming s systematic nature bias the video game medium toward a mechanical, demystified representation of religion. The game functions like a

11 136 new media & society 19(1) machine: various parts are arranged like cogs and gears that impact one another based on input from the user. This game form s systematic nature is reinforced by the computer itself, since program code must be completely defined by rules, and its object cannot be ambiguous (Schut, 2014: 259). The discrepancy between religion and a game s rulesystem is further widened by the fact that religious rules are more organic and less mechanical than those of a video game. Religious guidelines and instructions are social, allow for reinterpretation, can be negotiated, and allow for mystery and acceptance of the unknown (Schut, 2014: 260). As a result, video games oftentimes adopt a reductionist vision of religion. They tend to forsake deeper integration of religion, its ethics, and its moral values into the game s rules. In other words, video games commonly miss a game play that would allow gamers to experience ethical dilemmas related to religion and draw their own conclusions (Newgren, 2010: 145). It has to be emphasized that video games are more than just rule-systems. The two elements that work against the mechanization of the players experience are the game s fictitious aspect and emergent play. As Schut (2014: 269) notes, even highly systematic representations of a religion may allow for a greater variety of play and meaning-making than might be immediately apparent. Remarkably, both Age of Empires II and Quraish feature narratives revolving around religion deliberately aiming to provide non-schematized and multifaceted representations of the latter. For example, the Saladin s campaign in Age of Empires II is narrated from the perspective of a Crusader knight, who has been taken prisoner by the Saracen army. This offers the player the opportunity to encounter Islam through the eyes of this knight. The game deliberately incorporates hints of Arab and Muslim cultural heritage and their contributions to world civilization (Šisler, 2014: 121). Taking a different tack, the first campaign of Quraish, First Encounter, presents the perspective of the pagan Bedouin chieftains, Hani and Abū Qatada, and revolves around these pagan Arabs first encounter with Islam. In one particular mission, the players have to decide whether to accept Islam and join the Muslim forces defending Medina or to maintain their pagan identity and continue on in the campaign as allies of the Muslims adversaries (Šisler, 2014: 123). This moral and ethical choice, providing the opportunity to change one s religious identity, is rather unusual in the realm of digital entertainment. Nevertheless, these religiously oriented narratives function mostly as antidotes; merely mitigating the medium s dominant tendencies. As the PN model demonstrates, in both games rule-systems religion remains represented in a mechanistic, reductionist way regardless of the more multifaceted narrative layer. Appropriation During an interview in Damascus in 2005, the CEO of Afkar Media and lead designer of Quraish, Radwan Kasmiya, told me that through their game they want to present the real history of Islam without sensations and myths (Šisler, 2012). The game s narrative is based on Muhammad Ibn Ishāq s Sīrat rasūl allāh (Life of Allah s Messenger, a biography of the Prophet Muhammad), and it communicates many concepts of pre-islamic Arab culture and early Islamic history to the player. Similarly, the

12 Šisler 137 game carefully reconstructs many elements of the early Islamic Bedouin tribal life in its audiovisual layer. Given the emphasis the authors of Quraish put on the realisticness and authenticity of their representation of Islam, it is important to examine critically how religion is represented through the game s rule-system. I have argued elsewhere that the authors of Quraish have been inspired by the Age of Empires II game (Šisler, 2014). When we compare the PN models of Quraish and Age of Empires II, it becomes clear that the representation of religion through both games rule-systems is almost identical. Although the authors of Quraish added a few distinctively new elements to the Age of Empires II blueprint (such as the concept of faith, which the Imam can boost in players other units and thereby increases these units health and strength), Quraish s rule-system does not transcend the Age of Empires II pattern. In other words, whereas Quraish is Islamic on a symbolic level (with Muslim heroes, narratives, and audiovisuals), on a structural level it remains Western (appropriating the rule-systems and game mechanics of its Western counterpart (Šisler, 2014)). This is particularly relevant when we consider that the authentic representation of Islam was central to the game design. What emerges from this particular game s production is a process of hybridization and cross-cultural exchange rather than authenticity (Šisler, 2013b). Furthermore, the very rule-system of both games analyzed, that is, games modeling religion as a socio-economic phenomenon that enhances players chances of winning if properly managed, bears culturally significant meaning. Comparison Many game designers in the Middle East have been directly inspired by a particular American or European game. They have appropriated these games patterns and refashioned them along Islamic principles (Šisler, 2012, 2013b, 2014). The appropriation of rule-systems is a common practice in the global video game industry. The highly competitive nature of the game market, together with high production costs, reinforces the iteration of proved and successful patterns. In order to trace these cultural appropriations, researchers typically replay the games in question. In many cases, such as with Arabic, Hindu, or Japanese games, language and cultural barriers hinder many researchers from directly replaying the games others have analyzed. This seriously limits their possible critical engagement with others research. The PN model analysis constitutes a methodological tool that provides us with means for describing and comparing the differences and similarities in different games rule-systems. It is also a tool for communicating the results of our analysis to other researchers, regardless of the language in which the game has been played. Discussion The contemporary video game culture is asymmetrically global in its nature. The gamers and game designers in the Middle East have almost instant access to complete US and European game production, while gamers and game designers in the West have only limited access and knowledge of the games originating in the Middle East (Šisler, 2013b).

13 138 new media & society 19(1) In a similar fashion, video game rule-systems migrate between cultures and significantly influence local production. The way different religions are represented in global video game production is fundamentally shaped by both local religious and cultural traditions, as well as the video game s rule-system used to convey such representation. The rule-system typically provides player with a limited number of possible actions and common game play consists of their iteration. For example, typical player actions for the real-time strategy genre include gathering resources, building, training, and commanding units. Typical player actions for first-person shooters are movement, shooting, and taking cover. As I have suggested in my research on the representation of Islam in mainstream Arab and American video games, the player actions and the rule-systems enabling them are almost identical in most of the games of a similar genre, regardless of these games various origins and their fundamentally different, even contradictory, rhetorical framing of Islam (Šisler, 2014). By the same token, the case studies outlined above demonstrate that the particularity of different religions is not expressed by these games rule-systems, but has to be asserted by other means, typically by textual and audiovisual signifiers. It is questionable if it is at all possible for the procedures of the game to convey a meaning themselves independently of its textual or semiotic elements. Möring (2013: 239) criticizes Bogost s (2007) concept of pure procedural rhetoric that should work without textual elements. According to Möring, this is, by definition, not possible in video games, given that games necessarily contain some form of textual or, more broadly, semiotic elements. Even games in which semiotic elements merely provide an informational layer addressing the game system instead of a thematic layer still feature semiotic elements. In other words, inferences on procedures in games are only possible through its semiotics. Regarding religion in video games, rule-systems per se do not convey representation of religion, but enable and shape its possible manifestations. Instead of utilizing the concept of procedural rhetoric, it is more useful to perceive video game rule-systems as conventional structures, which provide game developers formulas to express their ideas, while simultaneously limit these developers scope of expression with schematized, pre-defined patterns. Regarding our understanding of religion and digital gaming, it is of crucial importance to study not how video games rulesystems represent religion but more precisely how they shape, afford, and limit the possible representations of the latter. Conclusion This article has discussed the methodological aspects of studying religion in video games. It tried specifically to shed light on the ways in which religion is (or is not) embedded in games rule-systems, that is, how it functions in a game s procedural layer. Furthermore, the article has investigated what research methods we can use for the analysis of video game rule-systems and what such an analysis might tell us about video games as cultural and religious artifacts. In this regard, in this article I have proposed three key arguments: First, while several authors have discussed the implications of procedural religion, they have not crafted a method for testing their findings. Before analyzing how religion

14 Šisler 139 functions in a game s procedural layer, we have to be able to describe that layer in a formalized system of representation that can be understood by other researchers. The description must enable them to evaluate our research critically and possibly falsify it. Second, the PN model meets the requirements of a formalized system of representation as outlined above. It can be used to model complex game rule-systems, while its mathematically defined structure enables the modeled system to be formally analyzed. In other words, PN analysis allows for the methodological falsification of procedural logic. Third, video game rule-systems are conventional structures that provide game developers formulas to express their ideas, while simultaneously limiting these developers scope of expression with schematized patterns. The significance of the PN model is that it allows for the study of these patterns, which migrate between cultures and influence local game production. In other words, PN analysis is one possible method for the study, analysis, and comparison of video game rule-systems that could pave the way for evidence-based research on the intersections between video games and religion. I have presented two case studies on the PN model; analyzing the ways in which religion is represented through the rule-systems of one American (Age of Empires II) and one Arab game (Quraish). In their procedural layer, both games tend to offer schematized, mechanistic, and reductionist representations of religion. Although this schematization is challenged by the games narratives, it remains a fundamental aspect of these games rule-systems. Moreover, the game Quraish has appropriated the rule-system of Age of Empires II; resulting in an almost identical procedural representation of religion in both games. This is in accordance with the result of previous research (Šisler, 2014), which suggests that video games produced in the Middle East use Islamic imagery and narratives in their symbolic layer, yet appropriate the Western rule-systems in their procedural, structural layer. We are in a critical need to recognize the affordances and limitations of a persuasive and expressive power of procedural representations. Studying procedural religion not only illuminates new ways in which video games shape religious representations and practices in modernity, but situates such research within a wider discourse of how digital media intersect with the religious world of the 21st century. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Cyril Brom for feedback on the PN model, Espen Aarseth for pointing him out to the critique of procedural rhetoric and the anonymous reviewers for insightful feedback on the whole text. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/ or publication of this article: This research was supported by the Institutional Development Plan 2015 of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague.

15 140 new media & society 19(1) References Aarseth E (2001) Computer game studies, year one. Game Studies 1(1). Available at Aarseth E (2003) Playing research: methodological approaches to game analysis. In: Proceedings of the digital arts and culture conference. Available at: literature/02.gameapproaches2.pdf Araújo M and Roque L (2009) Modeling games with Petri Nets. In: Proceedings of the DiGRA: breaking new ground: innovation in games, play, practice and theory. Available at: homes.lmc.gatech.edu/~cpearce3/digra09/thursday%203%20september/192%20 Modeling%20Games%20with%20Petri%20Nets.pdf Atkins B (2003) More than a Game: The Computer Game as Fictional Form. New York: Manchester University Press. Bainbridge WS (2013) egods: Faith Versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming. New York: Oxford University Press. Bogost I (2007) Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Bogost I (2011) How to Do Things with Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota. Brom C and Abonyi A (2006) Petri-Nets for game plot. In: Proceedings of AISB Artificial Intelligence and Simulation Behaviour Convention, Bristol. Available at: ms.mff.cuni.cz/main/papers/ive-dramamanager-2006.pdf Campbell HA (2010) When Religion Meets New Media. New York: Routledge. Campbell HA and Grieve GP (2014) Playing with Religion in Digital Games. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Detweiler C (2010) Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. Eskelinen M (2001) The gaming situation. Game Studies 2(1). Available at: Ferna ndez-vara C (2014) Introduction to Game Analysis. New York: Routledge. Geraci RM (2012) Theological productions: the role of religion in video game design. In: Brackin AL and Guyot N (eds) Cultural Perspectives of Video Games: From Designer to Player. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press,pp Juul J (2003) The Game, the player, the world: looking for a heart of gameness. In: Copier M and Raessens J (eds) Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference Proceedings. Utrecht: Utrecht University, pp Lankoski P and Björk S (2015) Game Research Methods. Halifax, NS, Canada: ETC Press. Malliet S (2007) Adapting the principles of ludology to the method of video game content analysis. Game Studies 7(1): Available at: Manovich L (2001) The Language of New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Masso IC and Abrams N (2014) Locating the pixelated Jew: a multimodal method for exploring Judaism in The Shivah. In: Campbell HA and Grieve GP (eds) Playing with Religion in Digital Games. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, pp Moretti F (2005) Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for a Literary History. New York: Verso. Möring SM (2013) Games and Metaphor a critical analysis of the metaphor discourse in game studies. Unpublished doctoral Thesis, IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen. Murray JH (1997) Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. New York: Simon & Schuster. Natkin S and Vega L (2003) Petri Net modeling for the analysis of the ordering of actions in computer games. In: Proceedings of Game-ON, Plymouth, May, pp London: EUROSIS.

16 Šisler 141 Newgren K (2010) Bioshock to the system: smart choices in video games. In: Detweiler C (ed.) Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 145 pp. Popper KR (2002) The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Routledge. Radde-Antweiler K, Waltemathe M and Zeiler X (2014) Video gaming, Let s Plays, and religion: the relevance of researching Gamevironments. Available at: com Raessens J and Goldstein J (2005) Handbook of Video Game Studies. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Schut K (2014) They kill mystery: the mechanistic bias of video game representations of religion and spirituality. In: Campbell HA and Grieve GP (eds) Playing with Religion in Digital Games. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, pp Šisler V (2008) Digital Arabs: representation in video games. European Journal of Cultural Studies 11(2): Šisler V (2009) Video games, video clips, and Islam: new media and the communication of values. In: Pink J (ed.) Muslim Societies in the Age of Mass Consumption. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp Šisler V (2012) Playing Muslim hero: construction of identity in video games. In: Campbell HA (ed.) Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds. London: Routledge, pp Šisler V (2013a) Digital heroes: identity construction in Iranian video games. In: Sreberny A and Torfeh M (eds) Cultural Revolution in Iran: Contemporary Popular Culture in the Islamic Republic. New York: I.B. Tauris, pp Šisler V (2013b) Videogame development in the Middle East: Iran, the Arab world and beyond. In: Huntemann NB and Aslinger B (eds) Gaming Globally: Production, Play and Place. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp Šisler V (2014) From Kuma\War to Quraish: representation of Islam in Arab and American video games. In: Campbell HA and Grieve GP (eds) Playing with Religion in Digital Games. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, pp Wagner R (2015) Video- and Internet games. In: Lyden JC and Mazur EM (eds) The Routledge Companion to Religion and Popular Culture. New York: Routledge, pp Zimmerman E (2013) Manifesto for a ludic century. Kotaku. Available at: Zhou M and Zurawski R (1995) Introduction to Petri Nets in flexible and agile automation. In: Zhou M (ed.) Petri Nets in Flexible and Agile Automation. New York: Springer, pp Author biography Vít Šisler is an Assistant Professor of New Media Studies at the Institute of Information Studies and Librarianship at Charles University s Faculty of Arts in Prague. His research addresses critical approaches to the intersection of culture and digital media, namely the internet, social media, video games, the networked public sphere, and online communities.