| This dissertation seeks to pursue theological dialogue with video games much in the same way that theologians have already dialogued with other narrative media such as literature and film. I argue that theologians should dialogue with video games via a "theoludological" framework that adequately addresses both theological concerns and the nature of games themselves.;Chapter 1 presents the thesis, looks at existing theological interaction with popular culture in general, and notes the lack of theological interaction with video games.;Chapter 2 presents an orientation to video games, their origins, and their development in order to gain an understanding of the medium as a popular art form.;Chapter 3 examines video games as a predominately narrative medium, determines that video games are cultural texts that are "read" by being played, and insists they must be played in order for their narrative meaning to be conveyed.;Chapter 4 discusses the already existing dialogue between theology and other narrative media. After seeing God's use of narrative in special revelation as the basis for theological dialogue with narrative media, examples of existing theological dialogue with literature and film are provided, and then similarities between literature, film, and video games are examined.;Chapter 5 is the heart of the dissertation. It issues the call for theological dialogue with video games and finds that the frameworks used to dialogue with other narrative media are insufficient for dialogue with video games primarily because video games are participatory in ways other narrative media are not. Instead, a framework taking a different approach is needed. A theoludological framework for dialogue with video games is proposed, a framework that adequately accounts for both theological concerns and ludological analogues. Such a framework respects the nature of video games rather than attempting to view them in the same way as other narrative media.;Chapter 6 puts the framework into practice. A theological analysis of the video game Journey is conducted via the proposed framework.;Chapter 7 concludes the dissertation by summarizing key areas, discussing potential implications, and offering further areas for study. |
