The Virtual Rebirth of Paganism

Abstract

This article begins by examining how two very popular massively multiplayer onlinegames, Dark Age of Camelot (Mythic Entertainment, US 2001) and Age of Conan(Funcom, NO 2008), manage complex social and cultural structures. Both combinereal history with legends, the first including the Norse pantheon of gods and thesecond emphasizing the Egyptian serpent deity, Set. They offer different degrees offantasy and conflict between three primary factions of players, each represented as aculture or coalition of cultures. Against that background, a series of diverse examplessuggest ways in which computer games and virtual worlds are exploring the modernmeanings of ancient religions that were replaced by monotheism. The concludingsection examines in closer detail the connections between religion and aspects ofeveryday life of virtual ancient Egyptians in A Tale in the Desert (eGenesis / DesertNomad, UK 2003). Postmodern gaming culture endorses tribalism, enjoys imaginingthe collapse of civilization, and seeks escape from traditional faith, possibly even fromany coherent philosophy of ethics. However, this creativity is a form of idealism ratherthan criminality, imagining the rebirth of creative legends and total religious freedom,often through the metaphor of repaganization