Prophecy, pre-destination, and free-form gameplay: the Nerevarine prophecy in Bethesda’s ‘Morrowind’
‘Morrowind’, Bethesda’s 2002 game, marries an explicit attachment to the type of free-form, gaming experience that allows for intensely personal character creation and role-play, with a rich and complex main storyline based on the theological concept of prophecy - the story of the reincarnation of t...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| WorldCat: | WorldCat |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Heidelberg University Publishing
2015
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| In: |
Online - Heidelberg journal of religions on the internet
Year: 2015, Volume: 7, Pages: 161-184 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Morrowind
/ Hero
/ Prophecy
/ Live action role playing
|
| Further subjects: | B
pre-destination
B Narrative B user-created texts B free-form gaming B Morrowind B Prophecy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | ‘Morrowind’, Bethesda’s 2002 game, marries an explicit attachment to the type of free-form, gaming experience that allows for intensely personal character creation and role-play, with a rich and complex main storyline based on the theological concept of prophecy - the story of the reincarnation of the legendary hero, Indoril Nerevar. The interaction between these two aspects of the game puts Morrowind in a particular position at the point of interaction between theology and computer game design. By seeking to balance the competing demands of an explicitly prophetic main story with a free-form user experience, Morrowind produces an effective synthesis of both narrative gaming and theological prophecy in a new light which changes the common paradigm of both. This paper aims to trace and highlight the way in which this tension has been resolved within the game, relying on a voluntary understanding of prophecy and a distinct approach to narrative urgency. |
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| ISSN: | 1861-5813 |
| Contains: | In: Online - Heidelberg journal of religions on the internet
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.11588/rel.2015.0.18512 URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-rel-185126 |