In my recently released book, Godwired: Religion, Ritual, and Virtual Reality, I look at a number of related themes all dealing with the intersection of religious practice and digital media. One of the key themes in the book is how videogames work like religion in their invitation to interactively engage with predesigned myth; in their ability to cultivate social cohesion; in the difficult questions they raise about symbolic violence; and in their nurturing of desire for entry into an “otherworldly” space where new, and usually very structured, rules adhere.
