Similarity of Social Information Processes in Games and Rituals

J. Tuomas Harviainen and Andreas Lieberoth

Simulation & Gaming, 2012, vol. 43, issue 4, 528-549

Abstract: During the last 5 years, the similarity between role-playing games and rituals has been mentioned in numerous articles and online discussions. This article examines that connection by using data gathered over several decades in library and information science, studies of religion, and the cognitive sciences. The authors place particular emphasis on the similarity between social information phenomena present in both ritual and pretence, and the way those affect cognition—the seemingly “magical†interface that makes shared experiences possible. The authors show the implications of that pattern to the design of games and discuss its uses and limitations in games and experiences created for educational purposes.

Keywords: cognition; information behavior; information environments; social interface; role-play; pervasive games; learning games; rituals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:simgam:v:43:y:2012:i:4:p:528-549

DOI: 10.1177/1046878110392703

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