Moral Conversion and Video Games

The Case of 'Spec Ops. the Line'
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-041-01120-0
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 126 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 295 g

Reihe: Routledge Critical Studies in Video Games and Culture

Moral Conversion and Video Games is an in-depth exploration of Spec Ops: The Line, a critically acclaimed video game that subverts its genre by confronting players with the psychological and moral consequences of war.

Disguised as a standard third-person shooter, the game gradually reveals a dark, self-critical narrative in which the player’s choices, though seemingly free, lead to horrifying outcomes, most notably a white phosphorus attack on civilians. Praised for its story, aesthetic, and philosophical depth, the game has been interpreted as a critique of glorified violence, American exceptionalism, and the illusion of meaningful choice in video games. Its use of cognitive and ludo-narrative dissonance forces players to reflect on their own complicity in virtual violence. The game’s mirrored reference to Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, recast as a burned mother and child, deepens its ethical and even theological resonance.

This insightful and in-depth study will interest researchers and students of video game studies, moral philosophy, and cultural theology.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bosman, Frank G

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Sport | Tourismus | Freizeit Hobbies & Spiele
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Digital Lifestyle Computerspiele, Internetspiele
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsethik, Weltethos
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Mediensoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

Part 1. Preliminaries

1. Video games: what they are

2. Moral conversion: being serious about games

3. Ethical gameplay: how morality and games interact

4. Anti-war video games: a paradox

Part 2. Analysis

5. The story of Spec Ops: The Line

6. Breaking the player: complex modes of communication

7. Berating the player: the game’s self-criticism

8. The burning Madonna: theological ramifications

Conclusion

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Frank G. Bosman is Assistant Professor at Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and Research Fellow at the University of Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Bosman is an international expert on video games, religion, and theology. In 2019, he published Gaming and the Divine: A New Systematic Theology of Video Games with Routledge.