Möte med religion i spelets värld : En representationsanalys av shinto och buddhism i Ghost of Tsushima

Sammanfattning: In this essay, the author examines religion and how it is represented in the video game Ghost of Tsushima. With the representation term and its meaning from Stuart Hall, the author aims to analyse religious aspects in the game’s environment and story, thus in the end picking out the representation that the games create of religion.      Using qualitative content analysis and semiotics, the author picks out temples, monks, amulets, and Kami as the main religious aspects that are found in-game. As it turns out the religious aspects in-game create the impression of Buddhist overturn in the Shinto religion. Many aspects stem from Buddhism, which correlate to the period and how Shinto assimilated Buddhist practises over time. The monks and temples are all of Buddhist origin, except for the official shrines to the Kami in-game. Overall, the Kami and Shinto, in general, are not present beyond being used for mechanics in the game while Buddhism is represented with more important aspects with major characters and meanings shown or talked about. The author does note that both religious traditions are presented more as merged, having become indistinguishable during the period in accordance with historical research. The essay concludes thus that religion is mostly represented in the characters like the warrior monk Norio and the monk Junshin who are followed more closely and represent religion through their actions and words.