ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author argues that the player of certain games has a ‘Christophoric’ quality. While a multitude of games feature a variation of the narrative of the self-sacrificial hero, as an adaption of Joseph Campbell’s ‘monomyth’ hypothesis, that is, to freely sacrifice one’s life in order to secure a new chance for the fallen world, otherwise lost (like Fallout 3 and Singularity), some games follow a more direct Christological and Christocentric narrative (like Metro Last Light and Child of Light). The author claims that by playing these specific kinds of games, the gamer merges his play into the broader salvation economy of the Christian tradition, imitating, mimicking and (re)presenting Christ himself within the specific game-world.
