God of War Ragnaröks verdensskapelse: En analyse av et dataspills fremstilling av en norrøn gudeverden sammenlignet med religionshistorikeren Gro Steinslands fremstilling

Abstract

My research question reads as follows: On the basis of comparison between Santa Monica Studio’s video game God of War: Ragnarök (2022) and historian of religions Gro Steinsland’s book Norrøn Religion: Myter, Riter, Samfunn (2005), how do the representations of Norse divine realms in the two worldmakings coincide and differ, and what does this reveal about the game’s portrayal of the divine realm? My thesis is grounded in Nelson Goodman’s worldmaking theory and Clara Fernández-Vara’s game-analysis method. Through this theory and method I investigate this entertainment product’s portrayal of the Norse divine realms and compare it to the portrayals provided through an academic textbook. Through my findings I discuss what their coinciding and differing elements mean to the overall portrayal of the Norse divine realms, and as a sidenote ask the questions of whether or not, or in what ways, people can learn about the Norse divine realms through the video game God of War: Ragnarök.