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Kral Arthur Efsanelerinden DÇOÇRYO’lara: Sanal Ekolojilere Etik Yaklaşımlar

Year 2024, Volume: 30 Issue: 117, 167 - 178, 05.02.2024
https://doi.org/10.22559/folklor.2614

Abstract

Video oyunlarının geçtiği sanal mekânlar, çevre ve doğayı en ehlileştirilmiş
haliyle tasvir eder. Tamamen kod satırlarından oluşan bu eserler, yaratıcılarının
vizyonunu doğrudan yansıtır. Dolayısıyla, mutlak bir kontrol ve denetim altında
olan bu mekânların görsel gerçekçiliğinin gelişmesi, oyuncuların doğa algısını
da değiştirebilir. Oyuncunun sanal varlığını tehdit eden yaratıklarla dolu olan bu
mekânların nihaî amacı, oyuncunun bu tehditleri bertaraf etmesi ve bunun neticesinde
yüceltilmesidir. Ehlileştirilmiş doğa ve hiyerarşik ögelerle yaratılan sanal gerçeklik,
bu yönüyle, doğayı kaotik, ehlileştirilmemiş ve fantastik ögeler barındıran bir ortam
olarak tasvir eden Kral Arthur ve Yuvarlak Masa Şövalyeleri efsaneleri ile tam bir tezat
oluşturur. Şiir ve roman gibi edebî türlerle sınırlı kalmayıp dizi, film, video oyunu gibi
birçok uyarlaması yapılan bu efsanelerin temsil ettiği doğa ve çevre algısı, bugünün
doğa ve çevre algısından oldukça farklıdır. Zamansal olarak birbirlerinden asırlar
ile ayrılmış olsalar da Arthur efsaneleri ve çağdaş dijital mekânlar Ian Bogost’un
“birim işlemleri” (unit operations) konsepti bağlamında okunabilir. Bu bağlamda,
Kral Arthur efsanelerinin yapıtaşları olarak değerlendirebileceğimiz Stonehenge gibi
yapıtlar ile Merlin, Sir Gawain, Green Knight gibi karakterleri ve “oyuncuya karşı
çevre” gibi dijital oyun mekaniklerini aynı kuramsal çerçeveye yerleştirebiliriz. Bu
çalışmada ekoeleştiri ve nesne odaklı ontoloji kuramlarını kullanarak Kral Arthur
efsaneleri ve Devasa Çok Oyunculu Çevrimiçi Rol Yapma Oyunlarını karşılaştırmalı
olarak inceledim. Bu bağlamda, çalışmanın hedefi, insan merkezli yaklaşımı ve
kültürel evcilleştirmeyi reddeden Kral Arthur efsanelerine özgü doğa temsillerinin,
video oyunlarındaki sanal mekânlarda inşa edilen doğa etiği için nasıl bir emsal
teşkil edebileceğini göstermektir.

References

  • Activision Blizzard. (2004). World of Warcraft. Blizzard Entertainment. PC/Mac.
  • Borroff, M. (2011). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Gawain Poet Complete Works. W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Bogost, I. (2008). Unit operations: An approach to videogame criticism. MIT Press.
  • Cambrensis, G. (1978). The journey through wales and the description of wales. Penguin Books.
  • Geoffrey of Monmouth. (1966). The history of the kings of Britain. Penguin Books.
  • Heijmen, N. & Vervoort, J. (2023). It’s not always about you: The subject and ecological entanglement in video games. Games and Culture, 18(1), 1-18. https://doi org/10.1177/15554120231179261
  • Macauley, D. (2011). Elemental philosophy. Suny Press.
  • Morton, T. (2013). Realist magic: Objects, ontology, causality. London: Open Humanities Press.
  • Morton, T. (2010). Queer Ecology. PMLA 125(2), 273-282. https://doi.org/10.1632/pmla.2010.125.2.273
  • Rudd, G. (2007). Greenery: Ecocritical Readings of Late Medieval English Literature. Manchester University Press.
  • Simkins, D. W., & Steinkuehler, C. (2008). Critical ethical reasoning and role-play. Games and Culture, 3(3-4), 333-355. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412008317313
  • Smith, M. (2011). Against ecological sovereignty: Ethics, biopolitics, and saving the natural world. University of Minnesota Press.
  • Wace. (2003). Roman de Brut. Project Gutenberg.
  • Yates, J. (2002). Towards a theory of agentive drift; or, a particular fondness for oranges circa 1597. Parallax 8(1), 47-58.

From Arthurian Narratives to MMORPGs: Towards an Ethics of Virtual Ecologies

Year 2024, Volume: 30 Issue: 117, 167 - 178, 05.02.2024
https://doi.org/10.22559/folklor.2614

Abstract

Virtual spaces in video games depict environments and nature in their most refined
form. Comprising entirely of code lines, these works directly reflect the creators’
vision. Thus, the development of visual realism in these spaces, under absolute
control and supervision, can potentially alter players’ perceptions of nature.
The ultimate goal of these spaces, filled with creatures threatening the player’s
virtual existence, is for the player to overcome these threats and be elevated as
a result. Virtual reality, created with refined nature and hierarchical elements,
contrasts sharply with the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table, which portray nature as a chaotic, untamed environment with fantastical
elements. Represented not only in literary genres like poetry and novels but also
adapted into various forms such as series, films, and video games, the nature and
environmental perception conveyed by these legends differ significantly from
today’s understanding of nature and the environment. Despite being separated by
centuries, Arthurian legends and contemporary digital spaces can be read within
Ian Bogost’s concept of “unit operations.” Using eco-criticism and object-oriented
ontology theories in this study, I comparatively examined King Arthur legends
and Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. The aim of the study is to
demonstrate how the nature representations specific to the King Arthur legends,
rejecting a human-centered approach and cultural domestication, can serve as a
precedent for the construction of nature ethics in virtual spaces in video games.

Ethical Statement

Research and Publication Ethics Statement: This is a research article, containing original data, and it has not been previously published or submitted to any other outlet for publication. The author followed ethical principles and rules during the research process. In the study, informed consent was obtained from the volunteer participants and the privacy of the participants was protected. Araştırma ve yayın etiği beyanı: Bu makale tamamıyla özgün bir araştırma olarak planlanmış, yürütülmüş ve sonuçları ile raporlaştırıldıktan sonra ilgili dergiye gönderilmiştir. Araştırma herhangi bir sempozyum, kongre vb. sunulmamış ya da başka bir dergiye değerlendirilmek üzere gönderilmemiştir. Contribution rates of authors to the article: The first author in this article contributed to the 100% level of preparation of the study, data collection, and interpretation of the results and writing of the article. folklor/edebiyat yıl (year):2024, cilt (vol.): 30, sayı (no.): 117- Can Özgü ISSN 1300-7491 e-ISSN 2791-6057 https://www.folkloredebiyat.org 178 Yazarların makaleye katkı oranları: Bu makaledeki birinci yazar % 100 düzeyinde çalışmanın hazırlanması, veri toplanması, sonuçların yorumlanması ve makalenin yazılması aşamalarına katkı sağlamıştır. Ethics committee approval: The present study does not require any ethics committee approval. Etik komite onayı: Çalışmada etik kurul iznine gerek yoktur. Financial support: The study received no financial support from any institution or project. Finansal destek: Çalışmada finansal destek alınmamıştır. Conflict of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest. Çıkar çatışması: Çalışmada potansiyel çıkar çatışması bulunmamaktadır.

References

  • Activision Blizzard. (2004). World of Warcraft. Blizzard Entertainment. PC/Mac.
  • Borroff, M. (2011). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Gawain Poet Complete Works. W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Bogost, I. (2008). Unit operations: An approach to videogame criticism. MIT Press.
  • Cambrensis, G. (1978). The journey through wales and the description of wales. Penguin Books.
  • Geoffrey of Monmouth. (1966). The history of the kings of Britain. Penguin Books.
  • Heijmen, N. & Vervoort, J. (2023). It’s not always about you: The subject and ecological entanglement in video games. Games and Culture, 18(1), 1-18. https://doi org/10.1177/15554120231179261
  • Macauley, D. (2011). Elemental philosophy. Suny Press.
  • Morton, T. (2013). Realist magic: Objects, ontology, causality. London: Open Humanities Press.
  • Morton, T. (2010). Queer Ecology. PMLA 125(2), 273-282. https://doi.org/10.1632/pmla.2010.125.2.273
  • Rudd, G. (2007). Greenery: Ecocritical Readings of Late Medieval English Literature. Manchester University Press.
  • Simkins, D. W., & Steinkuehler, C. (2008). Critical ethical reasoning and role-play. Games and Culture, 3(3-4), 333-355. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412008317313
  • Smith, M. (2011). Against ecological sovereignty: Ethics, biopolitics, and saving the natural world. University of Minnesota Press.
  • Wace. (2003). Roman de Brut. Project Gutenberg.
  • Yates, J. (2002). Towards a theory of agentive drift; or, a particular fondness for oranges circa 1597. Parallax 8(1), 47-58.
There are 14 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Turkish Folklore (Other)
Journal Section Article
Authors

Can Özgü 0000-0003-3906-5947

Publication Date February 5, 2024
Published in Issue Year 2024 Volume: 30 Issue: 117

Cite

APA Özgü, C. (2024). From Arthurian Narratives to MMORPGs: Towards an Ethics of Virtual Ecologies. Folklor/Edebiyat, 30(117), 167-178. https://doi.org/10.22559/folklor.2614

Journal website: https://folkloredebiyat.org
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The journal is indexed by TR-Dizin, Web of Science (ESCI), DOAJ, and many other indexes and datebases.
Within the scope of TR DIZIN 2020 Ethical Criteria and as of the year 2020, studies requiring ethics committee approval must indicate Ethics Committee Approval details (committe-date-issue) in the article’s methods section. With this in mind, we request from our author candidates to edit their article accordingly before sending it to the journal.

Field EdItors

Folklore:
Prof.Dr. Hande Birkalan-Gedik
(Frankfurt University- birkalan-gedik@em.uni.frankfurt.de)
Prof. Dr. Arzu Öztürkmen
(Bosphorus University- ozturkme@boun.edu.tr)
Edebiyat-Literature
Prof. Dr. G. Gonca Gökalp Alpaslan (Hacettepe University - ggonca@
hacettepe.edu.tr)
Prof. Dr. Ramazan Korkmaz
(President, Caucasus University Association- r_korkmaz@hotmail.com)
Antropoloji-Anthropology
Prof. Dr. Akile Gürsoy
(Beykent University - gursoyakile@gmail.com)
Prof.Dr. Serpil Aygün Cengiz
(Ankara University - serpilayguncengiz@gmail.com)
Dil-Dilbilim/Linguistics
Prof.Dr. Aysu Erden
(Maltepe University - aysuerden777@gmail.com)
Prof. Dr. V. Doğan Günay
(Dokuz Eylul University- dogan.gunay@deu.edu.tr)