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Cited by 0Digital Games and MediaCultural and Mythological StudiesSemiotics and Representation Studies

Hermeneutics of Shamanic Videogames: the Example of “Kisima Inŋitchuŋa”

Open access
Malenko, Maro Y.·2025·Galactica Media Journal of Media Studies
DOI 10.46539/gmd.v7i2.650
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Abstract

The article focuses on “ethnological video games”, defined as video games which are developed on the basis of ethnographic and folkloric material. The particular focus is on the kind of ethnological games which contain representation or simulation of shamanistic practices. Among them are Mooseman based on Komi-Permyak and Finno-Ugric mythology, Never Alone based on Iñupiaq folklore, and the rhythm game Nishan Shaman based on a Manchu folktale. The starting point of discussion is: in what cases these kinds of videogames are able to draw players into shamanic or animistic practices, as well as into corresponding ontologies? In order to address this, the article offers a structural-semiotic and ludohermeneutic analysis for one of the above-mentioned games, Never Alone, or Kisima Inŋitchuŋa in Iñupiaq. Using Donna Haraway's concept of “world games”, the article proposes a number of modes of compatibility between video game ontologies and ethnographically identified shamanic ontologies. Correspondence between mythological and video game realities is considered, on the level of performative engagement in the semiotics of a myth or a video game. In its exaggerated form, the question of the article is: how does a playthrough of a “shamanic video game” could be similar to an actual shamanic ritual?

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The article proposes a structural-semiotic and ludohermeneutic reading of the ethnological platformer *Never Alone* / *Kisima Inŋitchuŋa*, arguing that its gameplay can be interpreted as a digital variation of Inuit shamanic practice. It offers a "small-scale model" of shamanism as a non-exhaustive ontological frame for interpreting so-called shamanic videogames.

Key findings

  • The game's player-avatar complex — Nuna, the Fox, and the player — can be understood as a "shamanizing person" (шаманствующее лицо), a category the author borrows from Elena Nam to describe figures who carry shamanic properties without being shamans in the strict sense.
  • The Fox's white glow and the floating white particles marking spirits are read as enacting *qaumaniq* (spiritual luminescence), which Inuit elders describe as visible to shamans through their *tuurngait* spirit helpers (Aupilaarjuk et al., 2001, pp. 27, 33, 208; Merkur, 1985, pp. 172, 215).
  • Nuna's quest to end the endless blizzard parallels the typical aim of Inuit *angakkuuniq* — shamanic soul-journeys undertaken to diagnose bad weather and negotiate with spirits (Merkur, 1985, p. 7; Aupilaarjuk et al., 2001, p. 91).
  • The author argues the game's *Silla* functions as an actual ontological entity, not a metaphor, following Deborah Madsen's claim that the game "enacts" interconnectedness among plants, humans, animal-others, ancestors, and spirits (Madsen, 2017).

Methods

  • Structural-semiotic analysis (after Nam, 2017) combined with ludohermeneutics (Aarseth & Möring, 2020; Karhulahti, 2015), applied to a single game, *Never Alone* / *Kisima Inŋitchuŋa*.
  • Source base: ethnographic literature on Inuit shamanism (Merkur, 1985; Aupilaarjuk et al., 2001) and Siberian shamanism (Nam, 2017; Novik, 2019), supplemented by developer statements, reviews, and paratexts such as the *Cultural Insights* videos.
  • The author frames the approach as "contra-analysis" (de Castro), using Indigenous metaphysics as the interpretive frame rather than the object of critique.

Limitations

  • The paper states it does not exhaust the problem and does not attempt to track all possible relations among the semiotic systems involved; it aims only at a "small-scale model" for comparative analysis, with further work planned on *The Mooseman* and *Nishan Shaman*.
  • The author acknowledges that the proposed model does not resolve ludohermeneutic "depletion" (Karhulahti, 2015) — players can complete the game without any animistic interpretation — unless the model is adopted by interpretive communities; it therefore describes only a "configurative potential."
  • The author notes the category of "shamanism" is itself contested as a Western and/or specifically Mongolian construct projected onto Indigenous communities (Bumochir, 2014), and treats any "shamanic" labeling as problematic.
  • Evident from the text: the analysis rests on a single game and on textual/ethnographic sources rather than empirical data on actual players' interpretations.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.46539/gmd.v7i2.650

Cites

0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

2 of 49 cited sources checked · 2 supported · 0 flagged

  • Interpretationcitation

    The proposed ontological model, which allows Never Alone to be interpreted as a 'shamanism simulator', does not solve the problem of the ludogermeneutic exhaustion of the animistic contents of this game until the model is adopted by certain 'interpretive communities' among players or researchers.

    “Однако предлагаемая мной онтологическая модель, позволяющая трактовать Never Alone как «симулятор шаманства», не решает проблему людогерменевтического исчерпания анимистических содержаний этой игры, пока эта модель не взята на вооружение теми или иными «интерпретативными сообществами» (Aarseth & Möring, 2020) в среде игроков или исследователей.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Aarseth & Möring, 2020 source
  • Interpretationcitation

    Madsen's description of Sila as a connecting component of the videogame world of Never Alone can be accepted not merely as a metaphor but as a full-fledged ontological statement.

    “мы можем принять это не просто как метафору, а как полноценное онтологическое утверждение.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Madsen, 2017 source
  • Premisecitation

    Dozens of advisors and elders of the Alaska Native community were involved in the development of Never Alone.

    “Помимо программистов и дизайнеров, в разработку игры были вовлечены «десятки советников и старейшин сообщества народов Аляски» (Харауэй, 2020,”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Харауэй, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Interpretationreasoning

    If a player does not share the ontology of animism in everyday life, they will not share it in relation to world games.

    “Если игрок не разделяет онтологии анимизма в повседневности, то он или она не будет разделять их и в отношении миро-игр.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Interpretationreasoning

    From a ludohermeneutic point of view, the ontological turn makes it possible to build ontological models for interpreting ethnological video games that use non-Western (indigenous) metaphysics as their foundation.

    “С людогерменевтической точки зрения это дает возможность выстраивать онтологические модели для интерпретации этнологических видеоигр, в качестве основания задействующие не-западные (внемодерные (Кастру, 2022b), индигенные, коренные) метафизики.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 19
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 42

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    The videogame adaptation Never Alone, in addition to the fact of the adaptation of ikiaktak by Nageak and other developers, expands 'Kunuukkaayuka' with new actants: helper spirits, the little people, the Man-Killer and other figures of Iñupiat folklore.

    “Вдобавок к самому факту этой адаптации икиактак в исполнении Нагеака и других разработчиков расширяет «Кунууксаайука» новыми актантами: духами-помощниками, маленьким народцем, Человекоубийцей и прочими фигурами инупиатского фольклора.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Never Alone is a videogame adaptation of the ikiaktak 'Kunuukkaayuka' made by Nageak and other developers.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    An analogous game-design technique (simultaneously controlling two avatars) is used in Never Alone with Nuna and the Fox.

    “Интересно, что аналогичный геймдизайнерский прием используется в Never Alone с Нуной и Песцом, как было описано выше.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    In Never Alone the helper spirits accompanying Nuna look like ephemeral white figures with zoomorphic elements and diverse anatomy.

    “Особый интерес в свете шаманизма представляют именно духи-помощники (spirit helpers), сопровождающие Нуну на ее пути и выглядящие как эфемерные белые фигуры с зооморфными элементами и многообразной анатомией.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingnone given

    In terms of game mechanics, the helper spirits in Never Alone act as dynamic environment objects that serve as literal support for the game avatars in their progress through the Arctic locations.

    “С точки зрения игровых механик они действуют как динамические объекты окружения, выступающие буквальной опорой для игровых аватаров в их продвижении по арктическим локациям.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    In Never Alone the heroine of the story becomes a girl, Nuna, instead of a boy.

    “Вместо мальчика героиней истории становится девочка Нуна.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    In Never Alone, Nuna, the Fox and the player(s), articulately conjoined, encounter a blizzard during their journey, learn to use its gusts to their advantage, and learn to deal with the spirits of sila (silap inue) and other entities that make up the game environment.

    “тивно сочлененные Нуна, Песец и игрок(и) в ходе своего путешествия сталкиваются с бураном (напомним, что в инуитский концепт «силла» входит погода и ее динамика), учатся использовать его порывы в свою пользу, обучаются обращению с духами силлы (silap inue) и другими сущностями, составляющими игровое окружение.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Iñupiat concept 'sila' includes weather and its dynamics.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Without inhabiting symanimagenic sensible materialism, it is impossible to play Never Alone, and the revival of this and other worlds may depend on whether we learn to play.

    “Не вживаясь в симанимагенный <осязаемый материализм> (sensible materialism) со всеми его подвижками, аффектами и связями, невозможно играть в Never Alone, и возрождение этого и других миров может зависеть от того, научимся ли мы играть (2020, с. 120).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Харауэй, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Indigenous storytelling within video games forces players to immerse themselves in ancestral worlds existing since time immemorial.

    “«Индигенный сторителлинг в рамках видеоигр заставляет игроков погрузиться в предковые миры, существующие с незапамятных времен» (Longboat, 2017, p. 179).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Longboat, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The ontological turn in anthropology sets anthropology the task of creating conditions for the ontological self-determination of indigenous peoples, where their worldviews and concepts are not considered initially 'less existing' than Western or positivist ones.

    “Онтологический поворот ставит перед антропологией задачу «по созданию условий онтологического самоопределения» (2022a, с. 183) коренных народов, где мироустройства и концепты последних не расцениваются как изначально «менее существующие», чем западные или позитивистские.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Кастру, 2022a

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The term 'shamanism' has not yet received a generally accepted definition acceptable to most specialists, and the problem of chronological and geographical boundaries of this cultural phenomenon remains unresolved.

    “«...термин”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Сухачев, 2015

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Басилов, 1997

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Нам, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Video games in which the player necessarily acts as a mediator and solves the same tasks that regularly confront shamans encourage imagination regarding indigenous worldviews and through gameplay introduce the player to accompanying ontologies.

    “можно предположить, что видеоигры, где игрок по необходимости выступает такого рода посредником и в игровой форме решает те же задачи, что регулярно встают перед шаманами, «побуждают воображение в отношении индигенных мировоззрений» (LaPensée, 2018, с. 132) и через игровой процесс приобщают игрока к сопутствующим онтологиям.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Нам, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites LaPensée, 2018

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    David Gärtner considers Never Alone as an example of innovation in the Inuit storytelling technique ikiaqtaq.

    “Дэвид Гэртнер рассматривает Never Alone как пример инновации в инуитской технике сказительства икиактак (ikiaqtaq) (Gaertner, 2021).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Gaertner, 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationcitation

    In the case of the Iñupiaq platformer Never Alone, the relevant ontology is 'symanimagenism', akin to animism.

    “В случае инупиатского платформера речь идет об онтологии «симанимагенизма», родственной анимизму.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Харауэй, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    A player can 'pass' a video game without constructing any coherent thematic or evaluative interpretations of it (depletion).

    “Вели-Матти Кархулахти, описывая свою теорию видеоигровой герменевтики, вводит понятие «исчерпания» (depletion): …игрок способен”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Karhulahti, 2015

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    To successfully play a video game, the player or analyst must construct their own ontological model of that video game, which they apply to make in-game decisions.

    “Согласно людогерменевтическому подходу Эспена Орсета и Себастьяна Меринга, чтобы успешно играть в видеоигру, игроку или аналитику необходимо конструировать собственную онтологическую модель этой видеоигры, которую он применяет для принятия внутриигровых решений”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Aarseth & Möring, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationcitation

    Deploying counteranalysis in relation to ontological models typical for modern secular gamer culture can bring indigenous video games closer to realizing their ludohermeneutic program: to immerse players 'in ancestral worlds existing since time immemorial'.

    “Это приблизит индигенные видеоигры к реализации их людогерменевтической программы: погрузить игроков «в предковые миры, существующие с незапамятных времен» (Longboat, 2017, p. 179).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Longboat, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In Never Alone the reverse of the folklore transformation happens: narration turns into performative videogame action similar to a ritual.

    “Здесь же происходит нечто обратное: наррация превращается в перформативное видеоигровое действие, подобное обряду.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Unlike a listener in a circle of fellow tribesmen, the player becomes a key actant in the story, performatively identifying with Nuna and the Fox.

    “Но в отличие от слушателя в кругу соплеменников, игрок становится ключевым актантом в истории, перформативно отождествляясь с Нуной и Песцом.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Cosmopraxis is a special mode of existence of the Aymara in which the basis of world-perception is not a pre-given model of the world but the constant reproduction of the world through a complex of practices (barter, healing, crafts, ritual fights, political organization, etc.).

    “Космопраксис в их описании -особый модус существования индейцев аймара, где в основе мироощущения находится не предзаданная модель мира (например, научная или религиозная доктрина), а постоянное воспроизведение мира через комплекс практик: бартер, знахарство, ремесла, ритуальные бои, политическую организацию и так далее (Munter & Note, 2009, p. 89).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Munter & Note, 2009

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Nuna's role in finding and eliminating the source of the blizzard also pushes us to this; the goal of shamanic rituals among Inuit shamans, taking the form of soul journeys through various cosmological locations, is often to find out the cause of bad weather and subsequently correct the situation through interaction with spirits.

    “К этому нас также подталкивает роль Нуны в поиске и устранении источника метели -целью камланий у инуитских шаманов, принима- ющих форму путешествий души по различным космологическим локациям (1985, p. 7), часто является выяснение причины плохой погоды и последующее исправление ситуации через взаимодействие с духами (Aupilaarjuk et al., 2001, p. 91).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Aupilaarjuk et al., 2001

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Merkur, 1985

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    A shaman, through a song-spell, 'places' the body of the woman in labour (and helper spirits, the spirit of illness and other actants) in a mythological continuum and performs symbolic operations there, which allows the woman to perceive her body as part of this continuum and to overcome pain through involvement in these processes of symbolization.

    “Шаман через песню-заклинание «размещает» тело роженицы (а также духов-помощников, дух болезни и прочих актантов) в мифологическом континууме и осуществляет там символические операции, что позволяет женщине воспринять свое тело как часть этого континуума и преодолеть боль через вовлечение в эти процессы символизации (Подорога, 1995, с. 99-107).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Подорога, 1995

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Considering the personhood of tuurngak, one can suppose that its variation in Never Alone is rather the Fox.

    “Учитывая персональность туурнгак, можно предположить, что его вариацией в Never Alone скорее выступает Песец.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    One cannot exclude the possibility of involvement of both the player and the ethnographer in indigenous praxis (in this case Iñupiat), for example in a variation of shamanic ritual.

    “Однако нельзя исключать возможности вовлечения и игрока, и этнографа в индигенный праксис (в данном случае -инупиатский): например, в вариацию шаманской обрядности.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    The actants called 'helping spirits' in Never Alone remain ethnographically indeterminate, but can be compared with 'wind dwellers / sila', silap inue - conditionally, hosts of spirits inherent in Sila.

    “При этом актанты, называемые в Never Alone «духами-помощниками», остаются этнографически неопределенными, но могут быть сопоставлены с «жителями ветра / силлы», silap inue (Merkur, 1985, p. 309) -условно, сонмами духов, присущими Силле.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Merkur, 1985

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Premisecitation

    Indigenous thought must be accepted as a practice of meaning, rather than being approached in terms of beliefs as Western epistemology does.

    “Вместо постановки вопроса в плоскости верований, свойственной западной эпистемологии, «туземная мысль <...> должна приниматься <...> в качестве практики смысла (Кастру, 2017, с. 145).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Кастру, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Leaving this complex and breaking the connection with the game avatars, the player loses shamanic properties, since they lose the ability to interact with game realities, with the sila of the game.

    “Выходя из этого комплекса и разрывая связь с игровыми аватарами, игрок теряет шаманские свойства, так как теряет возможность взаимодействия с игровыми реалиями, с силлой игры.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Haraway speaks of animism as 'sensible materialism' in Never Alone, into which the player must immerse themselves.

    “Кажется, подобного же рода прагматичность имеет в виду Харауэй, когда говорит об анимизме как «осязаемом материализме» (sensible materialism) в Never Alone, в который игроку надо вживаться (Харауэй, 2020, с. 120).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Харауэй, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Shamanic legends in which the ritual of kamlanie is in the focus of the narrative are regarded as a kind of 'description' of the ritual in the language of folklore, which shows the possibility of transforming a ritual into narration while preserving the semiotic structure.

    “Согласно подходу Елены Новик, шаманские легенды, в которых «обряд <камлания> оказывается <...> в фокусе повествования» (Новик, 2019, с. 22), рассматриваются как «своего рода”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Новик, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Ikiaktak, in particular Kisima Inŋitchuŋa, is an explicit part of Iñupiat cosmopraxis.

    “Икиактак, в частности Kisima Inŋitchuŋa, явная часть инупиатского космопраксиса.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    In Never Alone, each individual playthrough, as one of many unique configurations of the videogame-as-tale, is like an individual retelling of that story within ikiaktak.

    “Благодаря этому каждое индивидуальное прохождение, реализуемое как одна из множества уникальных конфигураций видеоигры-как-сказания, уподобляется индивидуальному пересказу этой истории в рамках икиактак.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Deborah Madsen writes that in Never Alone, Sila is a common network of relations between all entities in the game environment.

    “Анализируя таковую в Never Alone, Дебора Мэдсен пишет: «В игре ... Силла -это общая сеть отношений между всеми сущностями в игровом окружении» (Madsen, 2017).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Madsen, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In the game, both Nuna and the player are able to see the glow, enacting (discovering and embodying) and luring spirits (understood now as air spirits, silap inue), precisely through the Fox.

    “В игре как Нуна, так и игрок способны видеть свечение, энактивирующее (обнаруживающее и воплощающее) и приманивающее духов (понимаемых теперь как духи воздуха, silap inue), именно через Песца.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The presence of spirits may be given to the Aymara empirically, in the form of rituals, natural phenomena or special states, but this does not mean that spirits are endowed with an explicit metaphysical status as 'really existing' or 'merely illusions'.

    “Присутствие духов может быть дано аймара (и представителям других индигенных народов) эмпирически, в форме ритуалов, явлений природы или особых состояний, но это не значит, что духи наделяются каким-то явным метафизическим статусом в качестве «реально существующих» или «всего лишь наваждений».”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Such an interpretation would imply that the girl Nuna is an angakkuk, a shamaness - or, due to her age, rather predisposed to becoming one.

    “Однако такая трактовка подразумевала бы, что девочка Нуна является ангаккук, шаманкой -или, в силу возраста, скорее предрасположена к становлению таковой.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The gameplay itself is the condition for the discovery in the player of the traits of a shamanizing person - interaction with spirits, 'alter-somatic' travel between cosmological locations, and the solving of pressing tasks by these mythologically conditioned methods.

    “Сам игровой процесс является условием обнаружения у игрока черт шаманствующего лица -взаимодействия с духами, «альтер-соматического» путешествия между космологическими локациями и решения насущных задач (по типу устранения причины плохой погоды) этими мифологически обусловленными методами.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In a cultural insights video, several Iñupiat talk about the concept of sila, translating it as 'weather' and 'atmosphere', and state that 'sila has a soul, the same as humans and animals have'.

    “В ролике, открывающемся сразу после знакомства с духами, несколько инупиаток рассказывают о концепции sil F a (силла), переводя ее как «погода», «атмосфера»; при этом «силла имеет душу, такую же, какая есть у людей и животных» (Sil ' a Has a Soul… , 2015).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Sil ' a Has a Soul… , 2015

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    The author does not claim that players perform for Iñupiat society the same functions as shamans-angakkuit, or that players somehow become Iñupiat.

    “я не утверждаю, что игроки выполняют для инупиатского социума те же функции, что шаманы-ангаккуит, или тем более что игроки каким-то образом сами становятся инупиатами.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    According to Haraway and de Castro, the category of belief (and hence worldview, delusion and truth) is irrelevant when it comes to animism.

    “По убеждению Харауэй и де Кастру, у которого она заимствует это выражение, категория веры (а значит, и мировоззрения, и заблуждений, и истины) нерелевантна, когда речь идет об анимизме”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Харауэй, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Кастру, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The virtual world of a videogame is mythical.

    “Екатерина Галанина и Алексей Салин утверждают: «Виртуальный мир видеоигры мифичен» (Галанина & Салин, 2017, с. 79).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Галанина & Салин, 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    In comparison with Inuit ethnography, Nuna and the Fox can be understood if not as a shamaness and her animal helping spirit, then as an unexpected variation of 'shamanizing persons', arising due to innovations within the folklore form ikiaqtaq, and Kisima Inŋitchuŋa itself as a kind of 'shamanism simulator'.

    “Таким образом, в сопоставлении с инуитской этнографией Нуна и Песец могут быть поняты если не как шаманка и ее животный дух-помощник, то как неожиданная вариация «шаманствующих лиц», возникающая благодаря нововведениям в рамках фольклорной формы икиактак, а сама Kisima Inŋitchuŋa -как своеобразный «симулятор шаманства».”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    In computer games the mechanisms of symbolic production and interpretation, work with signs and the capacity for interpretation combine with performativity and bodily experience.

    “Согласно ней, «в компьютерных играх механизмы символического производства и интерпретации, работы со знаками и способность к толкованию соединяются с перформативностью, с телесным опытом» (2019, с. 31).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Ленкевич, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Players become privy to this culture no more than an ethnographer can become privy to the culture they study.

    “Игроки становятся причастны этой культуре не больше, чем этнограф может стать причастным изучаемой им культуре.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Cosmopraxis is not identical to belief; some Aymara may combine Catholicism as a worldview and indigenous customs as cosmopraxis.

    “космопраксис не тождественен вере; некоторые аймара вполне могут сочетать, к примеру, католицизм как мировоззрение (cosmovision) и коренные обычаи,”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Munter & Note, 2009

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    What is at issue is only the potential of such a shamanist interpretation, revealed in the structure of the videogame Never Alone.

    “Поэтому речь идет лишь о потенциале такой шаманистской трактовки, выявляемой в структуре видеоигры Never Alone.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationcitation

    In Never Alone a significant 'configurative potential' of shamanism is discovered - the set of configurations contained in the game that hold the possibility of meaningful interpretation in a shamanist vein.

    “здесь обнаруживается значимый «конфигуративный потенциал» шаманизма -«совокупность содержащихся в игре конфигураций, содержащих возможность осмысленной интерпретации» (Мойжес, 2020, с. 47) ее в шаманистском русле.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Мойжес, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, simultaneously controlling two avatars procedurally develops in the player a special 'double corporeality' unfolded in the virtual environment, and, together with the plot, involves the player in a performative narrative about brotherly mutual aid.

    “Ленкевич приводит пример игры Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Starbreeze Studios, 2013), где нужно одновременно управлять двумя аватарами: персонажами-братьями. Это процедурно вырабатывает у игрока особую «двойную телесность», развертываемую в виртуальной среде, но также, вкупе с сюжетом, вовлекает игрока в перформативный нарратив о братской взаимовыручке, взаимопомощи (2019, с. 26).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Ленкевич, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    In the Aymara focus is the experiencing, transmission and alternation of ways of going about the world through daily, ritual and festive acts, and to a lesser degree the conceptual grasping of the world.

    “В фокусе аймара -переживание, передача и чередование способов подходить к миру (going about the world) посредством ежедневных, ритуальных и праздничных действ; и в меньшей степени -концептуальное схватывание мира(2009, p. 89).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Munter & Note, 2009

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Through videogames the player assembles 'alter-somatic variations of themselves'.

    “реформатируется в согласии с процедурностью игрового процесса -через видеоигры игрок собирает «альтер-соматические вариации себя» (2019, с. 23).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Ленкевич, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The direct participation of representatives of indigenous peoples is often emphasized in the thematic literature as a fundamental aspect of indigenous game design.

    “прямое участие представителей коренных народов часто подчеркивается в тематической литературе как фундаментальный аспект индигенного геймдизайна (LaPensée et al., 2021).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites LaPensée et al., 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

49 of 49

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Never Alone cannot be completed without interacting with numerous spirits belonging to Iñupiaq cosmology.

    “Игру невозможно пройти, не взаимодействуя в рамках внутриигровой физики с многочисленными духами, принадлежащими инупиатской космологии.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    A modern secular player can arbitrarily neutralize indigenous meanings and concepts as fiction lacking a denotatum.

    “Иными словами, за игроком здесь остается возможность произвольно нейтрализовать индигенные смыслы и концепты как вымысел, лишенный вещи-денотата.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Iñupiat concept 'sila' includes weather and its dynamics.

    “напомним, что в инуитский концепт «силла» входит погода и ее динамика”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Never Alone is a videogame adaptation of the ikiaktak 'Kunuukkaayuka' made by Nageak and other developers.

    “Вдобавок к самому факту этой адаптации икиактак в исполнении Нагеака и других разработчиков расширяет «Кунууксаайука» новыми актантами”
4 of 4

Cites

The publisher hasn’t deposited this paper’s reference list.

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  4. LaPensée, E. (2016). Games as Enduring Presence. Public, 27(54), 178-186. https:/ /doi.org/10.1386/public.27.54.178_1 LaPensée, E. (2018). Self-Determination in Indigenous Games. In J. Sayers (Ed.), Routledge Companion to Media Studies and Digital Humanities (pp. 128-137). Routledge. https:/ /doi.org/10.4324/9781315730479-13 · DOI
  5. Longboat, M. (2017). Reset and Redefine: Never Alone and the Rise of Indigenous Games. Transmotion, 3(1), 179-189.
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  21. LaPensée, E. (2016). Games as Enduring Presence. Public, 27(54), 178-186. https:/ /doi.org/10.1386/public.27.54.178_1 LaPensée, E. (2018). Self-Determination in Indigenous Games. In J. Sayers (Ed.), Routledge Companion to Media Studies and Digital Humanities (pp. 128-137). Routledge. https:/ /doi.org/10.4324/9781315730479-13 · DOI
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Related

Authors
Malenko, M. Y.
ORCID
Malenko, Maro Y.
Venue
Galactica Media Journal of Media Studies
Publisher
Limited Liability Company Scientific Industrial Enterprise - Genesis. Frontier. Science
Published
2025-05-19
Volume
7
Issue
2
Pages
187-208
ISSN
2658-7734 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.46539/gmd.v7i2.650
OpenAlex
W4410478592
Semantic Scholar
0ec45184fdb002ffac3de53bfdad095e867ee7aa
Cited by
0
References
0
FWCI
0.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Galactica Media Journal of Media Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › General Arts and Humanities › Cultural and Mythological Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Semiotics and Representation Studies
Keywords
animism, World Games, Donna Haraway, Komi-Permyak

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