نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسنده English
This study undertakes a detailed examination of the relationship between agency in the interactive narratives of video games and the concept of suluk as understood within Islamic mysticism. The primary aim is to explore whether a structural correspondence can be formulated between these two domains, specifically at the level of experiential logic, action, and existential transformation. Rather than treating video games as mere entertainment or mystical practice as solely a religious discipline, the research approaches both as systems that shape human experience through structured processes of choice, limitation, and change. The central research question asks how the mechanisms of agency that operate in video games, mechanisms defined by choice, constraint, failure, repetition, and movement within interactive systems, might be conceptually aligned with the logic of mystical suluk, which is itself built upon striving, spiritual trials, gradual discovery, and the transformation of perceptual stations or ranks. In other words, the study seeks to bridge a seemingly unlikely pair: the digital, rule-based environment of games and the ancient, faith-based path of Islamic spiritual practice. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative, analytical-interpretive approach. It relies on library-based studies that draw equally from contemporary video game scholarship and classical Islamic mystical texts. Key concepts from each domain are identified, defined, and then compared side by side. The analysis does not impose external categories but instead allows the internal logics of both systems to emerge through close reading and cross-domain analogy. Special attention is given to how agency functions not as absolute freedom but as a constrained, meaningful form of participation within a given structure, whether that structure is a game world or a spiritual path. The findings of the study suggest that in both systems, human experience unfolds according to a logic of structuring within constraints. Neither the video game player nor the spiritual seeker enjoys unlimited power or direction; instead, both must navigate boundaries, face setbacks, and learn through repeated attempts. Agency in video games and suluk in Islamic mysticism share a fundamentally procedural, gradual, and trial-oriented structure. Moreover, several key concepts play formative roles in the development of subjectivity and the transformation of consciousness across both domains. Choice appears not only as a moment of decision but as a mechanism that reveals character and consequences. Failure is not a dead end but a pedagogical tool that deepens understanding and refines future action. Repetition, far from being tedious, becomes a means of internalizing knowledge and achieving mastery. Discovery emerges as a process of uncovering layers of meaning that were previously hidden. And finally, the concept of annihilation, known as fana, finds a parallel in certain game experiences where the ego or prior self must dissolve to allow for a new mode of perception or identity. In conclusion, the study argues that video games can serve as a productive model for understanding mystical experiential practice, precisely because they make visible the structures of constraint, repetition, and gradual transformation that are often invisible in spiritual texts. Conversely, mystical suluk can provide a rich framework for analyzing the depth of interactive experience in video games, revealing how such experiences can be not merely entertaining but genuinely formative of the self. The proposed structural correspondence thus opens new avenues for both game studies and the study of Islamic mysticism, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue where each domain illuminates the other.
کلیدواژهها English