Abstract: This paper will look at the experience of gaming as being a new and emerging way that people engage with each other but more prominently how games are used as a tool for identity development and creation of a persona away from the real world. There will be discussion over the ways in which these identities are formed and how they can help people to engage with other people who share their interest in games. This paper aims to unpack how games are the modern way in which people can both express themselves and feel a part of a community with people of similar gaming-related interests.
Introduction:
The emergence of online gaming has created the space for people to have a different identity away from real life through characters and in-game universes. Popular media platforms such as Twitch allow people to stream their favourite games and for an audience to take the journey with them. Social media has grown to accommodate passionate game-players or gamers to discuss and share knowledge about their favourite games and many people have found immense freedom of expression in these online environments. Single-player and multiplayer gaming experiences have given many people a sense of escapism and immersion away from responsibility and whether or not this is positive or negative, it has certainly cultivated a sense of self-expression many people can only find and develop through games. In this paper I will discuss how all of these aspects of gaming have come together to create an online world where people can be whoever they want to, for better or for worse.
Social media for gaming:
Twitter has also emerged as a popular platform for professional gamers to showcase their video game skills and to cultivate a persona through the character they play or their online profile. This has inspired many mid-level players or players just starting out to create a Twitter profile and enter themselves into the community of online gamers. This is significant because many people can now gain popularity and even fame by simply being good with whatever character they are playing. Many people also share their knowledge of the game and little details they’ve found that can help with in-game combos, and this information is shared through a network of different people online. These types of online interactions have allowed many people to create fanbases and feel like a part of the gaming community, often a separate outlet entirely to their life outside of this.
Interestingly, the fanbases that a particular person gains online are often very different from the people they spend time with in real life, and these people may not have any idea or not be phased by the fact that this person is well-known and famous in the gaming world. This creates a kind of reality for this person away from their social life, which allows them to show a different side to themselves without the stress and judgement of the real world. This amount of popularity also has flaws however and can mean a lack of control amongst large fanbases. Hate comments against popular online personalities are common, even towards gamers and can lead to these people censoring their fanbase in order to keep the peace. It also means privacy can be an issue especially if something occurs in the personal life of a streamer which spreads online, leading to speculation, rumours and abundant negativity.
The benefit with popular gamers and streamers however is that they don’t often deal with the amount of negativity that celebreties or movie stars will get because their fanbases are nuanced and particular to the certain game that they play. In other words, someone who doesn’t like professional super smash brothers is not going to go looking for a streamer who plays super smash brothers. The fanbases are generally made up of people who have a passion for that particular game and go looking for this content, meaning negativity is far less likely. Celebrties on the other hand are generally visible in the public eye, on TV and in movies/songs and are far more susceptible to criticism and negativity from the public. This is the benefit of online gaming personalities who can still make money from streaming and gain online notoriety but are gifted with only the niche community of loyal fans who seek out and are pleased to watch their content.
Escapism and identity:
Boyd’s (2007) discussion on gaming as being the ‘third stage’ in which people present themselves ties in quite nicely to this topic, in that gaming represents for many people a reality away from their real lives. Perhaps one of the criticisms with online gaming over the past few years has come from the fact that people can pretend to be someone they’re not online and are able to remain anonymous, leading them to potentially do or say things they wouldn’t normally. I would argue however that this is the case with all forms of social media and is not simply limited to the world of gaming. Any online community is susceptible to this kind of anonymity abuse, but gaming still has its issues in this area. Playing online multiplayer games like Overwatch or MapleStory allows people to communicate with each other in-game, usually because that game requires some amount of teamwork. This conversation often leads to discussion about other things and friendships can form, where people will then go to meet their new online friend in the real world and a real friendship can develop.
This however can become a problem if the online communication occurs merely via messaging, as a person can easily pretend they’re a young child when really they’re a grown man, or can pretend they’re a male when they’re a female and so on. This can lead to false friendships, pedophilia, scamming and anything in between and it still continues today, where the gaming world can be a very attractive outlet for these people to invade. A different type of toxicity has particularly been addressed in an article by Colin Campbell titled Gaming’s Toxic Men, Explained in which he discusses that “Women have been devalued in games.We see the sexualization of them in games. Sometimes they’re subject to rape and abuse. Or they’re there just as a focus for the main character to have something to do.” (Campbell, 2018). This toxicity unfortunately has and still does affect women negatively in the gaming world, and these types of toxic portrayals make it harder for women to safely express themselves in gaming environments.
This is slowly changing however, and people are starting to recognise this toxicity and call it out. Gaming has certainly become an outlet for people to express themselves as they otherwise normally couldn’t, particularly introverted people who have trouble socialising and are better suited to the online gaming community. The reason for this stems from the ability to imagine oneself in the world of the game and to have a separate identity from the real world. Gaming appeals to the introverted type of person not necessarily because they are bad at socialising in the real world, but because it allows them an escape and a way to refresh and feel good, being more of a benefit than a bad habit. Having said that all types of people can be found in various gaming communities, all it really takes is a love for a particular game and enough people to be interested for a community to form and passion to be shared.
It’s also important to talk about individual gaming experiences in development and presentation of the self. Many single player games nowadays offer a sense of immersion and interactivity that engrosses players to the point where they forget about reality for a while. This of course has drawbacks if players become obsessed to the point of neglecting their social life and responsibilities, but can be very beneficial if they balance their gaming time as a recreational activity alongside their real world engagements. The stresses of modern life set against the fantasy world of a video game where anything is possible is very attractive for many people.
Cosplaying as identity expression:
Many people also find identity and expression in cosplaying as their favourite characters from video games, a hobby becoming more and more popular as people feel more comfortable sharing their passion with each other. Various conventions are hosted throughout the world every year, including Supanova and PAX in which thousands of people gather to dress up as their favourite characters and play games, buy merchandise, meet their favourite voice actors or popular streamers and so on. Where social media comes into play here is that people use Instagram and Facebook and other platforms to showcase their cosplaying, often hiring photographers to do photoshoots of them in their character outfits. Again, a social network is formed through various cosplayers supporting each other and meeting up to do photoshoots or having fun at conventions. This is an example of gaming being a positive force in getting people together, supporting each other and in self-expression and identity forming. The fact that people have been able to share their love for their favourite games, some of which are decades old, is heart-warming and an increasingly popular means of self-expression. It can also be a form of escapism, feeling more at home with the world of their character than they are in their own reality, but more often than not this form of escapism is healthy as it’s a way of coping with reality and is born out of passion, and so is not destructive.
Criticisms of cosplaying:
One criticism against cosplaying and gaming fanbases is that people are only passionate and sociable about their specific games in the online space, whereas they appear awkward or unsociable in real life. In defence of this though, the online space is what allows these types of people to express themselves, as they feel they are too awkward or introverted to do so otherwise, and so they gain this freedom in the online space or through cosplaying as someone who is separate from themselves. Cosplaying in connection with social media has therefore become a means of expression and networking for gamers, as they’re able to dress up as their respective favourite characters and meet up with people who also enjoy those games. Support between cosplayers is also generally very good, because the hobby itself is still relatively niche and many cosplayers feel a strong need to band together and increase sense of community. Social media enhances cosplay as platforms like Instagram are used as photo hubs and further support is garnered through people following each other on these platforms. Cosplay as a method of expression has only been made possible through the existence of games, and so it is indirectly a branch of self-expression deriving from a passion of video games.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be seen that online gaming is emerging quickly as a way for people to express themselves and to form an identity. Whether it be through cosplaying, engagement in game fanbases on social media and simply playing games in a network of people online, gaming takes people out of the real world and into a vast, complex and deep realm of possibilities. All of these different aspects, social media, cosplaying and immersion in the games themselves allow people to lose themselves in the world of gaming and to connect with other people who share the same passion. In the future, I believe we will see a shift into an even more online-intensive world where people connect with each other perhaps not through sports or real-life social activities, but through games. This is not a bad thing however, it is just the emerging new way in which people are connecting with each other, as the gaming world becomes ever more powerful in fostering a sense of identity in people.
References:
Barnhart, B. (2019). The ultimate guide to social media for gamers. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-for-gamers/
Campbell, C. (2019). Gaming’s toxic men, explained. Retrieved from https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/25/17593516/video-game-culture-toxic-men-explained
Ines Di Loreto, Abdelkader Gouaich. Social Casual Games Success is not so Casual. RR-10017, 2010, pp.001-011. <lirmm-00486934>
Koivisto, E. (2003). Supporting Communities in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games [Ebook] (1st ed.). Tampere: Nokia Research Centre. Retrieved from http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/05150.48442.pdf
Shaw, A. (2011). Do you identify as a gamer? Gender, race, sexuality, and gamer identity. New Media & Society, 14(1), 28-44. doi: 10.1177/1461444811410394
Steinkuehler, C., & Williams, D. (2006). Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as “Third Places”. Journal Of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(4), 885-909. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00300.x
Trepte, S., Reinecke, L., & Juechems, K. (2012). The social side of gaming: How playing online computer games creates online and offline social support. Computers In Human Behavior, 28(3), 832-839. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2011.12.003
Hi LMamotte,
I believe that people online are poised to adopt a persona that they may not choose to show to others in the physical world as through the internet, we are able to be anonymous and in some ways, be our ‘true selves’.
Would you say this statement bodes true for you?
Hi EHanton,
Thanks for your reply, it definitely rings true for me, I would say that I can be myself more in a lot of ways because you can adopt a different persona online, or at least a less filtered version of myself. This isn’t to say that I act outlandishly online, rather instead I’m able to comment on things and participate in discussion anonymously or through a persona that I create without people judging me on how I look.
One example of this is how I use Twitter. My profile picture is this cartoony walrus from a video game I enjoy and my Twitter name is currently Guinea Shrek. I usually tweet things that I’m feeling or just random stuff that often doesn’t make any sense, here is my twitter if you’d like to have a look. This is perhaps a good example of how I act in a less filtered manner than I do in real life, without the constraints of possibly being judged by people based on my looks.
Would you say this statement bodes true for you as well?
Thanks!
Hello LMamotte,
It was a pleasure reading your paper and your title is very direct and expressive.
I was indulged into playing sims when I was younger and I did not realize that this was forming my identity in a certain way. Reading your paper I found that this was another identity I had. I liked games like IMVU and Movie star planet where I could customize my avatar as I wanted.
Online gaming can help people to try on different characteristics. For example, many people with a handicap can be whatever they want online and people will not judge them or have another kind of behavior toward them because they are a handicap as they don’t know it.
Gamers can also build a personality and physical appearance that they wish to have themselves, but do you think that at a certain extent this can be a toxic trait?
You can check my paper:
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/06/social-networking-sites-are-causing-the-downfall-of-adolescents-and-children/
Thank you, waiting for your response!
Hi MThomas, thanks for reading my paper!
You’re completely right that people who may have a handicap can be whoever they want online as can anyone who is dissatisfied with their real life. The sims is really cool by the way! I unfortunately never played it as a kid but it’s one of those games I wish I could go back in time and experience as a kid because the customisation options are hilarious in that game! IMVU and Movie Star Planet sound really cool as well.
I’m interested, what aspects of your identity do you think these games contributed to?
I think the option to customise your character is incredibly undervalued by some game companies and is a huge attraction to many people because it’s a way of expressing your personality even further in the online world, I often find myself spending way too long trying to customise my characters on some games, I think it’s because I want myself to look as quirky and weird as possible to reflect my personality, haha.
To address your question, yes I think it can sometimes be toxic if someone cultivates a certain personality online or through the characters they create/play as, but this is only really a problem if the person is using this character to act out malicious or with bad intent in some way, for example playing Grand Theft Auto violently in order to vent out anger is almost certainly unhealthy as it demonstrates that person probably has an unhealthy problem or circumstance they need to sort out in real life. For the most part though, people use these characters to fantasise or experience a sense of adventure or liberation, which is healthy and often a coping mechanism for many people.
I think generally, as long as a person’s life is healthy and reasonably on-track with where they want it to be, building and creating personalities and physical appearances through characters are in fact a positive thing.
What are you thoughts on this? Do you think building and cultivating an online character like this can have toxic impacts?
Also I’d love to check out your paper! I will do that as soon as I can!
Thanks for your comment!
Hello, thank you for replying!
For me the Sims or any of these games mentioned above was a form of escapism, being a kid I wanted to grow up fast and live the adult life being able to own my money, to work and all of that so these games helped me to be an adult while being a child.
The characters creation also helped me to express myself in a digital way, and for me, each of my characters had their own personality.
I personally think that the toxic impact will happen only if the person already had a toxic trait in real life actually.
But talking about toxic, there is one thing that comes to my mind, and it is catfishing? There is a lot of teenagers on these games, do you think that grown-up men could be catfishing little girls on these platforms?
Hi LMamotte,
Your paper was a pleasure to read! You identify the positive and beneficial aspects of online gaming towards the development of identities very well!
You state that hate comments towards online gaming personalities are common, but are less than the amount received by celebrities. You further claim that this is partly because these personalities are “gifted with only the niche community of loyal fans” which I think is an excellent point to make. However, do you think the fact that as these fanbases develop on social media and are therefore able to be found by weak ties, this may allow trolls to find this niche community and attempt to disrupt it?
Furthermore, I also really liked your discussion about players managing the drawbacks of online gameplay by “balancing their gaming time as a recreational activity.” I think the use of “recreational activity” is great because it reinforces your argument that online gaming does not necessarily cause a degree of being unsociable, rather it is an activity that takes the user from one world to another, similar to watching a movie or reading a book. My question for you is, why do you think people are so willing to latch on to the idea that online gaming is detrimental to the social behaviour of players in real life, and why do they think users can only be in one world at a time, whereby if they are playing online, they will not be sociable or present when offline? Do you think this is mostly because of inexperience and limited understandings of single and multiplayer gaming?
Looking forward to your reply,
Thanks,
DRonaldson 🙂
If you’d like to read a paper located in the stream of Communities and Web 2.0, feel free to read my paper here https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/05/active-now-how-web-2-0-allows-for-the-formation-of-online-communities-capable-of-initiating-change-through-activism/
Hi DRonaldson, thanks for reading my paper!
I think you’re absolutely right about trolls being likely to find and disrupt online gaming communities as they begin to become more popular and noticeable. From my experience, this is certainly true and many people like to comment on gaming communities saying things from “When are you all going to get a life?” or “Why are you all playing a kid’s party game?” to more malicious or heavily mean-spirited comments for the sake of being offensive.
I’m a part of the Super Smash Bros Ultimate community in Perth and we’ve had several people attempt to disrupt the community a few times in similarly bad ways, from people who have no real idea what goes on in the community and have a very limited or shallow view of what goes on in a gaming community, so it’s definitely not an uncommon occurrence, but it is manageable. I think it’s often the case that because these people have nothing to do with the community and don’t think they ever will, they feel a sense of extra anonymity and feel they can wreck havoc without consequences.
Also you raise a good point about games being like watching a movie or reading a book. In answer to your second question, I think it’s a mixture of things that make people have this view about gaming. Sometimes I feel it is because these people have not had as fun or immersive an experience with gaming themselves and they simply can’t understand why other people would. I also think some people believe that having a passion or clear love for gaming means that person won’t be as productive or invested in the real world because they just want to get to their room and play games, when in reality it’s usually just a subset of a person’s life and is additional to all the things they do in real life. At the same time they are sometimes a huge part of some people’s lives and they may make a living out of it, but for a long time yet I think there will be people who do not understand this and people that refuse to understand it.
What are your thoughts or experiences on gaming communities/What has your experience with games been like in how they have tied in to real life?
Thanks for your comment and I really enjoyed your paper!
Thank you for your reply!
I think due to this anonymity the whole idea of a “keyboard warrior” then really applies to your experience of trolls disrupting your Super Smash Bros Ultimate community! Drawing from your answer to my second question, another reason for their disruption may simply be stemming from the fact that they are jealous of the strong community behind these games which they have not been able to be part of. What are your thoughts?
That’s a very interesting question, it’s definitely possible and I think some trolls may have experienced some exclusion from a community themselves and they feel the need to lash out. I might also be because they were once a part of a gaming community and were kicked out/removed from this community and now feel a sense of nothing to lose, so they take pleasure in disrupting communities further. This is only speculation but it’s definitely possible. What has your experience been like with gaming communities/with games been like in how they have tied into real life?
Hi LMamotte
It was interesting reading about the different types of gaming communities and how they promote different types of communities to form. It was also interesting to read how these communities interact with the real world and are often used to escape stresses of the real world or to just explore a different identity online.
I do wonder why you are interested in this topic and why you chose to research it. Also wondering your thoughts on changing your online identity in the gaming community can ever go to far. When does it become about distrust or obsession, when is the point of it going out of control or too far when altering your online identity.
look forward to reading your reply,
Steph
Also hears a link to my paper if you would like to have a read, its a bout gender biases when sharing intermit images.
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/10/female-students-receive-more-negative-reactions-to-revealing-images-they-post-on-social-media-compared-to-their-fellow-male-students/
Hi SPrice, thanks for reading my paper!
My interest in this topic stems from my personal love for games. I’ve played games since I was a kid on consoles like Nintendo 64 and games like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, games have been such a big part of my life and as such have formed quite a big part of my identity. I think also I have formed emotional attachments to some games because I played them with good friends when I was younger and still do today, so they have happy memories associated with them.
Expanding on this more recently I’ve played Super Smash Bros Ultimate semi-competitively and been a part of its community, which has made me realise how competing and investing yourself into a game so strongly can lead to a part of your identity being attached to that game. Escaping the stresses of the real world has also been a reason why I’ve played many games, particularly single-player ones like I mentioned in my first paragraph, and as such I often replay them or talk about them with people as they are strong senses of happiness/escape for me.
To answer your question I think forming and cultivating an online identity becomes a problem when it is used as a means of malicious or vile behaviour, or when someone becomes so obsessed with an online persona, character or game that they let it impact their real life badly. In the same way, I think it’s a problem if someone has troubles or issues they need to sort out in their real life and they use games to completely forget about or dissociate from these problems, as I think there’s a difference between using games as a healthy escape and having entire dependence on them.
What are your thoughts on this? When do you think changing or forming online personalities can become dangerous or negatively impactful on a person’s life?
Thanks again and I will read your paper tomorrow morning! I look forward to it!
Hi LMamotte,
I really like the direction of your paper, the ideas that games can be used as a tool for identity development is really refreshing to read about. Often I see the more negative angle to this of people hiding away online and pretending to be things they are not. But I to believe a much more constructive analysis is the way in which people use it as a tool to understand themselves.
You also highlighted popularity of fan bases and their ability to grow out of control that definitely rings true of lately. I’m sure one of the ridiculous Youtube dramas, Twitch drama, drama everyone their is popular people really, and fans really just start to get hateful and uncontrollable. But I agree with the fact that the communities are normally like minded individuals who seek the people who are playing the game they want to watch and therefore have no other motive.
I think like you said there is a lot of toxicity in gaming which can be said for many communities of course, but I too think things are slowly changing for the good. Also that games appeal to all types of people no matter their level of social skills, games are more so based on why the gamer is playing that game for themselves.
I think often gamers and introverts are thought of as one in the same but that is definitely true, did you have any other thoughts on this?
Very interesting read!
Hi CSawbridge, thanks for reading my paper!
Thank you for all your positive comments! I agree that it’s refreshing to see and talk about the positive effects of gaming over the negative, as so many people jump onto the bandwagon of games being unhealthy, anti-social or isolating, when really they’re used mostly for relaxation, enjoyment and socialising instead.
Fanbases growing out of control is quite worrisome as well and you’re right it definitely has been true over the last few weeks with drama that I’ve seen from Projared and James Charles in their respective communities. I think some of the backlash is expected and warranted, but it’s sad to see that people just like to beat someone when they’re already down, like a lot of these fanbases are doing. I think that’s the great thing about gaming communities generally is that they’re made up of smaller, generally more personable fanbases who are there to watch their favourite game. Drama does still occur though as is inevitable with any online community I think.
I agree with your point about people playing games for themselves and that of games appealing to all types of people. The beauty is that you can play a game however you want to, some people take them seriously and some play them for the pure joy of it. And yes I believe the toxicity in gaming communities and other communities is slowly changing as nearly everyone has been exposed to what can happen now so people are beginning to step out to the perimeters of the drama and see it from a more clear, unbiased perspective, realising that these people involved are real people as well.
Your last question is very interesting, I think gamers are generally thought of as introverts still, mainly because a passion for gaming is often perceived as an escape from reality or a dislike of the ‘real world’. Of course this definitely can be true, but I don’t think it’s a negative thing, if anything it usually helps people cope with stress or takes their mind of things for a while, like a kind of detox. I’ve also seen many extroverted people play games and enjoy them, but I think it will be a while before extroverted people are associated with gaming in general, it is changing though.
Thanks again!
Hi LMamotte,
I want to begin by expressing my appreciation for presenting a paper that is rather different from the other arguments, including mine which examines games as a positive space. Within your paper, you have provided a balance argument but more specifically, the repercussions of games in individual’s identity development away from the real-world.
Your paper presents an interesting angle that many traditional scholars (and even some contemporary ones) have missed the point about modern day, digital games. That is, games have increased in complexity therefore the issue, or rather the effects of games should be thoroughly analysed and deeply understood – rather than just believing that games “lead to isolation of an individual”. You are also right to say that, games have been a tool to move away from the “stress and judgements” of the real world, I have similarly argued this point in my paper as well. I also like that you highlighted how easy it is to be immersed into games, forgetting about reality. I feel like it can be said the same against every other types of entertainment though, such as listening to music or watching a TV series. You can just sit there and binge all day, so what makes video games worse? If it is the negative repercussions, similar arguments can also be made about explicit songs or films of viewer’s discretion. Finally, I appreciate your feature about Cosplay festivals and I think you have made some valid points about the effects of it, I believe examples like Cosplay and E-Sport tournaments are great examples that gaming communities are not just confined to a virtual world, examples like these are one in many scenarios where virtual has the potential to transfer into a physical, like-minded community.
There is one point I have to challenge, is that you claim individuals are “only passionate about their specific games, but awkward in real life”. I would argue that assessing an individual introvert-ness or social awkward levels should not be confined to how a basic human can function in a normal society, I believe that having confidence and evoking assertion of knowledge to others in an activity of passion (e.g. specific games they like) can cancel out being socially awkward, being introverted even if “in real-life” where they are socially awkward, if that makes sense?
I apologise for the deep analysis but its because I did thoroughly enjoy reading your paper!
Lastly, here are some questions for your thoughts:
– If we were to take gaming very seriously in this world, do you consider Twitter (as you mentioned) and other social networking sites, a form of public sphere? These fanbases containing people with similar passion are joined together to help influence changes, possibly through user-created mods or game guides, sort of a bottom-up model?
– Within the subject of anonymity abuse, do you think some people utilise games as a space/opportunity to take it out on others? In relation to your argument, where introverts are not successful as gaining confidence in the real-world, would games be an ‘easy target’ to attack others, feeling confident and superior?
– “Gaming appeals to the introverts”, do you think there’s a pattern where; professional and serious gamers are all introverts and that extroverts can only ever be causal gamers?
Thanks for your time! Great paper once again.
Chris.
Hi Chris, thanks for reading my paper!
You make a great point about movies and music being quite the same as games in their ability to take people away from reality, I hadn’t thought about this. I think the idea of games being somehow worse for an individual stems from games simply being a newer form of entertainment that haven’t made their potential benefits clear to certain people yet. In other words, music is often traditionally seen as relaxing or soothing, or useful in some way depending on what type of song someone is listening to whereas games are still viewed by some groups of people (particularly slightly older generations) as being an unproductive waste of time. I don’t really know what distinguishes this perception in relation to movies and games, and it’s interesting that some people still have this negative view of games when they are actually more interactive and require more focus than watching a movie.
To answer your main question, you raise a very good point here and I think upon reading my paper again this particular point I made could have been worded differently. I actually agree with you on this as for one thing, the online space is “real life” anyway, and at the end of the day different people are comfortable in different environments, and for many people the online space is the outlet for them to flourish in many different ways.
Showing confidence and assertion as you say is valuable wherever it is utilised and the same can be said for passion. An example of this is the Super Smash Bros Community which I am a part of in Perth, where online various bits of information are shared constantly, helping people to improve their gameplay, and this would not be possible without a passion for the game. There are also Discord servers specific to each character in the game, where people can ask for advice on there respective characters, a great display of passion and online co-operation that’s even more effective online, because the information is easier to disseminate.
Also, no need for an apology! Deep analysis is great and helps to keep everything moving!
To answer your questions:
I think Twitter is already becoming a kind of public sphere for gaming, as from what I’ve seen, thousands of discussion on the intricacies of characters (particularly in Super Smash Bros) happen every day. Most notably, people will often post tier lists of characters saying who they think is the best or worst, and many debates and discussions are stemmed from around this, leading to information being spread about different character matchups (Mario VS pikachu, for example) and other aspects of the game. In relation to games as a whole, I think Discord and Twitter are the most likely candidates for the further fostering of this kind of public sphere for games.
I think some people do use games as a space to take out certain amounts of anger, express dominance where they otherwise may not be able to or other things but I think when people join wider gaming communities, often their priorities and heart often shift when they realise these communities are so welcoming, and the type of mindset which fosters anger or taking out frustration is usually not sustainable for a long time. At the end of the day it’s usually whether or not the person enjoys the game in a positive way that allows them to keep playing it for a long time.
Your final question really interests me, because in my head, a lot of people who I view as extroverted are people I would categorise as only being casual gamers, and introverted people as being serious. It certainly isn’t always the case though, as I’ve been involved in the Smash Bros scene for a while now and have met quite a few extroverted people who enjoy the game passionately. I wonder if it might work differently for single-player games, it’s definitely something to look into.
What has your experience been like in gaming communities? And what are your thoughts on the extroverted vs introverted types of people being categorised as either serious or casual gamers?
Thanks so much for your feedback!