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Abstract: <\/strong>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:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Social media for gaming: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019ve 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefit with popular gamers and streamers however is that they don\u2019t 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\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Escapism and identity:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Boyd\u2019s (2007) discussion on gaming as being the \u2018third stage\u2019 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\u2019re not online and are able to remain anonymous, leading them to potentially do or say things they wouldn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This however can become a problem if the online communication occurs merely via messaging, as a person can easily pretend they\u2019re a young child when really they\u2019re a grown man, or can pretend they\u2019re a male when they\u2019re 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\u2019s Toxic Men, Explained in which he discusses that \u201cWomen have been devalued in games.We see the sexualization of them in games. Sometimes they\u2019re subject to rape and abuse. Or they\u2019re there just as a focus for the main character to have something to do.\u201d (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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019t, 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cosplaying as identity expression:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s a way of coping with reality and is born out of passion, and so is not destructive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Criticisms of cosplaying:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019re 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n References:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Barnhart, B. (2019). The ultimate guide to social media for gamers. Retrieved from https:\/\/sproutsocial.com\/insights\/social-media-for-gamers\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Campbell, C. (2019). Gaming\u2019s toxic men, explained. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2018\/7\/25\/17593516\/video-game-culture-toxic-men-explained<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ines Di Loreto, Abdelkader Gouaich. Social Casual Games Success is not so Casual. RR-10017, 2010, pp.001-011. <lirmm-00486934> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Koivisto, E. (2003). Supporting Communities in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games<\/em> [Ebook] (1st ed.). Tampere: Nokia Research Centre. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.digra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/digital-library\/05150.48442.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shaw, A. (2011). Do you identify as a gamer? Gender, race, sexuality, and gamer identity. New Media & Society<\/em>, 14<\/em>(1), 28-44. doi: 10.1177\/1461444811410394<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steinkuehler, C., & Williams, D. (2006). Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as “Third Places”. Journal Of Computer-Mediated Communication<\/em>, 11<\/em>(4), 885-909. doi: 10.1111\/j.1083-6101.2006.00300.x<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/em>, 28<\/em>(3), 832-839. doi: 10.1016\/j.chb.2011.12.003<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. 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