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Benjamin Betts

Prof. Intawiwat

English 111 - 128

18 March 2017

Interactive Media Subculture Ethnography

There are many different reasons why people use interactive media. Pilots may use it to

acquire essential skills before risking their neck in an airplane or someone may read on a kindle

so they can annotate, search, save money, and avoid the encumbrance of books. Video games and

interactive media are quickly dominating the American, German, and Japanese cultural

landscapes. Interactive media offers both convenience and more fulfilling experiences from the

same level of quality in content compared to other more passive media such as television and

movies. The interactive media subculture, while still in its infancy, is defined by and ever-

changing group who all regularly produce, consume, or enjoy art in a mechanically or socially

interactive format.

While the first generation of gamers back in the sixties through eighties had little more

than Pong or Pacman, modern day gamers have a massive selection to choose from, including all

of those games from the first generation. Puzzle, racing, and exploration games are very present

on store shelves. These games however play second fiddle to the staple of the American gaming

industry. First person shooters (FPS) and role-playing games (RPG) are the two main types of

combat games. These games are the core and bulk of the gaming industry. They appeal to action

oriented young men (ESA-Essential-Facts-2015, 3) who are willing to pay top dollar for a high-

skill adrenaline-fueled experience. This group of gamers are the elitist jock types that the gaming
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community has become known for and has led to the misrepresentation that video games are all

about violence. Video Games do not cause violence, family and innate violence tendencies are

better indicators (Ferguson, 311). Modern games like Candy Crush reflect the tactics and skill of

the older generation while also playing off of the problem-solving and creative dynamic of the

newer generation of video game users. Minecraft has truly become the defining game of the next

generation.

The gaming community has always sought out a diverse set of experiences from combat

to mastery and achievement, social interaction to world exploration (Bartle, 19). Most gaming

communities have tried to niche themselves on one type of enjoyment or another, focusing on

combat games as an answer to all of these lofty goals. However, the newer generation of plays

can experience all of these in a very open ended mix of life simulation and block building akin to

Legos. These newer players, through Minecraft, do not engage in the elitism of the older

generation but rather value and appreciate community involvement and creativity. Many younger

children can play the low-skills game and many adults feel morally comfortable with the

cartoonish violence depicted therein. Because of this the gaming community is changing

dramatically to not only move away from FPS and RPG combat toward creative-community

games but also seeing more women and children enter the community as well.

The growing online community has evolved by more than just the content of games but

also their connectivity. The first games were console games where every person playing it had to

be connected by a wire. This made video games into a small crowd phenomenon. With the

popularity of the personal computer and the advent of the internet people began to expand their

radius of gaming influence. Gamers did not have to leave their houses to play a game with a
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friend. Local Area Networks made LAN parties into the only party specifically designed for

the socially anxious and where the goal was for everyone to be staring at their screens.

Nowadays MMOs or Massively Multiplayer Online, games regularly see hundreds of

thousands, and in the case of World of Warcraft (Conditt, Par. 4), from across the globe sharing

in the games they love. The internet has made gaming into a globally interconnected

phenomenon where most gamers have at least one good friend from some other country they

never have, nor ever will, meet face to face. MMOs can also help otherwise shy or isolated

individuals to meet new people (Betts).

The internet has become an essential part of the interactive media subculture. It is a

terminal through which the community can reach its most outlying members. Steam is an online

video game store, library, and community application. It has over one hundred and twenty-five

million active users worldwide (Saed, Par. 1). This is due to growing public acceptance of

interactive media as a respectable art form. The growing publicity and popularity of the

interactive media subculture has led to its lexicon permeating into the common vernacular.

Back when texting was first introduced, phones had number key pads. These key pads

meant one would have to slowly and carefully type each and every letter. Texting language soon

grew to encompass a variety of generally accepted short hands such as C U LTR for see you

later and Hi instead of Hello. While this quick-type vocabulary died out as phones improved,

the short-hand lives on in the gamer lexicon as l33t Speak. While using real-time games, as

opposed to turn based games like chess, being able to type quickly is a must. It is very similar to

taking a pit stop on a racetrack. You have to do it, but shouldnt do it for a moment longer than is

necessary. Terms such as Pwned, N00b, and Easter Egg are used so often they have been
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seen in normal conversation. Much of the language does not just derive from rapidity, but also

from the combat dynamic of many multiplayer games.

Many video games from the current generation involve combat as a primary game

mechanic. Certain combat mechanics from popular games become familiarized throughout the

gaming community and used outside of their game of reference. A glass cannon is a character

that does a lot of damage but has low health although it can also refer to someone who frequently

trash talks, even abusively, but is sensitive themselves to such treatment and are easily upset by

this. A white mage is a healer but can also be a friend that just likes to help everyone out. The

language is constantly changing as new games and gamers join the community which reflects

how these demographic shifts affect the community as a whole.

The interactive media subculture community shares more than just language. Websites

such as DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Game-art-hq are full of attempts made to artistically express

appreciation for beloved games. Musicians and programmers help to fill the community with fan

made art as well. Some artists use their games as their medium and make programs that modify

the game so as to change or enlarge its content. The mods are an integral part of the

community; giving content consumers the ability to be producers in the community with minimal

funds or effort. With mods the community is not just passively waiting for a select group of

individuals to give them what those individuals think are worthwhile pieces of art but instead can

influence and participate in the creation of its own source of fascination. Individuals can create

game-content without changing the game itself.

Many create game-content in the form of strategy guides, atlases, and encyclopedias to

organize all of the information involved in a game. They post this information on fan-made,

administrated, and sponsored websites called wikis. These sites have forums that organize and
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encourage community conversation. This phenomenon is not unique to the interactive media

consumption subculture however it plays a vastly more significant role in facilitation the

enjoyment of the medium. Most gamers have spent hours reading through these guides and many

even contribute to the direct line created by these forums between artists and their audience. This

has made the medium not just interactive by design; the design process itself is interactive. These

information uploads sometimes just come in long stretches of unfiltered gameplay, often with

additional commentary.

Through websites, such as YouTube and Twitch, many individuals have uploaded

thousands of hours of gameplay to millions of viewers worldwide. Some of these content

creators called streamers make a living off of ads, subscriptions, donations, and other

monetization strategies. The top streamers can bring in a six-figure salary for their efforts. Many

steams are gameplay with commentary while others are step by step instructions to get through

the challenges presented in a game. These tutorials, if over-lapping with raw unfiltered

gameplay are called walkthroughs. If there is no commentary it is called a playthrough.

Walkthroughs and Playthroughs can be essential for acquiring tips and tricks for handling high-

skill challenging games. Streamers and high-skill games have changed the culture to move

tournaments into a proper sport.

Typically, competitive multiplayer games have small tournaments mostly for the

competitors themselves and the local fan-base. The internet and streamers have grown this fan

base to include millions of viewers for the top tournaments. Counter-Strike Global Offensive

reached over a million viewers for its latest top tournament two years in a row (Raven, Par. 1).

ESPN in 2016 picked up five games for a new channel dedicated to electronic sports, or E-

Sports. Many individuals see E-sports as overtaking conventional sports as the players are
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cheaper and more accessible, also equipment, travel and legal fees are cheaper and the

psychological and physiological toll is significantly lower. Despite only being around forty years

and not really taking off until the turn of the millennium, competitive interactive media has

become platform for serious, professional sport.

The interactive media subculture landscape is changing demographically to absorb a

younger and more diverse audience. This reach is expanding around the globe to all kinds of

people. The language is barely keeping up with this shift while the community itself is constantly

trying to pump out content for itself in a desperate struggle to match its growth. The subculture is

becoming more and more mainstream and will likely replace other contemporary media as the

software, hardware, and content creators evolve. While the community may still be coming into

its own, a shared appreciation for the art form, its social and mechanical dynamics, and the love

of the game are driving the community into the forefront of modern culture.

Works Cited

Bartle, Richard. "Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: Players who suit MUDs." Journal of MUD

research 1.1 (1996): 19. Web. 18 March 2017.

Betts, Steven. Ethnography interview. 6 Mar. 2017.

Conditt, Jessica. "World of Warcraft' Keeps Growing with 'Legion' in August."

Www.engadget.com. AOL Inc, 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 8 Mar. 2017.

ESA-Essential-Facts-2015. Entertainment Software Association, Apr. 2015.

Ferguson, Christopher J., et al. "Violent Video Games and Aggression." Criminal Justice and
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Behavior, vol. 35, no. 3, 2008, pp. 311, ProQuest Central, http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/197216372?accountid=10008.

Raven, Josh. "MLG Columbus Breaks Counter-Strike Viewership Records." Dot Esports. Dot

Esports, 16 Mar. 2017. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.

Saed, Sherif. "Steam Has over 125 Million Active Users, 8.9M Concurrent Peak." VG247.com.

Videogaming247 Ltd, 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.

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