Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity Library Faculty Research Coates Library 1-1-2018 What Motivates the Authors of Video Game Walkthroughs and FAQs? A Study of Six GameFAQs Contributors Michael Hughes Trinity University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/lib_faculty Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Repository Citation Hughes, M.J. (2018). What motivates the authors of video game walkthroughs and FAQs? A study of six GameFAQs contributors. First Monday, 23(1), 1-13. doi: 10.5210/fm.v23i1.7925 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Coates Library at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Library Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. First Monday, Volume 23, Number 1 - 1 January 2018 Walkthroughs, also known as FAQs or strategy guides, are player-authored documents that provide step-by-step instructions on how to play and what to do in order to finish a given video game. Exegetical in their length and detail, walkthroughs require hours of exacting labor to complete. Yet authors are rarely compensated for work that markedly differs from other kinds of fan creativity. To understand their motivations, I interviewed six veteran GameFAQs authors, then inductively analyzed the transcripts. Open coding surfaced five themes attributable to each participant. Together, these themes constitute a shifting mix of motivations, including altruism, community belonging, self-expression, and recognition — primarily in the form of feedback and appreciation but also from compensation.