THE TRAVELLING GAMER: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF VIDEO GAME EVENTS Ying-Ying Law Ph.D. Thesis 2016 THE TRAVELLING GAMER: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF VIDEO GAME EVENTS Ying-Ying Law School of Nursing, Midwifery, Social Work & Social Sciences University of Salford, Salford, UK Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 i Table of Contents page Table of Contents ii List of Figures v List of Tables ix Acknowledgments x Abstract xi 1. Press Start to Begin 1 1.1. The Rising Popularity of Video Games 2 1.2. Video Game Events 4 1.3. Defining Video Games 6 1.4. Studying Video Games 7 1.5. Aims and Objectives 9 1.6. Thesis Structure 10 1.7. Conclusion 11 2. Playing with Video Games 13 2.1. Considering Play 14 2.2. Defining Play and the Magic Circle 17 2.3. Challenging the Magic Circle 20 2.4. The Almost Magic Circle 25 2.5. Critical Play 26 2.6. Frame Analysis 28 2.7. Conclusion 30 3. Studying Video Gamer Culture 32 3.1. Conceptualising Video Game Culture 33 3.1.1. Habitus 33 ii 3.1.2. Subcultures, Neo-Tribes and Scenes 36 3.1.3. Fans and Fan Activity 41 3.1.4. Knowledge Communities 47 3.2. Video Gamer Productivity 48 3.2.1. Game Communities 49 3.2.2. Considering Metaculture 60 3.2.3. Considering the Meta-Game and Everyday Life 63 3.3. Communities, Exclusion, Oppression, and Conflict 64 3.3.1. Considering Gender 68 3.4. Conclusion 75 4. Research Methods 78 4.1. Doing Ethnography 78 4.2. The Research 82 4.2.1. The Video Game Events 82 4.2.2. Choosing the Video Game Events 88 4.2.3. Sampling Procedure 90 4.2.4. Triangulation 91 4.2.5. Data Collection 91 4.2.6. Data Analysis 106 4.2.7. Ethical Issues 107 4.2.8. Problems and Limitations 108 4.2.9. Timetable 111 4.3. Conclusion 112 5. Characteristics of Video Gamers and Video Game Communities 114 5.1. Video Games and Motives 118 5.2. The Three Characteristic of Video Game Attenders 120 5.2.1. The Socialisers 124 iii 5.2.2. The Participators 136 5.2.3. The Competitors 166 5.3. The Four Stages of Competitive Gaming 179 5.4. The Hearthstone Metagame 186 5.5. Patterns of Video Game Communities 191 5.6. Conclusion 196 6. The Embodied Experience 201 6.1 Sensory Ethnography 202 6.1.1 Sight 203 6.1.2 Sound 205 6.1.3 Smell 212 6.1.4 Taste 215 6.1.5 Touch 226 6.2 Conclusion 228 7. Conclusion 231 Appendices 240 A Terminology 240 B Questionnaire Methodology 244 C Interview Methodology 263 References 274 Epilogue 298 iv List of Figures Figures page Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 The King of Kong – Drawing markings on screens to practice 24 timing and precision - Gordon, S.(Director). (2007). King of Kong. [Film]. United States. Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 Photographs of the researcher doing push-ups and getting stuffed 101 into ‘The Box’ (Taken by Multiplay Photographers) https://www.flickr.com/photos/mpuk/albums Figure 4.2 Gold’s (1958) classification scheme of participant observer roles 102 Chapter 5 Figure 5.1 A diagram showing three types of video game attenders 121 Figure 5.2 The ‘after-party’ pub gathering after London MCM Comic Con 133 [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 5.3 The exhibition hall of Insomnia57 (i57) 137 Figure 5.4 The Distant Worlds (2014) Meet & Greet [left], and 146 ‘The hands that touched Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth’ [right] [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 5.5 Signed items from the Distant Worlds (2014) Meet & Greet 147 [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 5.6 Photographs of Final Fantasy fans at a social gathering, posing 148 with the Louis Vuitton advert, featuring Lightening from Final Fantasy XIII [Photographed by Final Fantasy Fans] Figure 5.7 The researcher in cosplay – Character: Hanji (Attack of Titan) 149 [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 5.8 Cosplay trend in 2012 (Sword Arts Online), 2013 150 (Attack on Titan) and 2014 (Frozen) http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Cosplay+trends_f851b4_5082824.jpg Figure 5.9 A photograph of the researcher making 3D manoeuvre gear 152 [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] v Figure 5.10 A group photo of Attack on Titan cosplayers 153 (London MCM Comic Con, 2013) http://foxseye.deviantart.com/art/All-the-Attack-On-Titan-410848325 Figure 5.11 The researcher and Attack on Titans cosplayers role-playing 154 [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 5.12 Opening Ceremony at i50 – BYOC gamers trying to obtain 157 ‘The Box’ Figure 5.13 Pub Quiz – i56 159 Figure 5.14 Building the biggest beer and pizza box tower [left], 160 and competing in the boat race [right]- Figure 5.15 LAN treasure, an extension cable (left) and a grimy keyboard 163 (right) [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 5.16 A photograph of seven pairs of shoes outside the hosts flat 168 [Photographed by Ying Ying Law] Figure 5.17 Insomnia Gaming Festival Event Crew Application 170 Figure 5.18 Play Expo Blackpool (2014) staff photo with Jesse McClure 172 Figure 5.19 A diagram showing rules on how to play ‘man hunt’ 174 (Cabin Fever 1, 2014) Figure 5.20 FalcoMaster3000 playing in tournament (left) 180 and a short animated video of FalcoMaster3000 on YouTube (right) Figure 5.21 Group stages (Insomnia53) 182 Figure 5.22 The career of a sport fan/ video gamer (Crawford, 2012, p.63) 183 Figure 5.23 Researcher hitting Legend in Hearthstone 184 Figure 5.24 A ‘painted’ customised controller (left) and GCC mod controller 187 (right) Figure 5.25 A Hearthstone player receiving a cheque for coming third at 188 Insomnia52 Figure 5.26 Prof Pro vs. Rolex $100 money match 189 – Prof Pro’s ‘salt dance’ from winning the first game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3VQUEmsO8M Figure 5.27 Prof Pro vs. Rolex $100 money match 190 – Rolex’s ‘salt dance’ after winning the second game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3VQUEmsO8M Figure 5.28 Video game-goers queuing at Eurogamer Expo [2013] 191 vi Chapter 6 Figure 6.1 Photograph of Distant Worlds [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] 206 Figure 6.2 A photograph of a BYOC gamer’s dinner (Insomnia i53 – LAN) 219 [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 6.3 A photograph of the researchers’ neighbours ‘food supply’ at 222 Insomnia53 Figure 6.4 A photograph of a tower made from energy drinks (Insomnia i53) 224 [Photographed by Ying-Ying Law] Figure 6.5 A photograph and eating chicken together 225 Appendix B Figure B.1 The information section of the Typeform questionnaires. 251 Figure B.2 Question 1 - The consent form section of the Typeform 252 questionnaires Figure B.3 Question 2 – How old are you? 252 Figure B.4 Question 3 – What gender are you? 253 Figure B.5 Question 4 – Where have you travelled from? 250 Figure B.6 Question 5 – What is your current occupation? 254 Figure B.7 Question 6 – What is your martial status? 254 Figure B.8 Question 7 – What is your yearly income? 255 Figure B.9 Question 8 – How did you hear about this event? 255 Figure B.10 Question 9 - Who do you attend to these video game events with? 256 Figure B.11 Question 10 – What is your main reason for attending video 256 game events? Figure B.12 Question 11 – Have you considered doing any of the following 256 when attending gaming events? Figure B.13 Question 12 – Is there anything you intend to purchase 257 specifically from this event? Figure B.14 Question 13 – Do you attend to other gaming events? 257 Figure B.15 Question 14 – Follow up question (from question 13) 258 Figure B.16 Question 15 – Follow-up interview or follow-up interview 258 vii Figure B.17 Additional Question 1 – How does playing games at video 259 game events differ in comparison to playing at home? Figure B.18 Additional Question 2 – Do you consider meeting face-to-face 259 with other gamers important? And why? Figure B.19 Additional Question 3: Please write a short description of your 260 experience at certain video game events Figure B.20 Additional Question 4: what does attending certain video game 260 events mean to you? Figure B.21 An example of a ‘Typeform’ result and general report, 261 from one of the research questionnaires viii List of Tables Tables page Chapter 1 Table 1.1 The five major types of analysis and their characteristics 8 (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al. 2013., p. 10) Chapter 4 Table 4.1 List of the Video Game Events 83 Table 4.2 Pilot Study Questionnaire – What is your gender? 93 Table 4.3 Pilot Questionnaires – What is your age? 94 Table 4.4 Pilot Questionnaire – What is your current occupation? 94 Table 4.5 Pilot Questionnaire – Have you considered doing any of the 95 following when attending gaming events? Table 4.6 Interview Participants 98 Table 4.7 Group Interview Participants 99 Table 4.8 Timetable 110 Chapter 5 Table 5.1 The Typology of Video Gamer Roles – Mundane and 123 Spectacular Moments Table 5.2 The first episode from the series of video game events in the UK 138 Table 5.3 The Four Stages of Competitive Gaming 179 Appendix C Table C.1 Interview Participants 265 Table C.2 Group Interview Participants 267 ix Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisors Prof.