Gamingpraksis: En Vidvinkeloptik På Computerspil, Køn, Genre Og Hverdagsliv

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Gamingpraksis: En Vidvinkeloptik På Computerspil, Køn, Genre Og Hverdagsliv Gamingpraksis: en vidvinkeloptik på computerspil, køn, genre og hverdagsliv Claus Toft‐Nielsen Indholdsfortegnelse 1.0 Indledning 7 1.1 Projektets erkendelsesinteresse og problemstilling 9 1.2 Computerspilsforskningens felt 10 2.0 Fantasy – undersøgelse af en genre 15 2.1 En essentialistisk undersøgelse af fantasy 15 2.1.1 Fantasy og det fantastiske – fra Todorov og frem 18 2.1.2 De problematiske begreber ”fantasy” / ”det fantastiske” 22 2.1.3 Genrer som ”fuzzy sets” 23 2.2 En relationel gernetilgang - fantasys inspirationskilder 25 2.2.1 Det gotiske og fantasy som populærkulturelle fænomener 28 2.2.2 Begyndelsen på moderne fantasy 30 2.2.3 Tolkiens fantasy; at bygge verdener op 33 2.3 Fantasys mediematrice 37 2.3.1 Fra tabletop til desktop – fantasys spilmæssige dimension 39 2.3.2 MUDs og MMORPGs 42 2.3.3 World of Warcraft – universet som ramme og som rum 44 2.4 Worldness som oplevelseskvalitet 47 2.4.1. Mytologiske grundstrukturer og ”rich text” 48 2.4.2. Worldness som holistisk og komplekst fænomen 49 2.5 Genre som pragmatisk begreb 52 2.5.1 Genre som social handlen 53 2.5.2 Pragmatisk genreforståelse: En socio-kognitiv tilgang 55 3.0 Metodeafsnit 58 3.1 Forforståelser og videnskabsteoretiske fundering 59 3.1.1 Socialkonstruktivisme 62 3.1.2 Socialkonstruktivistisk analyse – forholdet mellem empiri, teori og metode 64 2 3.2 Køn som konstruktion – heteronormativitet og performativitet 66 3.2.1 Computerspilsforskning og køn 68 3.3 Fokusgruppeinterviewet som dataindsamlingsmetode 71 3.4 Videnskabelighedskriterier og undersøgelsens udsigelseskraft 72 3.4.1 Validitet 72 3.4.2 Reliabilitet 74 3.4.3 Generaliserbarhed 75 3.4.4. Triangulering 76 3.5 Udvælgelse og rekruttering af informanter 79 3.5.1 Kontekstuelle faktorer: servertype, spillertype og guildpraksis 80 3.6 Pilotstudie: Pargruppen 85 3.6.1 Refleksion over roller og interaktionsform i pilotstudiet 90 3.6.2 Ændringer fra pilotstudiet til andet og tredje interview 94 3.7 Udvælgelse af informanter og revidering af spørgeguide 98 3.8 Databearbejdning og –analyse 102 3.9. Præsentation af informanter 107 4.0 En empirisk undersøgelse af worldness og gaming-praksis 109 4.1 Gruppernes tidsforbrug og spilvaner 109 4.1.1 Mændenes tidsforbrug 109 4.1.2 Kvindernes tidsforbrug 112 4.1.3 Parforhold og forpligtigelser 115 4.2 Fantasyspil som genre-praksis 118 4.2.1 Informanternes generelle mediebrug og genrekendskab 118 4.2.2 Parrenes mediebrug 120 4.2.3 Mændenes mediebrug 120 4.2.4 Kvindernes mediebrug 122 4.3 Konstruktioner af worldness 124 4.3.1 Worldness som mytologi eller gameplay 124 4.3.2 Worldness som læsnings- og fortolkningsproces 128 3 4.3.3 Worldness som abstrakt genreforståelse 131 4.3.4 Worldness som fantasymatrice 133 4.3.5 Worldness som fantasysetting og spilæstetik 135 4.3.6 Worldness som regel- og softwaresystem 137 4.3.7 Progressivt gameplay 138 4.3.8 Emergent gameplay 140 4.3.9 Fantasymatricen offline 141 4.4 Gaming-praksis som konstruktion og forhandling af køn og identitet 145 4.4.1 Kvindernes sekundære position i parinterviewet 145 4.4.2 Computerspillets heteroseksuelle matrice 147 4.4.3 Kvindelige emancipationsfortællinger 150 4.4.4 Kvindelige selvfortællinger om spilpraksis 154 4.4.5 Ontologiske narrativer – interviewet som identitetsfortælling 156 4.4.6 Mændenes kulturelle kapital – smagskoder og genrepræferencer 160 4.4.7 Kvindegruppens kulturelle kapital og (af)smagspræferencer 162 4.5 Gaming i hverdagslivet – en kontekstuel forståelse 165 4.5.1 Børn, job og parforhold 168 4.5.2 Et praksisteoretisk perspektiv på gaming 170 4.5.3 En meningsgivende praksis i hverdagen 171 5.0 Opsamling, konklusion og perspektivering 174 Dansk resumè 180 English summary 183 Referencer 186 4 ….tak Der er mange som skal takkes for hjælp til at færdiggøre denne afhandling, men den første og største tak skal rettes mod min hovedvejleder Karen Klitgaard Povlsen, som har udvist næsten stædig tiltro til mig og mit projekt i langt højere grad end jeg selv. Altid åben for faglige diskussioner, altid med relevant kritik og altid indsigtsfuld. Hvis ikke det var for hende, var afhandlingen ikke blevet færdig. Tak Karen. En stor tak også til min bivejleder Kjetil Sandvik, Københavns Universitet for skarpt blik, konstruktiv kritik og for at have sat teoretisk skik på mig. Alle mine gode kolleger på IMV skal også nævnes, for I har med åbne døre og lydhøre sind altid haft tid til både opbakning og faglig sparring. Det har været dejligt at føle sig hjemme her. Ingen nævnt, ingen glemt. Sidst men bestemt ikke mindst min kone Maria. Det har været et langt og sejt træk, så du fortjener den varmeste tak for at tro på det nok skulle lykkes. Det har været dejligt at have dig og Emma at komme hjem til. 5 6 1.0 Indledning Da jeg første gang loggede ind i World of Warcraft (herefter: WoW), var det ikke med et forskningsprojekt i tankerne. Jeg begyndte at spille dette spil, som mange andre, som en distraktion og noget radikalt andet end det jeg lavede til dagligt – og hvad kunne være mere anderledes end at spille i en arkaisk fantasyverden i form af et sådan computerspil? Spiluniverset genkaldte minder om de fantasyuniverser jeg som yngre opsøgte i form af bl.a. DragonLance-bogserien, af tabletop-rollespil som det amerikanske Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) og det svenske Drager og Dæmoner, de White Dwarf-magasiner og miniaturefigurer vi købte, og alle de fantasyfilm vi kastede os over. WoW resonerede med alle disse fantasyoplevelser jeg som yngre havde. Dette projekt har fra starten hovedsageligt været drevet af mit eget engagement i og interesse for fantasygenren i almindelighed og WoW i særdeleshed. Når man ser på hvor udbredte fantasyfortællinger er i forskellige medieformer som litteratur, film, tv, tegneserier, brætspil, tabletop-spil, live action rollespil, computerspil, så er online-computerspil, nærmere bestemt Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), den medieform hvori man finder langt det fleste antal af ’brugere’. MMORPGs er blevet den populærkulturelle fantasymedieform par excellence. Tal fra mmogchart.com viser, at hele 94,2 % af alle MMORPGs er situeret i et tydelig defineret fantasyunivers.1 Hvorfor er dette tilfældet? Hvad er det fantasygenren i spilbar form kan, som andre genrer ikke kan? Og, ikke mindst, hvad betyder genren for det oplevelsespotentiale, som spillerne tilbydes, dvs. den måde spillerne ’bruger’ genren på? Under interviewsamtalerne blev det hurtigt tydeligt, at deres interesse for fantasy ikke udelukkende var bundet op på spillet – de spillede andre fantasysituerede computerspil, spillede tabletop-rollespil som D&D, deltog i middelaldermarkeder og re-enactments, deltog i live action rollespil (larp) og opsøgte også denne genre i form af andre medieformer som litteratur, tv og film. Fantasygenren lader altså til at udgøre en større genrematrice som spillerne vender sig imod og orienterer sig efter i deres anden mediebrug. Af samme grund blev jeg bevidst om fantasygenrens oplevelsespotentialer på tværs af en række forskellige medieformer – hvad jeg i afhandlingen betegner som fantasymatricen. 1 Tallene stammer fra Whites løbende indsamling og behandling af MMO-data ud fra bl.a. genrebaserede kategorier. (White, 2008) 7 Min arbejdsproces gennem afhandlingen har i høj grad været eksplorativ. Jeg har ladet mit empiriske materiale guide mig i forskellige retninger, både analytisk og teoretisk. Min indledningsvise analytiske tilgang til projektet har som nævnt været en genreoptik, nemlig fantasy. Metodisk har jeg taget afsæt i én af medievidenskabens kernediscipliner, nemlig receptionsforskningen. Jeg er således interesseret i at undersøge og forstå, hvordan genrer orienterer og udstikker forskellige præferencerammer i forhold til valget og forståelse af og omgangen med medieformer. Receptionsforskningen har i tråd hermed en lang tradition for at arbejde med forholdet mellem medietekster og mediebrugere i specifikke kontekster, dvs. mediebrugsmønstre og hvordan individer og sociale grupper skaber mening i og gennem medietekster. I kvalitative receptionsstudier forstås samspillet mellem brugere og medietekster som en meningsskabende proces, hvor medieteksten aktiverer bl.a. brugerens genreviden. En multidisciplinær tilgang til computerspilsfeltet kan bidrage med en mere nuanceret forståelse af dette felts mangfoldighed. En tilgang til computerspil, der udelukkende er begrænset til hvad spillet tilbyder spillerne (King & Krzywinska, 2002, p. 6) frem for at spørge kritisk til hvordan spillene bliver spillet, hvilke oplevelser spilleren har, i hvilken kontekst det sker og hvordan spillerne forstår disse spil har åbenlyse begrænsninger. Projektet bidrager derfor med en analytisk vidvinkeloptik på de forskellige prakisser som finder sted i en computerspilssituation. Aldersgruppen af spillerne som har været involveret i dette projekt (voksne spillere mellem 21 og 40 år) er ligeledes overset i den største del af computerspilsforskningen, hvor tendensen langt oftest har været, at undersøge børn og ungens brug af computerspil (Buckingham, 2007, 2008; Carr, Buckingham, Burn, & Schott, 2006; Cassell & Jenkins, 1999; Jessen, 1999; Livingstone, 2003; Walkerdine, 2006). Vi har nu en hel generation som er vokset om med computerspil; den gennemsnitlige gamer er 33 år gammel og har spillet computerspil i over 12 år (Perron & Wolf, 2009, p. 2). Det er derfor oplagt at tage udgangspunkt i denne ældre aldersgruppe, hvorfor projektet bidrager med en lille, men vigtig korrektion af denne tendens. 8 1.1 Projektets erkendelsesinteresse og problemstilling Projektet har to hovedproblemstillinger,
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