Video Gaming: The Sociology of a Lifeworld Submitted by Victor Christos Gazis to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in September 2012 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature:..
Abstract This thesis contributes to contemporary sociological debates about video games and video gaming by building upon the works of game theorists such as Eskelinen and Tronstad (2003), Juul (2001), Taylor (2006) and Thornham (2011) that explore the interactive and participatory nature of the pursuit. The data within, derived from an empirical study involving focus groups, interviews, observation and analyses of games and gaming practices and participant observation amongst communities of video gamers is analysed using theories and theoretical frameworks from film and audience studies, classical sociology (in particular Durkheim) and the sociology of sport. Emanating from the data video gaming is revealed to be an organised sport played in a domestic environment in terms of embodied practice, conduct and sentiment. The prioritising of agency over structure in data analysis reveals multiple multisensory social practices that encourage engagement with the medium and create, maintain and develop a vibrant and constantly evolving video game lifeworld. Using the career of the video gamer, as a conceptual framework, this thesis brings to the fore the masculinity and masculine social practices central to the video gaming lifeworld, and the multisensory social practices through which heterogeneous video gamers (from occasional lone gamers to fully immersed MMORPG enthusiasts) actively immerse themselves into, build, maintain and develop the video game lifeworld. A lifeworld wherein gamers develop their motivations to play and keep playing video games consequent to rewarding performances and interactions with other participants. Key Words: video games - addiction - passive consumer empirical multisensory career social practices active - lone gamer MMORPG lifeworld
Chapter Index: Chapter 1: Introduction 8 Chapter 2: Towards a Lifeworld Analysis of the World of Video Games and Video Gaming 28 2.1) Structure/Agency: A Prevailing Dualism in Video Game Theory 28 2.2) Demonization of the Electronic Entertainment Industry: Nihilism, Individualism and the Controlling Power of The Screen 30 2.3) Challenging Nihilism: Individualism and the Controlling Power of The Screen 36 2.3.1) Challenging Nihilism: Individualism 36 2.3.2) Challenging Nihilism: The Controlling Power of The Screen 41 2.4) Towards a Lifeworld Analysis of Video Games and Video Gaming 44 2.4.1) Constructing a Lifeworld Analysis of Video Games and Video Gaming 48 2.5) Structure of the Thesis 52 Chapter 3: Play a Historical Evolution From Epic Contests & Cultic Games to Globalised Sports and Video Games 56 3.1) Play and Contest in Classical Antiquity: Rituals and Cultic Games 59 3.2) Play and Contest in Europe, From Folk Sports to Association Football 62 3.3) Play and Contest in an Age of Globalisation 72 3.4) Globalised Play: Video games an Organised Sport in the Domestic Environment 73 Chapter 4: Video games and video gaming - a System of Provision 84 4.1) Size and Structure: A Quantitative Analysis 87 4.2) Qualitative Analysis of a Historical Evolution 102 4.3) Marketing and Sales: Networks and Social Relations 111 4.4) An Enduring Culture of Masculinity: Linking Production and Consumption in the Video Game Lifeworld 113 4.5) Utilising the SOP as a Foundation for Further Research into the Video Game Lifeworld 121
Chapter 5: From Audience to Agent - Representing and Enacting Masculinity in the Video Game Lifeworld 123 5.1) Cinematic Representations of Men and Masculinity 131 5.2) Representational Strategies: Aspiration Masculinity in Mainstream Video Games 139 5.3) Content Analysis: Theory, Exemplar and Methods 144 5.4) Content Analysis: Call of Duty Black Ops 146 5.4.1) Explicit Plot of Call of Duty Black Ops: A Soldier s Story 151 5.4.2) Implicit Plot of Call of Duty Black Ops: Masculinity Lost and Found 154 5.5) Beyond Film Theory: Agency and the Performance of Masculinity 159 Chapter 6: From Agent to Team Mate Embodiment, Performance and Skill Development 168 6.1) Developing a Phenomenological Analysis of Video Games and Video Gaming 169 6.2) Case Study 1 Game: Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 173 6.2.1) The Race 179 6.3) Case Study 2 Game: Call of Duty Black Ops 183 6.4) Analysis and Interpretation of Embodiment in the Pursuit of Video Gaming 188 6.5) Embodiment and Skill Development: Background and Rationale 191 6.6) The Skill Development Process 196 6.7) Analysis and Interpretation of the Skill Development Process 204 6.8) Embodied Practices Amongst a Masculine Gaming Community 208 6.9) An Enduring Culture of Masculinity and The Continuing Exclusion of Women From Competitive, Organised Social Play 210 Chapter 7:The Career of an Online Video Gamer: Training, Teamwork, Competitive Play 217 7.1) Lone gaming and Organised Play 220 7.2) The Training Ground: Call of Duty 223 7.3) The Training Ground: EVE Online 225 7.4) Online Training Guides for Team and Competitive Play 230 7.5) Peer Led Training Regimes, Team Play and Social Cohesion 235 7.6) YouTube Videos: Totemic Performance, Potlatch and Social Cohesion 241 7.7) Totemic Performance and Social Cohesion 245 7.8) THE EVENT: An EVE Online Mission - Planning, Preparation, Combat and Teamwork 246
Chapter 8: Fan communities: Social Cohesion, Consumer Behaviour and Sales 253 8.1) Neo-Marxism: Traditional Manufacturing and Development in the Production of Video Games 256 8.1.1) Neo-Marxism: Corporate Immaterial Labour and the Video Game Industry 257 8.1.2) Neo-Marxism: Fan Culture and the Immaterial Labour of Video Game Fans 260 8.2) Towards an Alternative analysis of Fandom in the Video Game Lifeworld 262 8.2.1) Video Gaming: A Complex Lifeworld Where Consumption meets Production 263 8.2.2) Football and Fan Communities: Exemplifying a Complex, Symbiotic and Mutually Rewarding Relationship 277 8.2.3) The Video Game Industry and Fan Culture: A Mutually Rewarding Relationship of Participation, Rituals, Effervescence and Community 270 8.2.4) Hype, Social Cohesion and Sales: a Symbiotic Relationship 272 Chapter 9: Multisensory Participation: Agency, Performance, Sociality and Community 285 Glossary of Terms 298 Games List 300 Film References 306 Literature References 307
List and Index of Tables Fig 1: Video game and console market size, 2006 2010 89 Fig 2: Money spent on video games in millions (UK) 90 Fig 3: Video gamers by platform (UK) 91 Fig 4: Sales trends by product DVDs, music, computer games 95 Fig 5: Google trends consumer interest by product 95 Fig 6: Numbers of active gamers (UK) 96 Fig 7: Time spent on games (UK) 97 Fig 8: Active players and payers (Global) 97 Fig 9: Video game ownership by gender, age and socio-economic status 98