Chapter 5 Characteristics of Video Gamers and Video Game Communities Introduction
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LAN Treasure & Raffle TicketsOn the final day of Insomnia (i-Series), it was common among LAN gamers to participate in the search for ‘LAN Treasure’. As Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle (Group Interview: Insomnia) explains: Researcher: What is LAN Treasure? Bulbasaur: LAN treasure can be anything someone has left behind… usually anything consumable… Researcher: Do you all participate in this activity? Charmander: Yeah, I do it every time because it’s fun… mainly going round looking for cans… mostly cans of energy drinks or coke left over… couple of cables… nothing like amazing, but random scraps that are fun to look for… we usually do this once all our stuff are packed… but we did find a case one LAN, like a new PC case Researcher: A PC case? Did you take it? Charmander: Nah, we left it cause no one wanted it… we presumed it was an unwanted prize, and too big to take home… I think someone went and handed it in to staff… because when we find items like that, we often hand those in… because the whole point is to look for stuff people don’t want… so when you’re looking for LAN treasure, you don’t go unplugging shit or stealing people’s belongings… that’s just dodgy… Researcher: Does everyone at Insomnia take part in this? Squirtle: No… not everyone takes part in this… only some do it ‘religiously’... like some LAN ritual amongst friends to look for the ‘best LAN treasure’… I pretty sure the yellow team (Insomnia BYOC staff) look for LAN treasure every LAN… they usually go round collecting all the unopened booze, and made a pile to drink together at the end of the day In simple terms, ‘LAN treasure’ refers to items that others have left behind after LAN, to claim and take home. It was often participated amongst certain communities that follow these ‘ritual practises’, which is then passed down to other community members – such as new members to the community or the researcher herself. From the field-notes, it is important to highlight that participating to look for LAN Treasure also consists of certain (unspoken) rules: Thou shall not steal – no unplugging or swapping PC’s Thou shall be fair – check if it belongs to someone and hand in ‘high’ or ‘sentimental’ value items Finally, on the last day of LAN, internet shuts off from 12pm (time varies), raffle starts around 2pm (check forum for accurate time), cleaners start work around 3am (they will bin everything, including LAN Treasure), and everyone must be out by 4pm (for the tear down). Firstly, it is not acceptable to steal. This includes ‘unplugging’ items from other people’s PC’s or swapping/taking other people’s PC’s. During registration for Insomnia (i-Series), all BYOC gamers are provided with individual lanyards with their signatures on the back and matching stickers (usually three stickers – monitor, tower and spare) to attach onto their equipment for security purposes. Upon approaching security, all electronic goods are checked for matching signatures on the lanyards and stickers. Although there has not been many reports on stolen equipment during Insomnia (i-Series), several participants have criticised the security measures, as the basic design of the lanyard and stickers are generic, with the only difference of having signatures signed on the day of arrival; ‘The system is stupid, there’s nothing stopping me going round looking for a nicer PC and placing my sticker over someone else’s monitor or tower and ditch mine… not that I’ll do that, but it’s worrying that someone can do that and get through security with it…’ (Teemo the Swift Scout - Interviewee: Insomnia). Consequently, it is common for BYOC gamers to ‘sit together’ amongst others, so they could ‘keep on eye’ on each other’s equipment. In addition, LAN treasure usually consists of ‘unwanted’ items that others have left behind, of which mostly included consumables, from items of food and drinks that are safe for consumption. Occasionally, some equipment can also be considered LAN Treasure, such as items that are partially or completely broken, items that are of no use because it has been replaced (such as a new mouse or keyboard), and items that could not be taken home due to transport and space limitations. For example, during Insomnia (i-Series) it was often for BYOC gamers to new purchase merchandise to replace their ‘old stuff’. Usually these ‘old’ items are ‘flogged’ on the ‘trading post’ forum (buy and sell stuff), of which all BYOC gamers have access to seek for deals, swaps and trades – but if items were ‘unsold’ and not worth much, these items were often left behind, for others to seek as LAN Treasure – sometimes with an attached note stating ‘LAN Treasure’. Secondly, when participating in LAN treasure, is it important to be fair, such as checking if the item belongs to someone and to hand in items of ‘high’ or ‘sentimental’ value. As Teemo the Swift Scout (Interviewee: Insomnia) states: Teemo the Swift Scout: …when I look for LAN treasure, I usually look around my area to see if we left anything... as I sort of know everyone from my clan, so it’s quite easy to return stuff to them if anything was left by accident… then we usually wonder around checking under tables and chairs… In particular, items located close by were often ‘checked’ if it belonged to a member of the community or clan. For instance, the researcher found a cushion of the Mt Fuji Mascot, Fuji-san, which was left behind. Upon considering if it was LAN treasure, as it did not seem to be an item of high value and fairly used, another BYOC gamer recognised that it belonged to a someone sat on the end of our row, who was described as ‘one of us’ from Manchester - because the person had already left, the researcher was provided with their contact details (because I was also from Manchester) to arrange a time and place to return the item back to its owner, of which they were very grateful for, as the Fuji-san cushion was obtained from their trip to Japan. In addition, while seeking for LAN treasure, amongst the items the researcher found; 3 cans of coke, 2 cans of energy drinks and an extension cable - the researcher decided to take the extension cable home as LAN treasure (see Figure 5.15.). After collecting LAN treasure, it was common to compare ‘treasures’ amongst other BYOC gamers or ‘clan members’. For instance, upon presenting ‘my LAN treasure’, the four-way extension cable that is probably worth a couple of pounds, I was provided ‘tips’ to look for ‘better’ items; ‘I’ve got four of those… and you don’t really want that one, you want the ones with switches on and longer cables’ (LAN Treasure seeking BYOC Gamer – Field-notes) (see Figure 5.1.5).  
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