Chapter 5 Characteristics of Video Gamers and Video Game Communities Introduction
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- The Hearthstone Community
- 5.3. The Four Stages of Competitive Gaming
Competitive Gaming and eSportsFrom the data gathered, the majority of video game events examined consists of video game tournaments with high stakes – in particular, electronic-sports (E-Sports/eSports) tournaments. Cobban (2016, p.1) states that; ‘in order for a game to become a successful eSports, the game needs to be competitive, have a large player base, and be well funded’. This suggests that it must be a game where people play against each other; have skill involved; have enough players; have regular players who watch twitch streams, read interviews, attend tournaments events; have people to drive the game and community forward; and most importantly have funds to support itself (Cobban, 2016). Similar to traditional sports, eSports has attracted a vast community of professional players (pro-gamers), teams, commentators, sponsors, spectators and fans. The rising popularity of eSports has caught the academic attention to examine this phenomenon, such as Taylor’s (2012) work on eSports, spectatorship and women. Taylor (2012) suggests that enjoying video games at a professional level is not a young boy dream anymore and the best evidence is the amazing evolution of electronic sports over the last decade. However, it is important to highlight that within the study of video games and eSports, there has often been focus on the live streaming aspect of eSports, rather than the presence of video gamers attending eSports events. For instance, eSports consist of competitive gaming in front of fans form around the world. The fans not only watch them via streaming platforms (like YouTube and Twitch Gaming), but also meet often in packed stadiums where they watch the game on a big screen. This suggests an importance to consider the rising popularity of eSports and video game events. The Hearthstone CommunityThis refers to a community of players that play Hearthstone. The Hearthstone community consists of various groups of individuals: from casual players, competitive players, sponsored players and professional players. As a gaming community, hearthstone players often communicate on Twitch (see Twitch Communities), online forums and Facebook groups, with access to participate in regular online tournaments (a few online tournaments a week), along with the occasional fireside gatherings and public tournaments at video game events. Despite there not being much research on competitive gamers at video game events, the Hearthstone players that attended video game events had a strong sense of community and identity. Hearthstone players often collaborated amongst each other at video game events and ‘hung out’ together. Besides the Hearthstone tournament itself, it is important to highlight that the players often socialised as a group and united as one when needed. For instance, during iSeries i54, there was a seven-hour delay in the Hearthstone tournament and the Hearthstone players united together (after communicating in the live-chat) to ‘march’ downstairs to the administration desk to meet together and resolve issues causing the delay with the administration staff. However, despite the welcoming atmosphere with considerations to a worthwhile leisure lifestyle shared amongst gamers from ‘being there’ and ‘together’, is it important to highlight that aspects of inclusion and exclusion should be considered (Jonsson and Verhagen, 2011) – this is not exclusive to the Hearthstone community or other communities at iSeries, but across all events and communities in this research. For instance, during Insomnia56 (i56) the first major the Hearthstone tournament, ‘TrueSilver Championship’, with invitations to 16 professional Hearthstone players (mostly international players, which separated Hearthstone players into two groups; the ‘VIPs’ (professional/semi-professional players) and the ‘plebs’ (competitive players) – to enter the restricted VIP area required a VIP pass, which was obtainable if you were an invited player or reached Top 8 in the tournament. Therefore, to provide an understanding on how communities hold and express different norms and values from those of a wider society, this section will consider the processes of career progression and socialisation. Van Gennep’s (1908) concept of ‘status passage’ considers the idea to describe the passage of an individual through various stages in life courses, such as shifting from being unmarried to married. This has been expanded greatly within sociology, most notable from the University of Chicago, to incorporate the study of processes of career progression and socialisation (Glaser, 1968). For example, Becker’s (1963) notion of the ‘deviant career’ considers the career progression from the minor acts of delinquency through to full-blown criminality. However, Becker’s (1963) progression along this path is primarily liner, this may not always be the case and individuals may regress or leapfrog certain positions. As with employment career progression in industry, demotion or a rapid rise to the top, are always possible. Hence, it may be useful to consider Crawford’s (2012, p.62) concept of the ‘video gamer career path’, which refers to; ‘a career path involving aspects of socialisation, tuition and social progression’. Crawford (2012, p.64) suggests that adopting a theorisation of career progression has several advantages over using tradition categories or typologies; First, it moves away from restrictive typologies that can caricature patterns of behaviour and force individuals into rigid ‘types’. Second, it allows for an understanding of how an individual’s position within a career structure can change and develop over time. Third, and relatedly, it also permits a consideration of how the career structure and community itself can change and develop over time. Fourth, since career paths do not categorise individuals as types, it allows for a greater understanding of the fluidity of contemporary identities and social roles, allowing a consideration of how individuals can follow several, often intersecting, career paths, such as following the career paths of being a science teacher, a science fiction fan and a player of Star Trek Online. This suggests that ‘career’ is usually linked to ideas of progression with formal organisations, but can also constitute any form of everyday social development (Goffman, 1968). However, rather than adopting a model that consists of casual gamers, competitive gamers, sponsored players and professional players into a linear career progression model, which suggests certain ‘types’ of video gamers in certain ‘career stages’, it seems useful to consider Shaffir and Stebbins’s (1991, p.7) four stages of field experiences: ‘(a) entering the field setting; (b) learning how to play one’s role while there, whether it be that of researcher or someone else; (c) maintaining and surviving the several kinds of relations that emerge; and (d) leaving the setting. 5.3. The Four Stages of Competitive GamingSimilar to Shaffir and Stebbins’s (1991, p.7) four stages which field experiences may be coordinated (as mentioned earlier in this chapter), I also consider the process of becoming a competitive gamer in four stages (see Table 5.3.).
Entering the game scene, like many scenes, was considered a similar experience to starting out as a ‘fresh-man’ – the new player. Amongst the participants, several mentioned similar experiences upon approaching the game scene for the first time; I always played at home with my brother and friends… I’m usually the one who always wins… so you build a mind-set that you’re really good… but when I went to my first tournament, I got rekt… I was terrible… not so terrible where I came last, but enough to see a gap between myself and the higher level players… that’s when I learned I wasn’t as good as I thought I was… but it wasn’t all bad, as I got to meet a load of cool people... and now we practice together at weekly’s… (Parappa the Rapper: Group Inteviewee – Smash UK) I’m sure most players have had that moment of realisation that they aren’t the best player in the world when attending their first tournament… it’s rare for a new player to come to a tournament and win the entire thing first time… especially someone unknown to the Smash community… it has happened before, like FalcoMaster3000 *laughs*… but again its very rare… (Bowser: Group Interviewee – Smash UK) For instance, Parappa the Rapper (Group Interviewee – Smash UK) suggests a noticeable ‘gap’ between himself and other players, after competing in his first tournament. This suggests a hierarchical ranking system amongst players within a competitive gaming community. For instance, in certain matches with favourable odds to the considered ‘stronger opponent’ upsets can be made when the ‘weaker opponent’ wins – in particular, to new players who turn up to tournaments for the first time. However, Bowser (Group Interviewee – Smash UK) suggests that it is often rare for a new player to win tournaments, especially those unknown to the Smash community. For example, Bowser (Group Interviewee – Smash UK) mentions FalcoMaster3000 – a mysterious Smash player who competed in a Smash tournament wearing a balaclava and sunglasses. During the tournament, he did not speak for the entire nine hours, surprised everyone with his skill in the game (using Marth, Falco and Fox), and effectively taking 1st place. FalcoMaster3000 kept his identity hidden - to date, his identity remains unknown amongst the Smash community and there has been a couple of hunches that he may be a high level Smash 64 (Super Smash Bros. – Nintendo: 1999) player, based on his play style, character selection and geographical location. 
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