The Stigma Game. Gaming between Subculture and the Olympics

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Gaming, grade: 1, University of Würzburg (Neuphilologisches Insitut), language: English, abstract: This paper aims to find out why many people refuse to identify as a gamer publicly. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate how the gaming community is structured, where the dominant culture positions it and how members themselves perceive their social role. This paper starts off to theoretically examine how social groups work by using subcultural theories, which include Ken Gelder¿s six criteria of subcultures, to lay the groundwork for better understanding the video game culture and how one can approach it (3). As stated in the very beginning, the community that plays video games is enormously large. That is why a closer look will be taken on the term gamer, to comprehend to whom it refers. The central task of this paper lies in the two-part analysis. Firstly, supported by the evaluations of the mainstream press, the external perspective from the dominant culture on the social group of gamers is being captured and discussed. Secondly, an examination of internal communication on the online gaming platform Twitch shall gain insight into the mindset of a gamer which is subsequently interpreted. Finally, this study contrasts the results of both perspectives and evaluates them to one conclusion.

The gaming branch has been exploding in the last decades like no other. While in the beginning, gaming was something practised by a small marginal group that possessed a computer and fully understood how to use it, a whole culture emerged in the last years. As the 2020 Global Games Market Report states, there are 2.7 billion people all over the world playing video games, and it is expected to grow up to 3.2 billion in 2023. Still, it does not feel right to reveal to be a passionate gaming fan when introducing oneself to one¿s parents-in-law while admitting to being a football fan is relatively unproblematic.