Authors: Simons Iain Newman James

Source: DiGRA ’03 – Proceedings of the 2003 DiGRA International Conference: Level Up, 2014

Volume: 2 ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666

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This paper examines the practices and activities of videogame fans online. In scrutinising a variety of player-produced texts including walkthroughs, fanart, theorising and FAQs, the authors seek not only to highlight the creativity and vibrancy of the participatory culture of videogame fandom but also to examine the ways in which discussion and the production of such texts are used by players to generate and communicate their identity within the community of otaku and modify the terms of engagement with the game. In this way, the authors seek to interrogate player-produced texts as examples of the involvement and activity of players in the construction of videogames’ meaning and as a means of problematising discussions of the pleasures of gameplay.

Keywords: fandom, videogame culture, walkthrough