I'm better than you, and I can prove it : games, expertise, and the culture of competition
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This dissertation examines the relationships between and among video games as media objects, player communities, and the development of expertise using the competitive fighting game community (FGC) as its point of departure. Having self-organized around a shared gaming fandom and desire for competition, the FGC has developed into a robust subculture that challenges and encourages its members, most of whom are outsiders, providing them with a sense of belonging while also facilitating the development of both abstract and concrete skills useful beyond the sphere of their chosen games. Taking the FGC as a model, I theorize that many of its principles of motivation might be repurposed toward other kinds of learning. I begin in chapter I by proposing a new theory for analyzing video games as texts which takes into account their overt narrative elements, the implicit narrative of their rules, and the ways in which both of those shape players' reception practices. I suggest that the clearest notion of what a game "means" can be gleaned from where these threads intersect with one another. Chapter II addresses the FGC more directly as a subculture, engaging with its members' beliefs and practices, tracing their origin back to the influence of fighting games themselves and of urban arcade culture. I propose in chapter III that the FGC constitutes what I call a "community of expertise, " or a social group wherein not only shared practice, but shared proficiency is required for membership, and I highlight the ways in which FGC practices align with what research tells us are the optimal methods for developing expert-like abilities in various fields. Finally, in chapter IV, I propose a means of designing for expertise by borrowing from proven elements within the FGC's mode of operation.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Thompson, James Brian |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Program in Modern Thought and Literature. |
| Primary advisor | Alim, H. Samy |
| Primary advisor | Lunsford, Andrea A, 1942- |
| Thesis advisor | Alim, H. Samy |
| Thesis advisor | Lunsford, Andrea A, 1942- |
| Thesis advisor | Lowood, Henry |
| Advisor | Lowood, Henry |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | James Brian Thompson. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Program in Modern Thought and Literature. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by James Brian Thompson
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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