Performance & Audience

As I unfortunately missed class - my reflection on this week's case study will be based on secondhand spectatorship (through conversations with my fellow students), personal experiences as game spectator and weekly the reedings.

Spectators at the Arcade

The gaming experience does not limit itself between the gamer and the screen - or the amongst the players within the virtual world. Spectators also enjoy a strong gaming experience and their mere presence contributes to the attitude of the performing players plus his/ hers decisions and performance level in the game. This gamer-spectator relationship is accessible for public view and study in the arcades, where common interest in games - and not personal ties - links the players and bystanders together as a group. In arcades we find that some individuals are pure spectators (coming only to see others play the games) but none mere gamers; As the players have to wait their turn there is a fluid shift in character; in the latency players become the audience at the chosen gaming machine. I particularly find this rotation of roles interesting; In the intermere the spectator's anticipation builds up to release in ultimate climax as a performing player him/ herself - the time waiting represents an excitement curve similar to ones seen within individual sports and other real life performances. This is the time to check out other players' style, skill level, get inspired, learn new tricks or combos and mentally prepare "to enter the stage" themselves. Motion-sensing games like Dance Dance Revolution are particularly exposing the player as control of the game leaves the private sphere and enters the public space of the arcade for everyone to see. Skillful players differentiate themselves, purposely to the less skillful. They incorporate showmanship into dancing routines that are frequently practiced both at the arcade and at home. And this, of course, naturally create a gap in attitude amongst different levels of players at the arcade; Here skillful confident players are claiming territory by acting like being in their own homes (both while gaming and waiting), where as the rookie players constantly are showing signs of awareness that this is in fact a public place and they may be watched while gaming. They use the time between games as an opportunity to see hardcore gamers in action - They do not have the confidence to leave their things unattended and they do their upmost efforts to avoid embarrassment by performing lesser in front of the local gaming superstars. Using Dance Dance Revolution as study Lin and Sun found that the hardcore gamers tend to make an effort to a) Not seemingly care about the audience when gaming, and b) Not wanting to blend in to the crowd as just an other onlooker while waiting. Even playing top levels perfectly these gamers still secretly noticed the crowd with probably a desire for praise and acceptance. This concludes with out a doubt at the social game of playing the arcades has equal importance to the actual virtual game - and few of both players and spectators focus only on thrill of the game taking place in the virtual world.

Readings:

McCrea, "Watching Starcraft Strategy and South Korea"

Lin and Sun, "The Role of Onlookers"

Lowood, "It's Not Easy Beeing green"