Gaming: Contribution
The practice of gambling, the playing of games that simulate actual conditions (as of business or war) especially for training or testing purposes, the playing of video games. Merriam-Webster’s definitions of ‘gaming’ span from risk-reward stake to the act of playing video games but the later may now be more prominent than the wager as evolution has shifted the first definition to the more relevant third. Understanding gaming relies on the how the viewer prefers to emphasize the word. Disconnecting ‘game’ from ‘-ing’ is a start to defining the word as a whole. Appearing as early as the late fifteenth century English language, the word ‘game’ combines the sense of communion with enjoyment implying a collective pleasure shared through unity. Games are noted by Saugata Bhaduri in Digital Keywords to have two main components: structure and enjoyment. The structure of a game can be outlined by either a set of rules to follow, or goal to obtain — “winning the game.” Enjoyment is obtained by the act of playing the game, this idea helps add the ‘-ing’ to the ‘game’ where ‘gaming’ now implies being amongst the game in a state of incompleteness; if the game was over, the structure would have been followed and all parties involved would no longer be ‘gaming.’ Philosophers have struggled to clearly define ‘games’ due to the lucrative nature of first establishing varying sets of rules and levels of enjoyment. Ludwig Wittgenstein noted in 1953 that games are undefinable and Lyotard and Thebaud wrote in 1985 that games are vague in nature. Jonne Arjoranta describes establishing a game definition on a case-by-case basis weighing the game’s narrativity, rules, and playfulness. Gaming in the modern sense is now defined by Bhaduri as, “the act of playing video games or games with a digital interface,” implying the entirely digital aspect which did not once exist and falling closer to Webster’s third definition of the word. Further dissection of the word lies within the connections to digital concepts and trends, helping shape the word into a current, modern meaning.
The idea of technology being shaped by human action is referred to as the social construction of technology. As society evolves, so too does the technology used; but the technology itself does not determine the actions of the human utilizing it. Gaming, in the sense of action, has existed long before modern technology. As a culture, we have always gamed; in the early senses of the word, this implied gambling or “cheating the system.” The existing system could have been anything from the parameters in which a board game is played, to the hierarchy that is a casino or game ring. As technology evolved, so too did the ability to game — modern games now involve a phone, tabled, computer, console, or any other digital interface which allows a user to log in and enjoy oneself in a structured environment. Cheats and gamblers have also shaped these technologies as casinos and bookies now have online services allowing bets to be placed from the comfort of one’s home as opposed to the stale air of regret in a casino’s race room or game floor. Technology may not have created gaming, but the argument can be made that it has enhanced it.
Platforms have provided a digital base for gaming in an online world. Tarleton Gillespie notes that digital platforms have capabilities within the title of ‘platform’ users may not be aware of in his article ‘The Politics of Platforms.’ The evolution of a society connected through digital mediums has escalated the use of platforms to help share, create, and project to the world. Just like YouTube has allowed users to be their own content producers, gaming platforms have developed which allow players to grow with their systems. Consoles that began as Xbox and PlayStation are now multi-dimensional entertainment systems with each ‘user’ or ‘player’ having their own account with games and media tailored to their own tastes. More recently, players are now able to ‘stream’ their content online for viewers to tune in and watch them game, or play. The basis for all of these technological developments were the consoles themselves. Xbox and PlayStation beginning as offline gaming systems first connected to online gaming with regional connections, then national connections, then world connections, then full entertainment emersion; the platform of which is Microsoft and Sony — the console owners. This heavily digital connection to gaming chalks a point for the modern definition of, “the playing of video games” and pulls the word farther from gambling.
Digital gaming has evolved into its own form of social media. Simon Lindgren notes that an important aspect of social profiles is the ability to be identifiable through a sort of online profile. Gaming in today’s age has allowed players to create their own profiles online, connect with friends, and play with one another in team settings; the culmination of which helps outline a form of social media established on consoles and computer games. While profiles are not as informational as Facebook, friends are able to see when each other are online, what games they are playing, and message one another back and forth. Certain levels of anonymity can be protected, or gamers can share more information with those they deem ‘close friends.’ Gaming itself is an interaction with the structure of the game, when placed in a digital setting with a group of co-players who are able to gain general knowledge about one another, the argument can be made that modern gaming has established itself as its own form of social media.
Gaming is a digital native’s activity. Lindgren refers to digital natives as those who are native speakers of the digital language. Digital natives are known to comprehend technological changes and adapt quickly to them. This ‘demographic’ is loosely correlated to those born in the early 1980s and later, also granting the title ‘digital immigrants’ to those born before this time period. With the average age of today’s gamer being 34 years old, and the most active gamers being under the age of 18, the statement that gamers are digital natives is a fair association. While gaming is not a new concept, digital gaming is, and the ability to speak the language of technology fluently correlates to the use of video games as a form of digital expression.
Googling the word ‘gaming’ helps grant a screenshot of the current definition of the term. A simple search helps shape how people connect with ‘gaming’ on many different levels. Google’s popular products are shown to be the PlayStation, Xbox, gaming PC, and Nintendo Switch as well as their games alike. Its preferred locations are GameStop, as well as a custom controller location for alterations made to the controllers and playable devices used to control games online. YouTube’s recommended videos are on its ‘gaming channel’ which features, “news, reviews, playthroughs and more.” Some Top stories include an Engadget article titled ‘Does the Xbox Series X make Gaming PC’s obsolete?’ as well as a Wired article titled ‘Google is Opening a New Studio to Make Stadia Games.’ Google’s ‘people also ask’ prompts the answers to questions such as: “what’s trending in gaming?” “how do you become a gamer?” and, “how much do gamers get paid?” — to which the answer is an average of between $1,000 and $5,000 per month with some of the highest gamers being paid an upwards of $15,000 per month. All of this information prompts a few key pieces of information: there is no sign of ‘gambling,’ and no sign of ‘hacking.’ Gaming has evolved closer to the playing of video games than anything else, begging the question, how outdated is Webster’s first definition of the word? This virtual snapshot shows how important new systems are to consumers, where they can be acquired, how they can be learned, and who profits the most from them; this is only what is shown on page one and does not include the other 10.7 billion search results google yielded in .62 seconds. Google’s search results help shape the video game definition of gaming in today’s digital environment.
The connections made to gaming through digital interactions help form a very video-game-heavy definition of the word. Bhaduri’s initial definition of the word being, “the act of playing video games or games with a digital interface” is an accurate statement; however, connecting the ‘-ing’ at the end of ‘game’ with the implied sense of gambling is an outdated way of thinking. While the statement ‘gaming the system’ is associated with the idea of breaking the rules to get ahead, the idea that ‘gaming’ and gambling are still directly related has been altered by the onset of technology. This can be factored by the demographic of now called ‘gamers’ who immerse themselves in gaming culture, as a young audience who spends their time online enjoying video games, the only wager they make is with their time. This conscious decision to spend time playing video games is about as much gambling as these gamers indirectly commit to — but in this sense, anyone who decides to drive a car also gambles their life to a horrific accident along the way to their destination. The fairness of associating a gamer with being a gambler any more than the fairness of associating a driver to being a gambler is then questioned — if this were the case, gamblers anonymous would be very hard to make an appointment with. Gaming emphasizes the act of playing or contributing to a game, whether that be on a digital interface or not. These contributions allow the gamer to connect with others, and fully participate in the parameters of the game in order to reach the highest levels of enjoyment. With this knowledge, my own definition of gaming would insert the key word, contributing: the act of contributing to a digital game. Contributing removes the idea of gambling or hacking, and replaces it with a sense of involvement. To play a game is to be a gamer, and to be a gamer is to be part of a culture which cares about the ever-evolving nature of video games, their platforms, and the gaming community. Had Bhaduri written his keyword piece on gaming today, he may have included the sense of community and involvement that gamers share. Careers are being made by people passionate about video games; there is more money than ever flowing through streaming revenue, endorsements, and prize money on various different games throughout the world. Gaming has grown far beyond the practice of gambling and the playing of video games and now encompasses a way of life through the expression of games.
NOTES
“Game Studies.” Game Studies — Game Definitions: A Wittgensteinian Approach, gamestudies.org/1401/articles/arjoranta.
Gillespie, Tarleton. “The Politics of ‘Platforms.’” A Companion to New Media Dynamics, 2013, pp. 407–416., doi:10.1002/9781118321607.ch28.
Jkcp. “How Much Do Pro Gamers & Esports Players Make?” Over 20 Summer Camps, info.jkcp.com/blog/professional-gamer-salary-esports/.
Klein, Hans K., and Daniel Lee Kleinman. “The Social Construction of Technology: Structural Considerations — Hans K. Klein, Daniel Lee Kleinman, 2002.” SAGE Journals, journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/016224390202700102.
Lindgren, Simon. Digital Media and Society. SAGE Publications Ltd, 2017.
Yanev, Victor. “Video Game Demographics — Who Plays Games In 2020.” Tech Jury, Tech Jury, 17 Jan. 2020, techjury.net/stats-about/video-game-demographics/#gref.
