Gamers as Designers: A Framework for Investigating Design in Gaming Affinity Spaces

Abstract

This article addresses recent approaches to uncovering and theorizing the design activities that occur in online gaming affinity spaces. Examples are presented of productive d/Discourse present within online forums around three video game series, video games, or game platforms, and key design practices engaged upon by gamers in these spaces. It is argued that these activities are, in part, consequences of the affordances and constraints of the games under discussion. Repurposing the 'narratology vs. ludology' debates, a taxonomy is presented which addresses how designed aspects of the games may shape both narrative and ludic (game-mechanic) forms of design. Finally, the forms of these design activities are contrasted with predominant approaches present within formal learning environments.Just a few short years ago, the medium of the video game had yet to achieve mainstream popularity in the English-speaking world, and the Internet was largely perceived as full of untapped potential for learning and literacy instruction. The question of the role of media in learning was still quite contentious; Clark's (1994) assertion that media will never influence learning (cf. Kozma's 1991 counterpoint) was felt widely in the field of educational technology. What role does media play in educational practice, and how do we best understand its relationship to practices outside of schooling?One of the most pertinent questions for today's educational climate is that of how learning and literacy are fostered (or hampered) by the use of digital, electronic media. Though these questions have persisted, the rise of new, digital, and interactive media in contemporary life has given a number of researchers cause to reconsider the true impact of media on learning and literacy in a wide range of social and cultural contexts. Specifically, it is apparent that attention needs to be devoted to the widespread and revolutionary changes in the everyday use of digital media -from the rise of personal, handheld Internet devices (e.g. the BlackBerry and the iPhone) through the popular use of digitally-mediated virtual spaces (e.g. Facebook or World of Warcraft). These changes demand that new attention be paid to not just the formal instructional use of technologies, but toward the informal (and increasingly ubiquitous) interaction of learning, literacy and electronic media. The technical achievements present within electronic and online media have fostered rapid adoption of digital media among learners of all ages, with the increased prevalence of digital video games becoming an important new area of study among learning scientists and literacy scholars (see foundational works by Squire, 2002;Gee, 2003;Steinkuehler, 2006).At the same time, the recent rise of participatory 'Web 2.0' technologies (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter) has again brought attention to the forms of interaction present within online participatory culture (e.g. social networking, the development of online writing, the sharing of user-created videos, game desi...

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