Game scenes: theorizing digital game audiences

Crawford, G; Gosling, V

Abstract

This article develops and expands on earlier work of the authors, which posits the idea of considering gamers as a (media) audience—enabling parallels to be drawn
with wider literatures and debates on audience research and media fan cultures. In particular, drawing on some illustrative examples from qualitative research
(funded by the British Academy) into the everyday lives of gamers, this article suggests that the concept of ‘‘scene’’ (borrowed most notably from music fan studies) allows us to understand how gaming and game-related narratives are located within the ordinary and everyday lives of gamers but take on greater significance within certain
physical locations.

Citation

Crawford, G., & Gosling, V. (2011). Game scenes: theorizing digital game audiences. Games and Culture, 6(2), 135-154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412010364979

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Sep 5, 2011
• Journal: Games and Culture
• Print ISSN: 1555-4120
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 135-154
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412010364979
• Keywords: Audience, digital gaming, gamers, everyday life, narrative, scene, space, sociology, subculture
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1177/1555412010364979