Image by kennymatic via Flickr
Following on from my posting about Under the Mask 2011 and the publishing of the slides from my presentation there I’ve managed to finish a written draft of the paper I presented as the academic keynote speaker.
I’d been asked by a number of people at the conference (and those following the Twitter feed) for a copy of it so in an attempt to get it out there as soon as possible here it is.
I am sure there are still plenty of typos and other signs of rapid workmanship but it gives a flavour of the points I was making.
Basically the paper looks at differences in the use of the terms ‘gamer’ and player’ both in the academic literatures and amongst gamers. Further, it explores the potential for using Twitter to begin to unpack what it means to be ‘a gamer’ and how this category is administered by gamers themselves. It argues that there is utility in developing research which regards gaming as a practice and that this offers a broader perspective than is povided by focus on play and the magic circle.
I hope to revise the paper over the summer so comments on it before then will be welcomed.
