
Diggy Holes and Jaffa Cakes: The rise of the elite fanproducer in video-gaming culture
Online communities have developed rapidly in the last few years, and key to this is their growing visibility outside the game itself. Fan conventions, cosplay, videos on YouTube and gamer ‘chic’ are becoming increasingly prevalent parts of mainstream culture. This article
investigates the growth of these groups through a discussion of ‘fan-producers’: gamers who make videos, machinima and webcasts. Specifically, it examines the role of the group. The Yogscast, and the game Minecraft, in developing the relationship between game and fan. It also argues
that the self-supporting nature of the gaming community has, despite some notable issues, started to change the ways in which gaming is perceived and developed. The player now takes an active role in the development and dissemination of many games – especially indie titles such
as Minecraft – and this in turn is changing the ways in which the game text is interpreted.
Keywords: Internet studies; fan studies; game studies; online communities; social networks; videogames
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: University of Surrey
Publication date: June 1, 2013
- The Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds focuses on theoretical and applied, empirical, critical, rhetorical, creative, economic and professional approaches to the study of electronic games across platforms and genres as well as ludic and serious online environments.
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