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Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress

Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress
Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress
Drawing from phenomenological interviews with 24 adult videogamers, we explore videogame consumption as a source of individualised, episodic progress. We first consider the relationship between play, progress, technology and the market. We then document adults' accounts of progress through the acquisition of new consoles and software, in the accumulation of in-game resources, and in creative achievements within videogames. Alongside an understanding of technological improvements as representing both technological and personal progress, we see how individuals may also turn to videogames in search of quick and easy episodes of achievement; here, progress is not some grand plan, but a series of small events helpfully structured by the latest game releases. Thus, in a society which aspires to a life where things ‘get better’ and time is usefully spent, adults who fail to actualise progress elsewhere may use videogames and related hardware to perform the idea of achievement as individualised episodes of play. In integrating the accepted cultural idea of progress, perceptions of adult play as ‘frivolous’ can be overcome and such practices may be normalised as a legitimate adult activity. However, play emerges from its frivolousness as legitimate only in compensating for working practices that remain alienated through technology-driven productivity, and through the latest technological commodities. The enjoyable nature of games as a leisure pursuit can become overshadowed by an obligation to achieve at the same time as distancing players from areas of their lives where progress is not experienced
1469-5405
1-22
Molesworth, Mike
48a49a79-1d99-4120-b0aa-578e42541724
Watkins, Rebecca
75568bdd-bdf4-43f4-aa6f-3c67edb84bd2
Molesworth, Mike
48a49a79-1d99-4120-b0aa-578e42541724
Watkins, Rebecca
75568bdd-bdf4-43f4-aa6f-3c67edb84bd2

Molesworth, Mike and Watkins, Rebecca (2014) Adult videogame consumption as individualised, episodic progress. Journal of Consumer Culture, 1-22. (doi:10.1177/1469540514528195).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Drawing from phenomenological interviews with 24 adult videogamers, we explore videogame consumption as a source of individualised, episodic progress. We first consider the relationship between play, progress, technology and the market. We then document adults' accounts of progress through the acquisition of new consoles and software, in the accumulation of in-game resources, and in creative achievements within videogames. Alongside an understanding of technological improvements as representing both technological and personal progress, we see how individuals may also turn to videogames in search of quick and easy episodes of achievement; here, progress is not some grand plan, but a series of small events helpfully structured by the latest game releases. Thus, in a society which aspires to a life where things ‘get better’ and time is usefully spent, adults who fail to actualise progress elsewhere may use videogames and related hardware to perform the idea of achievement as individualised episodes of play. In integrating the accepted cultural idea of progress, perceptions of adult play as ‘frivolous’ can be overcome and such practices may be normalised as a legitimate adult activity. However, play emerges from its frivolousness as legitimate only in compensating for working practices that remain alienated through technology-driven productivity, and through the latest technological commodities. The enjoyable nature of games as a leisure pursuit can become overshadowed by an obligation to achieve at the same time as distancing players from areas of their lives where progress is not experienced

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Adult videogame consumption as individualised - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 12 January 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 8 April 2014
Organisations: Centre for Relational Leadership & Change

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Local EPrints ID: 364215
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/364215
ISSN: 1469-5405
PURE UUID: a1b6f4ff-1a1a-45e2-bd62-a13c41818d21

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Date deposited: 10 Apr 2014 08:28
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 16:32

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Author: Mike Molesworth
Author: Rebecca Watkins

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