Witcher

 Digital Gaming Culture/Fandom Of Witcher

[mircallam]

USA

Netflix's 'The Witcher' dethroned 'The Mandalorian' as the biggest TV series in the world 

The show, which arrived on Netflix on December 20, passed Disney Plus' "Star Wars" series, "The Mandalorian," as the top show in the world the week of December 22 to 28. "The Witcher" was also the top show in the US, with nearly 127 million demand expressions compared with "The Mandalorian's" 115 million demand expressions in the US that week.

Americans are a fan, I think its fair to say all three countries are pretty big on Witcher. Question are their any specific socio-cultural explanations for why a show based on Polish mythology can be so well received by so many cultural groups? What are the relevant factors? This is the question I’ll be considering as I continue the research....

[mircallam]

German Clues

• https://www.quora.com/How-German-is-the-world-of-The-Witcher

• https://www.reddit.com/r/netflixwitcher/comments/ehmmmz/the_most_popular_series_of_2019_in_germany/

• https://tv.parrotanalytics.com/DE/the-witcher-netflix (Witcher is #1 on T.V list in Germany)

[mircallam]

Looking For Clues

Japan Clues

•  https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/azh6l9/the_witcher_big_in_japan/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x

• https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/702760-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/77477876

• https://gamerant.com/awesome-witcher-3-statue-features-japanese-theme-monster-hunter-ciri/

[mircallam]

Geographic Comparisons

As well as research related to library log in activities, how frequently library computers used for gaming, if it’s logged and if so, track that movement to see a larger picture of how the public space is used for community culture. (questions to ask: which countries have the most fans of Witcher? 

USA/Europe/Japan---how to find out???

So I was pretty stumped on how to begin this section of my research. I was unsure if I should begin looking into statistical graphs or looking for computer login charts that were publicly accessible. If the public libraries were open I could literally call and ask a few for a rough estimate if they were able to provide that information. I knew I had options but I wasn’t sure which would be the best route. In the end I decided to use fan sites as my main source. I did this because the focus of my research is surrounding “fan idealology” so it makes the most sense to use their point of reference for geographic comparison.

(This is how it began-Part 1) 

[mircallam]

The Relationships Between Digital Culture and Libraries

Games within the public library are not new. In fact, the circulation of board games and community game events have been present for quiet some time. Having games available in the library encourage patrons to engage with the organization more than simple utilizing it as a source of retrieval for information. By including “leisure” activity options the library expands its reach to the community and makes room for clubs and group meet ups.

The benefits of including leisure activities helps libraries to offer new, more innovative actions that can establish rapport with neighboring communities and out reach social engagement.

[mircallam]

Digital Communities Respond to Real Life Crisis

In 2005 Blizzard, creators of World of Warcraft (WOW) decided to add a new dungeon that included a boss that would “infect” players, hitting their VIT, draining the avatars; and eventually exploding them. Pretty intense! The developers assumed the players would just work together and kill the boss, thus ending the spread. However, the reaction was much too realistic. Instead of working together players ran, logged out, in short, they panicked. 

This resulted in a spreading of the digital disease. As carriers it spread so quickly their became an MMORPG digital disease pandemic. It just so happened that an epidemiologist named Eric Lofgren was a WOW gamer. He investigated the outbreak and the players response. He found that the player behaviors modeled real life reactions to an outbreak. Many players continued to run, log out, attempt to heal instead of directly attacking the problem, he also saw instances intentionally spreading of the illness, and promoting more fear and more panic. 

In this case, literally killing the boss would have ended it but it took players a while to figure that out, and some of them were in fact enjoying this new feature in the game. It served as a good example to how we “as a society” react to epidemics. Presently we are all under quarantine, myself included now due to COVID-19. Stores are low on food supply and medicine. People are panicking and out of a job, because of all the closures. Using gaming behavior as an example for outbreak behavior doesn’t resolve our current concerns, however it does help researchers provide information to the future. Maybe we can find a way to better prepare society for emergency situations by utilizing digital simulators. 

[mircallam]

Social Mapping

Digital media today now has the advantage of marketing reaches far beyond that of earlier generations. Social media tools allow for social mapping to become a part of daily activities to such an assimilated degree it does not “feel” like marketing. For example, the leisure activity of engaging in social media gives companies access to exploiting their products subtly without disrupting individuals’ daily routines.The vast amount of marketing found on social media becomes so normalized it does not become an issue for users, in fact annoying “negative” marketing ads can end up with more public engagement than the ones that are more friendly. This trend is known as spamming. Usually done by a pre-programed bot, it will continually post ads on different social media interfaces; this ensures the most views and engagement. This directly relates to gaming because it is through social media that gaming culture receives so much engagement and employs the strongest marketing tools. This is how advertisers market mini games in apps such as Gwent! 

[mircallam]

Fandoms

Fan culture is not so different than the more broadly understood term of “culture” itself. Culture can be described as the collective manifestations of human customs, behaviors and social interactions. Based on the characteristics of culture, fandoms are in a sense also a culture. They include specific behaviors, trends and social engagements that are specific to their own cultural knowledge. There is even art, music, literature and linguistic taxonomies particular to each fandom. For example, digital culture in fandom is a modern form of fan behavior whereas prior to the digital revolution we would see “music, art or poetry” fandoms. Before the internet fans would rely on public meeting spaces, for example a café, bookstore or library. The base element that links them is the intention to share specific fan knowledge. Today fandoms are found mostly online, within chat rooms, forums, except for publicly scheduled global conventions. What binds individuals together is their shared love of the same fandoms. (Fan art is the most common type expressed) 

[mircallam]

Social Impacts on Digital Culture

I was watching Witcher again! lol And was really annoyed with the new “Triss” character. I love that they are using an African-American actress but why couldn’t they have died her hair red?! Triss’s red hair is signature to her style and personality. But it made me start thinking about fan preferences and remake versions created in the writer's images verse game/T.V images. And how social impacts and topics such as “gender/ethnic diversity” become important factors in selection character “roles” for live action versions of fan favorites. This also made me recall that from each game the main character’s physic was slightly different each time and the T.V version is a good mix of the book and game characteristics.

[mircallam]

Taxonomies Languages In Gaming (research notes)

The application of taxonomies within classification schemes in modern use can be seen all around us, for example; the most commonly utilized acronyms within modern gaming, (AFK-away from keyboard/NPC-non player character/ PVP- player vs. player/ DLC-downloadable content/ DPS-damage per second/ FTW-for the win)[1] In fandom culture, similar to online and gaming culture the lingo trends follow the pattern of more commonly used in casual online speech, for example (LOL-laugh out loud/ ROFL-roll on floor laughing/ BRB-be right back/TTYL-talk to you later/ NVM-never mind/ YOLO-you only live once)[2] A more detailed list of online linguistic acronyms meanings can be seen here. https://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp What is even more interesting is the fact that game corporations utilize these classification taxonomies within their marketing strategies as well, the Entertainment Software Rating Board[3] rating guide follows a similar path. (EC-early childhood/E-everyone/T-teen/M-mature/AO-adults only/RP-rating pending) [1] Cite- https://interestingengineering.com/heres-some-common-gamer-slang-for-n00bs [2] Cite- https://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp[3] “ESRB ratings provide information about what’s in a game or app so parents and consumers can make informed choices about which games are right for their family. Ratings have 3 parts: Rating Categories, Content Descriptors, and Interactive Elements.” https://www.esrb.org/ (cite me)

[mircallam]

Gaming Before The Internet

How did gamer’s game, before the invention of the internet? I know some people reading this are lol But seriously their are people out there who don’t know, my kid for example haha She has never been exposed to a world without the great World Wide Web. She has always had access to technology. In her world the internet and gaming have always been one. But for those of us who are from an older generation lets recall the TOP 10 ways to game before the internet (not included in this list but should also be considered *card gaming* which became more popular in the 70s & 80s onward) 

1. Nitendo-1889 The cards - known as Hanafuda - were beautifully decorated and hand-made. They were so popular that soon Mr Yamauchi had to recruit staff to help him to craft them.What Mr Yamauchi did not know - and would never know - was that his card shop, launched 23 September 1889 in Japan's former Imperial Capital, was to grow within a century into one of the biggest and most influential gaming companies in the world. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48606526

2. Tennis for Two- In October 1958, Physicist William Higinbotham created what is thought to be the first video game. It was a very simple tennis game, similar to the classic 1970s video game Pong, and it was quite a hit at a Brookhaven National Laboratory open house. https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200810/physicshistory.cfm 

3.  SpaceWar-In 1961, a group of students at MIT, including Steve Russell, programmed a game titled Spacewar! on the DEC PDP-1, a new computer at the time. The game pitted two human players against each other, each controlling a spacecraft capable of firing missiles, while a star in the center of the screen created a large hazard for the crafts. https://www.bmigaming.com/videogamehistory.htm

4.  Brown Box- 1968 A prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system, Baer and his colleagues mounted a golf ball on a joystick handle. This allowed the player to use a real golf club to practice his or her putting skills. Magnavox licensed the "Brown Box" and released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1302398

5. Galaxy Game Arcade is the earliest known coin-operated video arcade game in 1971. https://www.bmigaming.com/videogamehistory.htm 

6. Atari* Magnavox Odyssey Video Game Unit- 1972, Odyssey had limited graphic capabilities and displayed only a few small white blocks and a vertical line on the screen, Magnavox included translucent color overlays to provide settings and layouts for the games. Perhaps most surprising to modern gamers, the Odyssey also came with nonelectronic game accessories such as dice, decks of cards, play money, and poker chips. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1302004

7. PONG-  1972, A tennis sports video game featuring simple 2D graphics is released and becomes the first commercially successful coin operated video arcade game in history. PONG quickly became a huge hit and its success led to the start of the modern video game industry as we know of today. https://www.bmigaming.com/videogamehistory.htm

8.  Pac-Man (Pakku-Man, Puck-Man) by Namco- 1980 (Bally / Midway in the US) was so successful and caused such a sensation that the game entered into mainstream popular culture, and created what is now referred to as "PacMania". https://www.bmigaming.com/videogamehistory.htm

9. SEGA- 1983 The 8-bit consumer game console "SG-1000" first released. https://www.sega.co.jp/english/about/history/ 

10. Super Nintendo- 1990 Games such as Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Earthbound, Star Fox, and Super Castlevania IV are why Super Nintendo stands out from the rest. Sure the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) was impactful for making 8-bit games come to life, but the Super Nintendo was a huge improvement over the NES. https://www.thegamer.com/best-90s-gaming-consoles-atari-game-boy/

[mircallam]

Digital Communities Respond to Real Life Crisis

How the mmorpg communities respond to real life crisis- https://www.wired.com/story/real-world-lessons-from-a-world-of-warcraft-virtual-outbreak/?mbid=social_facebook&utm_brand=wired&utm_medium=social&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=facebook

Including this as a note to myself later for research. Good examples of social interactions within digital environments and how they stretch beyond digital borders. 

In 2005 Blizzard, creators of World of Warcraft (WOW) decided to add a new dungeon that included a boss that would “infect” players, hitting their VIT, draining the avatars; and eventually exploding them. Pretty intense! The developers assumed the players would just work together and kill the boss, thus ending the spread. However, the reaction was much too realistic. Instead of working together players ran, logged out, in short they panicked. 

This resulted in a spreading of the digital disease. As carriers it spread so quickly their became an MMORPG digital disease pandemic. It just so happened that an epidemiologist named Eric Lofgren was a WOW gamer. He investigated the outbreak and the players response. He found that the player behaviors modeled real life reactions to an outbreak. Many players continued to run, log out, attempt to heal instead of directly attacking the problem, he also saw instances intentionally spreading of the illness, and promoting more fear and more panic. 

In this case, literally killing the boss would have ended it but it took players a while to figure that out, and some of them were in fact enjoying this new feature in the game. It served as a good example to how we “as a society” react to epidemics. Presently we are all under quarantine, myself included now due to COVID-19. Stores are low on food supply and medicine. People are panicking and out of a job, because of all the closures. Using gaming behavior as an example for outbreak behavior doesn’t resolve our current concerns, however it does help researchers provide information to the future. Maybe we can find a way to better prepare society for emergency situations by utilizing digital simulators. 

[mircallam]

Humble Research Beginnings

Here are some sources I’ll be exploring while researching these subjects. I most likely won’t be using all these. As the paper develops I’ll finalize “primaries” from “secondary” sources and tighten focus areas that need more specific information for support. 

1.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_jstor_booksj.ctt1npk9q

. Fandom Unbound. (2012). Yale University Press.

2.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest1076399985

Losh, E., & Jenkins, H. (2012). CAN PUBLIC EDUCATION COEXIST WITH PARTICIPATORY CULTURE? Knowledge Quest, 41(1), 16-21.

3.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest216920202

Botzakis, S. (2009). Adult Fans of Comic Books: What They Get Out of Reading. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(1), 50-59.

4.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_gale_ofa284323800

Bainbridge, Jason, & Norris, Craig. (2012). Madman entertainment: A case study in 'by fans for fans' media distribution.(Company overview)(Case study). Media International Australia Incorporating Culture and Policy, (142), 5.

5.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest1273836624

Johnson, D. (2012). Cinematic Destiny: Marvel Studios and the Trade Stories of Industrial Convergence. Cinema Journal, 52(1), 1-24.

6.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_emerald_s10.1108/00242530910942045

Adams, S. (2009). The case for video games in libraries. Library Review, 58(3), 196-202.

7.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_wilbooks10.1002/9781118796443.ch18

Angelides, M. (2014). Video Games in Educational Settings: Developing Skills for New Media Learning. In Handbook of Digital Games (pp. 502-522). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons.

8.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest1492583301

Hodge, S. (2013). A few things we've learned about streaming for kids. Animation Magazine, 27(10), 52.

9.     https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest1807092037

Sun, Y., Wei, K., Fan, C., Lu, Y., & Gupta, S. (2016). Does social climate matter? On friendship groups in social commerce. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 18, 37-47.

10.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/6ljalh/01UA_ALMA51541915210003843

Darley, A., & NetLibrary, Inc. (2000). Visual digital culture surface play and spectacle in new media genres (Sussex studies in culture and communication). London ; New York: Routledge.

11.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest196781148

Colford, M. (2000). Incite Video Gaming / Incite PC Gaming. Library Journal, 125(9), 132.

12.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_sage_s10_1177_1461444816635778

Fox, J., & Tang, W. (2017). Women’s experiences with general and sexual harassment in online video games: Rumination, organizational responsiveness, withdrawal, and coping strategies. New Media & Society, 19(8), 1290-1307.

13.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_springer_jour10.1007/s11199-016-0678-y

Paaßen, B., Morgenroth, T., & Stratemeyer, M. (2017). What is a True Gamer? The Male Gamer Stereotype and the Marginalization of Women in Video Game Culture. Sex Roles, 76(7-8), 421-435.

14.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_springer_jour10.1007/s10824-014-9229-y (Less educated?????-wtf)

Borowiecki, K., & Prieto-Rodriguez, J. (2015). Video games playing: A substitute for cultural consumptions? Journal of Cultural Economics, 39(3), 239-258.

15.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_gale_ofa534020750

Sisler, V., Svelch, J., & Slerka, J. (2017). Video Games and the Asymmetry of Global Cultural Flows: The Game Industry and Game Culture in Iran and the Czech Republic. International Journal of Communication (Online), 3857.

16.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_gale_ofa335923718

Junge, Inger. (2013). Women not allowed in tech-no-geek & gaming culture.(Feature). Sister Namibia, 25(2), 4-5.

17.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_informaworld_s10_1080_00036840600660713

Harada, N. (2007). Video game demand in Japan: A household data analysis. Applied Economics, 39(13), 1705-1710.

18.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_pq_ebook_centralEBC2122364 (UNITED STATES-income for gaming)

Editors, T. (2015). Who's Buying Information and Consumer Electronics. (7th ed.).

19.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_acm3196856

Raudonat, K., & Marsden, N. (2018). Social actions in MMORPG raiding groups from the perspective of culture-inclusive action theory. Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Gender & It, 101-111.

20.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_gale_litrc239918109

Shivel, Gail. (2009). World of Warcraft: The Murloc is the message. Symploke, 17(1 2), 205-213.

21.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_sage_s10_1177_1367877910394565

Denison, R. (2011). Anime fandom and the liminal spaces between fan creativity and piracy. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 14(5), 449-466.

22.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest1977215946

Careless, J. (2017). To Hear 24/7 Star Trek Talk, Boldly Go Online. Radio World, 41(26), 18-20.

23.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest1739077247

Bytheway, J. (2015). A taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies used in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. CALICO Journal, 32(3), 508-527.

24.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_proquest2088039968

Elmezeny, A., & Wimmer, J. (2018). Games without Frontiers: A Framework for Analyzing Digital Game Cultures Comparatively. Media and Communication, 6(2), 80-89.

25.  https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_gale_ofa423950724

Ghuman, D., & Griffiths, M. (2012). A Cross-Genre Study of Online Gaming: Player Demographics, Motivation for Play, and Social Interactions Among Players. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning, 2(1), 13-29.

[mircallam]

Chronological Order In Which to Read The Witcher Books

1. The Last Wish (short) 1993

2. Sword of Destiny (short) 1992

3. Blood Elves (beginning of saga) 1994

4. Time of Contempt -1995

5. Baptism of Fire- 1996

6. The Tower of Swallows-1997

7. Lady of The Lake- 1999

8. *Newest* Season of Storms (should be read last-extra info) 2013

Fans may have some disagreement on the proper order, however this is the most widely agreed upon system. The Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski began this journey during the mid 1980s. In 1986 the author wrote a short story titled (The Witcher) for a contest in a science fiction and fantasy magazine. The short story won 3rd place.

Sources: Reddit & Wikipedia *Traditionally I don’t refer to these as a accredited sources for academic information however, fans are very well informed and in this situation a fan based source is exactly the type of reference needed*

https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/3qm8p9/so_you_want_to_read_the_witcher_books_guide/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher

[mircallam]

Gamer Genders

This may be old news but it’s still an interesting conversation among gamers. When I was young *teens* and ventured into Gamestop I was stared at hard core! Dudes couldn’t believe a chick was in there and was lecturing them on gaming techniques. LOL This was before the (gamer girl) cliche existed okay. Back in my days of youth gamer girls looked normal, we didn’t dress cute, or do cosplay. We were kinda gross honestly haha TMI I would go days without a shower and re-wear the same clothes because I was too busy staying up all night completing a level to care. Women have become stigmatized by *cute gamer girls* and we’ve seen an increase in gender stereotyping for game culture. As a counter to it their has been an increase in the more *hardcore* gaming competitions and as result more respect for female gamers has occurred. Today we see less gender sterotyping, I think it’s been very well established that all gamers respect each other as long as we are passionate about similar subjects. I’ve attached an article below as an interesting reference to look back on later for this research. 

https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_springer_jour10.1007/s11199-016-0678-y

Paaßen, B., Morgenroth, T., & Stratemeyer, M. (2017). What is a True Gamer? The Male Gamer Stereotype and the Marginalization of Women in Video Game Culture. Sex Roles, 76(7-8), 421-435.

[mircallam]

Trading Cards

Gaming trophies into real money! So this is a rather new phenomenon to me. I’ve been aware of online trading of characters in WOW and Diablo for example but I didn’t realize the Witcher game offered real/tradable trophies within the Steam community until recently. This is a great way for collectors to find rare items but also it encourages more interactive engagement between users. Because this game is not a full MMORPG these aspects enhance the experience and offer real life interactions and benefits. 

 https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561199013950862/inventory/#753_6_12882633238 

[mircallam]

Subcultures Within The Gaming World

I’m interested in researching the pc video game culture of Witcher. Specifically examining how gaming interactions occur within the public sphere and subcultures within them. From the internal sub-cultures that arise, I would like to understand their base qualities and demographic variations among the MMORPG world. Who does pc gaming culture affect? What are the subcultures and how they vary geographically, more importantly what does the demographic location of the players/fans tell us about how they identify within the gaming culture?

In order to locate this information, I’ll be looking into linguistic trends, taxonomies of classifications for information used, acronyms used within gaming and in forums, fandom art, literature and “real places” for fan meets. As well as research related to library log in activities, how frequently are library computers used for gaming, if it’s logged and if so, track that movement to see a larger picture of how the public space is used for community culture.

Since there is an emphasis on location, I’ll be focuses on three main geographic areas. I selected these three countries/continents because of their long-standing history with gaming culture. However, due to the detail of information that can be produced from this type of research I’ll keep the locations “generalized” to larger continents. European gaming culture encompasses a lot of variations however, because they are smaller countries and there is a lot of travel/communication of culture within them it’s enough to generalize this for the research purpose. Based on findings as research develops this of course, may change.

1.     USA

2.     Japan

3.     Europe

The overall concept is to take seemingly small, separate gaming aspects, merge them into a single research paper thus developing a system for analysis of marketing trends that could benefit libraries in the future for community involvement and extensions of opportunities in digital culture, using the game Witcher as the base example.