Chapter 4
Addressing Communicative Challenges among Amateur Esports Players
In: The Literacies of the Esports EcosystemSearch for other papers by Thorkild Hanghøj in
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Abstract
Following the fast rise of esports as a global cultural phenomenon, there is an increasing need for understanding the literacies involved in competitive online gaming. Research has claimed that game players can develop multiple literacies by finding, creating and sharing information around games. However, there has been a tendency to overlook the mundane reality of the communicative practices that unfold between esports team members during gameplay. In this chapter, we focus on communicative challenges as they unfold among players in an amateur Danish League of Legends team. The team consists of five players, is self-organized, and has no affiliation to coaches or formal esports organizations. The team’s communicative practices are explored from a Goffmanian perspective in combination with Conversation Analysis to map the players’ in-game interaction as well as their reflections on their gameplay. As our analysis shows, the team struggles with managing three different forms of communicative challenges, which involve adhering to social norms for in-game communication, having sufficient attention on the game activities, and attacking the face of other teammates. In this way, the findings reflect a lack of alignment of a mutual “serious” approach to playing on the team. The chapter concludes with recommendations for further research in relation to amateur players’ communicative practices.