Over the past one hundred years, human understanding has expanded to levels our ancient ancestors could never have anticipated. With this understanding, humankind has forged great achievements both socially and technologically. It is only rational then to discuss what are the most prominent and exponential changes that have brought us to where we are now and where we will be in the future. This blog will argue how Citizen Audiences and Participatory Culture is changing the way in which gaming related information is spread across the planet by individuals, and how this could lead to the possible death of none digital media within the Games Industry.

According to Henry Jenkins, Participatory Culture is “A culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices”.  (Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A., 2005, p.3) This theory is closely related to that of Transmedia Storytelling and Collective Intelligences. Through digital media this is possible, using websites such as Facebook or Twitter all the way down to instant messaging and live streaming.  This type of Participatory Culture is classified as “Affiliations – memberships, formal and informal, in online communities centred around various forms of media.” (Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A. 2005).

The most beneficial aspect of this concept is the power it gives to individuals within the community.  It has opened up doors for your average person, in this case, average gamer, to become involved in gaming communities with a common interest in speaking up about current affairs, acting as reporters, journalists, even delving into aspects of politics. Henry Jenkins calls this type of Participatory Culture as a “Circulation” which is “Shaping the flow of media (such as podcasting, blogging).”  (Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A., 2005, p.3) This potentially means that game development companies can have shows based in one location exhibiting their new products, like Blizzcon for example, (Blizzard Entertainment, 2010) and rely solely on gamers from the community to film, blog etc. the content and distribute it across the planet using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Kotaku etc. Not only is this beneficial for the gaming community, it is also highly innovative for the developers themselves as the gameplay they need to distribute can be shared with their potential market without ever having to pay for marketing. Though these companies still use traditional media channels, TV, Print etc. the evidence suggests a high probability that this form of Participatory Culture will be the best form, or even the only form of information distribution that the games industry will employ in the future. This will mean less money for marketing, advertising, media coverage and more money towards new IP and/or greater gaming experiences.

These channels of Citizen Audiences and Participatory Cultures have also begun shaping game politics and the way in which governments view regulations concerning this industry. In Australia, the issue of a non-R18+ classification for video games has contrived a large amount of response from the Citizen Audience. (Wildgoose, D. 2010) It is a continual fight for gamers of Australia to be heard, yet, gamers voicing their opinions has thus far been the overarching factor swaying politicians to support the classification. The Australian Attorney-General stated, “I have no preconceptions about this issue and intend to listen to the arguments. I can neither support nor wisely argue against a position if I am not aware of the relevant factors.” (Rau, J., 2010) Regardless of the ruling not being a definite ‘for R18+’, it is because of individual gamers, blogging, tweeting, writing articles etc. that has drawn eyes towards the issue where common media channels, such as TV, Print etc., have not had as great a response.

There is no doubt that the Games Industry is strongly based around digital media. News feeds, forums, websites dedicated to games coverage such as Kotaku or Gametrailers, all bring to gamers the relevant information they need. It is no consolation then to state that medias such as TV or Print are being matched or to go as far as saying, out-shadowed by the public mind voicing their views through mediums such as blogs, or tweets. It is only a matter of time before all medias become digitised and placed in the hands of the individual, allowing every man women or child to have the power of Journalists, Reporters or even Politicians shaping the future of mankind.

Reference 

Blizzard Entertainment. (2010, October). Blizzcon. Accessed 2^nd November, 2010, from: http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/

 Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A. (2005). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21^st Century. Accessed 31^st October, 2010, from: http://www.newmedialiteracies.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf

Jenkins, H. (2007, November). Participatory Cultures. Accessed 1^st November, 2010, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H3UzRtmX24

Rau, J. (2010, April) John Rau and the R18+ Issue. Accessed 1^st November, 2010, from: http://www.r18games.com.au/2010/04/john-rau-and-the-r18-issue/

Wildgoose, D. (2010, April). GAME Throws Even More Weight Behind R18+ Push. Accessed 1^st November, 2010, from: http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/04/game-throws-even-more-weight-behind-r18-push/