Computing and Information Systems - Theses
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ItemConstructing authentic esports spectatorship: An ethnography( 2020)Formally organised competitive video gaming, commonly known as esports, has seen a rapid rise in popularity over the past decade as a form of spectator entertainment. Thousands of fans pack grand stadia across the globe to watch their favourite esports teams and players compete for extravagant prize pools, while millions watch online remotely in their homes via livestreaming platforms like Twitch. Unlike conventional sports however, there is no inherent need for esports to take place in any particular physically-situated site like a stadium. The computerised nature of esports lends the practice a perceived placeless quality. No matter where an esports event is situated, be it in a stadium or networked across homes, the digital synthetic environments in which players’ avatars compete remain the same as objective constructs of code and graphical assets. If the perspective of watching esports is largely the same across different sites by virtue of its inherent mediation, then why is esports spectated beyond the comfort of the home? The aim of this thesis is to address this conundrum by exploring the experiences esports spectatorship in varying contexts. In particular, this thesis seeks to understand how experiences of esports spectatorship are influenced by and differ across various sites of spectatorship. This aim is achieved through an ethnographic methodology, where data is generated through embedded interactions and experiences with esports spectators at three distinct sites of esports spectatorship. Data generation methods including semi-structured interviews and various forms of participant observation are employed across the ethnographic fieldwork, while data analysis is largely conducted through reflexive thematic analysis and a thick description approach. Three studies are conducted, each looking at a separate site of esports spectatorship: the home, the stadium, and the esports bar. Study 1 focuses on the experiences of domestic esports spectatorship. The findings of the study demonstrate that in the mundanity of the home, domestic spectators perform laborious spectatorship to authenticate and make spectacular their experiences of spectating esports. It also demonstrates that despite a perceived sense of autonomy, domestic spectators commonly encounter numerous compromising factors in their homes which often prevents them from constructing an ideal spectating experience. Study 2 focuses on experiences of and motivations for esports spectatorship in stadia. It reveals that spectators seek to affirm their expectations of authentic esports by attending events held in stadia, thus establishing notions of esporting authenticity. Besides seeking to partake in an authentic experience of esports spectatorship, those attending stadium-situated events seek to present themselves as authentic esports spectators. Aware of their status as props in the mediated spectacle of esports events broadcast to remote audiences, those spectating in stadia seek to present themselves in a perceived authentic manner to convince event organisers to host future esports events in Australia. Study 3 focuses on the experiences of spectating esports in an esports bar, representing a site of public communal spectatorship between the stadium and the home. Despite being a public place, the bar is in many ways more homely than the home. Void of many compromising factors commonly found in domestic environments, spectators at the esports bar are free to exercise a greater degree of autonomy over the construction of authentic esports spectatorship experiences. Taken together, the three studies reveal ways in which esports spectators construct authenticity in their experiences of spectatorship by creating a sense of placefulness. In doing so they establish a convention of esports authenticity for both those within and outside of the esports fandom. Different sites of spectatorship offer different tools, resources, and opportunities to construct experiences of esports spectatorship. Spectators choose accesible sites that best allow them to construct what they percieve an experience of esports spectatorship ought to be.