How gamers Reconfigured and modified Call of Duty gameplay

The call of duty montage scene was massive, and still is if we look at it in from various point of views. Today these montages are uploaded to multiple social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, reaching more mass audiences. But back in the day when capture cards became more accessible for gamers, the content that was produced and uploaded onto YouTube skyrocketed. It became an era where people were given the opportunity to show off their in-game skills and highlights to impress audiences.

This concept of reconfiguration was how I personally connected with these videos. I don’t imagine someone on a couch playing the game, I separate the gamer to the game character, just seeing the gamertag alone creates this illusion for myself, making a parasocial relationship between me, the video game, and the content creator. These content creators were probably not aware of what they were doing at the time, as content creation was still rarely a thing that was discussed in YouTube back in this era, and not a lot of people knew what they were involved in or knowing what they were contributing to what YouTube is today. Just the first 20 seconds of this video you can tell that no one had a clue what the future of content creation could be.

The montages would either be uploaded to clan channels, or personal channels, but each gamer had his/her own alias, making the audience identify that person as that game account. They would use these montages to highlight their skills, but to also tell a story. With music, swift editing, and highlights to bring together a video for mass audiences to enjoy, this idea of reconfiguration creates a new way for audiences to interact with the players and content surounding this this type of media.

The paratext goes beyond just watching and playing the game, it creates a community, knowledge of this community for those who are invested. It creates conversation surrounding the game, surrounding the gamers. It’s like twitch and live streams, but different because you’re experiencing something that the content creator intended. It’s interesting on how much this idea of creating a unique spin on something that developers didn’t intend can create its own entity from a community alone.

This will be something I will be exploring more in my Digital Artifact, please follow along to see how I breakdown this unique era and history of gaming.

References

Postigo, Hector (2007) “Of Mods and Modders: Chasing Down the Value of Fan-Based Digital Game Modification.”

Kreissl, J, Possler, D & Klimmt, C 2021, ‘Engagement With the Gurus of Gaming Culture: Parasocial Relationships to Let’s Players’, Games and culture, vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 1021–1043.