My analytical frameworks mainly associates around the term Paratext, and how it associates itself within the game media. A quote from Consalvo explains paratext “as texts or artifacts that surround a central text, lending that central text meaning, framing, and shaping how we understand it” (Consalvo, 2017). Consalvo discusses the idea how paratext goes beyond just he game media itself, and how audiences engage beyond just the text from the game itself, making something new.

This representation explains my framework with the call of duty trickshotting community. This community thrived on experimenting with the game’s engine. Discovering new elements from the game (new trickshots, out of map spots, glitches.) Basically, exploiting bugs or intentions not made by the developers. The relationship goes beyond just playing the video game, it’s creating a community surrounding a medium which is call of duty. For an example of this, FaZe clan hosted a competition called the “FaZe #5 challenge”, which allowed gamers to have a chance to be apart of FaZe clan, if their application was successful. This would not only just be a great opportunity for the individual, but a great marketing opportunity for FaZeClan, as viewers and contestants would associate their content with faze clans brand, bringing more attention and traffic to the business.

This also explains the narrative design part of trickshotting, how gamers were able to separate themselves by doing something ‘cooler’ with their trickshot or more impressive.

A bad trickshot (good for it’s time)

A good trickshot

It’s like skateboarding, someone doing an ollie compared to a kickflip.

The media archeology will also encourage my framework, because there is a lot of history that goes beyond trickshotting, and how gamers started to manipulate and turned call of duty into categories when it came to gaming. The gaming slang used for gamers

• trickshotter
• sniper
• reggunner (tryhard/playing the game normally)
• noobs (new to the game).

This relationship with the game changed the way audiences engaged with the game itself and was more about being apart of the community. This is exactly what I will be discussing in my DA, as I break down this strange time of gaming.

References

Consalvo, M., 2017. When paratexts become texts: de-centering the game-as-text. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 34(2), pp. 177-183.