FROM VIDEOGAMER TO E-SPORTSMAN: TOWARD A GROWING PROFESSIONALISM OF WOLRD-CLASS

PLAYERS

Philippe MORA, Stéphane HÉAS1

Abstract and keywords:

A sports phenomenon has emerged among video network gamers, who are paid to play. Ethnographic observation of a local area network with 100 gamers and an online questionnaire (N = 724) highlight the body-efficiency of gamers, the competitive aspects and a form of institutionalisation, inspired by the world of sports. These findings compound the representations of sport and video games, and the over-dualistic distinction between the real and the virtual. Indeed, such sportification, far from being utopian, is developing with an increasing professionalism of world-class e-sportsmen. Here, sport as a euphemism crosses paths with the constantly evolving practice of network game playing.

Sociology – Ethnography – Videogames – Sport – Institution – Professional – Sociability

Introduction

While network gamers speak about video-gaming as e-sport and themselves as pro-gamers, in other words, electronic sports and professional gamers, whereas many people view playing videogames as a ludic and juvenile activity. In spite of this unseeming appearance of child’s play, this new trend of e-sport and pro-gamers poses a recurring question about the sense

1 Philippe Mora is a Ph.D candidate for sport sociology at the department of sports, Rennes 2 University, France, under the direction of Dr. Stéphane Héas. A great thanks to Maiko Sato, student from Simon Fraser University, who offers a great help for the translation.

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of videogames, as such asked by Espen Aarseth at International Game Conference (2001) in Bristol: “Are computer games art, are they stories, are they a social activity, or something like sports?” They may well encompass all of these aspects, but to what proportions? In particular, at which point are they considered as a sport? How is it professionalized2?

Videogames suffer mainly from two types of prejudices which contribute to their exclusion from the world of sports: the notion that video-gaming is not “physical” and the idea that they are reserved to children. However, body engagement in playing videogames is actually undeniable with researches in physiology, ergonomics, psychomotricity, and transfer learning between “virtual” and “real” (Greenfield & Retschitzki, 1998). A large number of people still consider videogames as simple pass-time for children and backward young adults. Yet, videogame field can be quite vast when it is defined as “a technological environment that produces a game on a screen whose rules have been programmed (Jolivalt, 1994: 3).

Under this unique appearance, videogames are, in fact, an heterogenic ensemble that covers a large range of practices, where some of them are specialised to compete. This competitive aspect gives a dimension to the ways in which network games may be played.

To the question, “what’s sport?” the majority would respond spontaneously that “it is physical”, that this activity implicates to “move”. This unique criterion covers a wide range of activities and individuals, from a Sunday jogger to the God of stadium. Thus the question what constitutes a sport is certainly complex in a sociological sense. Elias notes that “during 19th century (…) some nations saw that their leisure activities required a physical effort to acquire some of the structural characteristics of “sports”” (1994:206). A sport is not limited only to the discharge energy, not only are there movements but 2 This word is sociologically inexact here (Loirand, 2002). We prefer the term « performance merchandize » in a sense that the body is produced and purchased or « champions remunerations », referring to the notion that performance is rewarded.

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also competition and institution, whose elements who appear in in different definitions (Brohm, 1992 [1976]: 89, Elias op. cit. : 214, Parlebas 1999 [1981] : 379) definitions. A first glance, sports appear to exist entirely in the “real”, physical and social realm. However, this representation will no longer persist under a close analysis, exemplified by such trend in sportification of chess and curling in Olympic Games. This does not mean that body use in sports is sometimes reduced to its smallest share? To the contrary, conditions of sport do not belong to everyday activities. They were criticised by many analysts as Hébert (1993 [1925]), who has stigmatised sport activities for producing incompetent individuals in society. Finally, sport is not as “physical” neither in the “real” world that we may perceive. Thus, videogames do not escape out of the “real” world and don not necessarily conduct to a body negation.

Types of network games

Though the simple name “network games”, this practice includes a variety of games whose their users confront us, via their avatar(s) 3

on local areas networks (LAN4, game room) or at distance (Internet) – this does not exclude the possibility for players to engage in solo mode. To classify these different games evolving on the network games “scene”, we are going to use the concept of “focalisation” notion, stemming from linguistic studies, denoting the position taken by the narrator to conduct his story. These are internal focalisation, external focalisation and the “zero” focalisation (omniscient point of view). This division, in the context of videogames, rests upon the mode presence of the avatar.

The dominant type played in the international competitions is the First Person Shooting (FPS) where gamers evolve inside avatar and shoot at the opponents. This internal focalisation places gamers in the action heart of action and gives them 3 Gamer’s representation of self on the screen.4 LAN denotes a temporarily meeting of network competition games in this context.

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impression of the most intimate feeling of their avatars (for example, when gamer has been hit, the image in screen sways) Counter-Strike, Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament are the representatives of this category (also called doom-like, the name of their ancestral game Doom).

Second, comes the Third Person Shooting (TPS) which uses the same principle as FPS with the only difference that the gamer has an external view of his avatar. Among network games, this category is typically represented by Dark Age of Camelot or Everquest which are role playing games or, FIFA series for the competition way. This type of focalisation is quite in minor in the international competitions and shares the similar success to that of MMORPG adepts (usually practiced at home).

Lastly, quite commonly played in network games, is the Real Time Strategy (RTS5) where the gamer is omniscient, God-like or rather a general who can see the whole action with an aerial view and manages his troops. There is some striking similarity to “zero” focalisation, which provides an unlimited perception of the game. In this category, you will can across game like Age Of Empire and Starcraft, which are also strongly represented in the international competitions.

In brief, videogames in networks comprise of two predominant logics: one axed on role playing games, and the other on competition. Our research focuses on the latter aspect in order to examine the process of “sportification”6 of these activities.

ENTRANCE POINTS OF OUR RESEARCH

5 RTS games have an vidéoludic ancestor that’s the strategic game hit by hit, where gamers act alternatively.6 « Sportivisation » neologism (ou « sportification ») qualify the processus by which a leisure activity reaches sport le processus par lequel une activité de loisir accède au statut de sport status.

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Professionalization of gamers

Sport performance remuneration, which is difficult in traditional sports7, is even harder in computer games which are only partially institutionalised. Yet, favourable trends appear in pro-gaming. First of all, international competitions are growing on with one hand, such as the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL)8, in optics of a professional circuit, and another side, the World Cyber Games (WCG), is expected to join International Olympic Committee in the future. Nevertheless, pro-gamers are rare and it is difficult to obtain Star status9… Only some names are written in Gold letters: Johnathan Wendel (“Fatality”) is considered as one of the best world quaker10. This man from USA has profited to his notoriety selling his skills for 760 dollars a day whereas we learn from eBay11 that he earns more than 100.000 US dollars in a year in e-sport competitions. Presently, on the other side of the globe in Korea, thrives a professional circuit with Starcraft matches that are broadcasted. Bertrand Grospellier, French, 22 like Fatality, better known under the alias Elky nickname, became professional in that circuit since he won the second place in WCG 2001, where he lost against a Korean player. After a year under professional status he has gained a considerable public attention: he as the look that attracts media, has given demonstrations and inauguration at cyber cafés… and will soon to complete an autobiography. Not bad for a “virtual” that is commonly misunderstood as “un-real”. Thus, our research will give an insight into the deconstruction of “un-real” and

7 Soccer, tennis, track and field…8 La CPL, founded in 1997, manages the Cyberathlete Amateur League (www.caleague.com) since 2001.9 Except these rare Stars, high level gamers describe us with regrets like « semi-professionals ».10 A quaker is a Quake gamer.11 www.ebay.com this is where Fatality has sold his skills to train and coach others.

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“virtual” realm of videogames through e-sport and its champion’ comprehension.

Study presentation

In this research, we have conducted an ethnographic observation of a LAN and also an online questionnaire (N=724) aiming to collect data on body engagement, competition and institutionalisation.

The observed LAN included a total of 100 participants for a Counter-Strike tournament named “La Network Game”, organized by an technology club the 16th and 17th February 2002. As for the questionnaire, The Association des Salles de Jeux en Réseaux (ASJR12), had shown their interest in and had accepted to propose to their clients to participate in our study for a week (from April 29th to May 5th 2002). In about fifty videogame rooms, ten13 agreed to participate and each manager communicated with their clients independently to promote the questionnaire. This online questionnaire, placed on Internet14, automatically transferred answers on e-mail address created for this study. In addition to the responses obtained from ASJR (N = 169), others responses where received (N = 555) after some internet sites and IRC15 “advertisement” from e-sport specialists. E-sport mind plebiscite has to be contextualised by this data collection.

Portrait of the sample: an e-sportsmen group

Those who participated in our questionnaire were for large majority male (97,8%). This strong proportion was anticipated since

12 This may be translated as “network game association”.13 @bsolute Computer (Alès), Cyberstation (Bordeaux), @cces.cibles (Brest), Espace Micro (Caen), Alerte Rouge (Carcassonne), Cybernef (Lyon), Magic Cafe (Marseille), Versus (Narbonne), Net and Games (Perpignan) and Cybermaniak (Strasbourg).14 Link : http://perso.wanadoo.fr/emmijaphi/questionnaire/liens.htm15 IRC, Internet Relay Chat, is place of chat where people can create private channels : by clan, association, competition type, by game, etc.

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network games intersect the arenas of computer technology and sports, which are predominated by men (Breton, 1990 and Davisse & Louveau, 1998). The average age was 19 years old: the youngest 10 and the oldest 35. Again without a surprise, the population was homogeneous and concentrated in “teenage” and “young adults” age brackets. As for social status, the majority were students (76,2%), 8,6% worked in IT sector or network-gam related occupations (certainly over-represented due to places of diffusion), 7,3% of other workers and 1,6% who were looking for employment (the rest 1,4% were N/A and 4,8% responded but were impossible to classify). In a global sense, if sportsman profile is “the most often a young man, single, with a comfortable social condition, living in a urban setting” (Bodin & Héas, 2002: 68), our research subjects, also observed in the field, reflected this class of populace, as well.

Among these gamers, their most favourite (78,2%) were doom-likes (FPS such as Counter-Strike, Quake 3, etc.), strategic games represented 11,2% (Age of Kings, StarCraft, etc.), role playing games with 7,6% (Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, etc.) and 1,2% for simulations (racing, aviation, sports) – 1,1% replied “others” and 0,7% did not answered. Doom-like games and strategic games practiced in e-sport competitions are largely dominants, because the studied population. ASJR’s sample shed some light on a better representation of those who enjoy the role playing genre which was 19,5% (66,3% for FPS and 8,3% for RTS). Furthermore, it’s notable that these responses validate the definition of a network gamer with a low frequency in contradictory characteristics.

A NETWORK GAME « MIND » AXED ON VICTORY, BODY PERFORMANCE AND INSTITUTIONNALISATION

After we investigate the main characteristics of protagonists, we hoped to discover how they engage their selves, in competition, how they implicate their body, and in which institutional frame.

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Victory pregnance

For 92,9% of gamers, victory was the basis of half of their pleasure to play and they still are 37,3% to retire the totality oftheir pleasure in videogames with victory. Beyond this, question of remuneration and regulations questions now surface.

Performance remuneration

Among gamers and external observers, debate about prices and professionalism in e-sport is animated. They are three main positions: those who assert that pro-gamers deserve a remuneration like other high level sportsmen, those who label network games as an activity that doesn’t deserve remuneration (due to the lack of seriousness in comparison to others sports) and the radical opponents who disagree with the presence of money in sport, among others “entertaining sport”, “show-business sport”.

With regard to the tournament observed, it awarded 150 Euros to the first winners, 80 to the seconds and 40 Euros to thirds, ridiculous rewards in comparison to prices awarded in international competitions which can be close to 50 000 US dollars to winners.

Regulation and cheats

In a sport system to “positive” ideology (fair-play, meritocracy, measure, etc.), “real repercussions” (remuneration, qualifications) open new stakes and place cheating in the centre of debates, like the parasite behaviour in fights16. Illegal products are not the only one violation possibilities (Cf. under) and the cheat problem penetrate also deeply in network games by cheat17.

According to questionnaire results, most of gamers agree regulations with the their rules games (73.4% are favourable). This may be why LANs, where some norms are followed and where referee can control concurrent screens, are appreciated for important

16 At the opposite side of the game where a cheater « stay in the game » and where « the game univers remains intact » (Caillois, 1967 [1958] : 102).17 We recall that this article was destined to a French public. The word “cheat” entered the French gaming group but has not replaced “triche” which is the French term for “cheat”. For French gamers, “cheat” signify more particularly a cheat with programmed informatics forbidden.

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competitions because it permits to limite this type of unwanted behaviours –cheating by technological violations – which go around rules that are precise and meant for everyone to comply with. the LAN observed used international rules of Counter-Strike.

Videogame, among one of its multiple logics and practices, offers for one of its ramification, a sport competition clearly posted.

A performance links to body

A motricity with performance finality seems to be anchored in network game of competition, attested by central place to exhibit skills, supported by ergonomic attentions, worked by trainings, commented with a special slang and improved by doping…

Body place

First, LAN analysis show ergonomic attentions: balance between table and chair heights, avoid sun on screens, competition equipment (mouse with high precision and special mouse carpet). Then, according to the questionnaire, players experience a physical fatigue during the game. Nearly 80% of inquired gamers said that they sometimes feel a physical exhaustion. According to Segal & Dietz, physiological exhaustion playing Pacman (1991) is equal to that of walk. But e-sport, like mechanic sports, certainly have strong variations of physiological parameters, due to stress. Thus, gamers can not be considered merely as spectators but must be tackled as real actors of their practice, if not sportsmen…

Furthermore, in videogames, similarity to conventional sports, we can distinguish two periods of practice: training and competition. 71,3% of gamers declared that they were ready to train more than two days per week to improve their performance. Such willingless to train, in the heart of corporal and mental habits, is often quoted as a sport characteristic by gamers, comes to interfere with videogames morals gradually.

Comments about skill

In the same logical, comments that punctuate the gamer’s action, for example in LAN, partly related “skill” (in English in the text…). Gamers exchange verbally terms like roxor, suxor, lol, which are an argotic Anglo-Saxon diction that takes place

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on general Internet chats and videogames uses. This communication maintains the community of competitors but also serves to discriminate the novices (newbie, noob) since more the gamer progresses in the game, more he integrates this language of a specialist. Among these words, skill has a central place, which, in this context, represents the specific skill in network games with dextral-skill (precision, reflex) and informational detection on screen (sight and decryption). Gamers know that the “skill” is one of the most important elements to improve to reach an upper level. They often make fun of others by saying: “You don’t have the skills!”.

Doping interest

At last, the wish for product consumptions (legal or not) is believed to improve motricity performance. This demonstrates the importance of victory in network games, but also the place attributed to the body by gamers. It’s notable that, on the entire population inquired, gamers who received some profits (repayment, prices, sponsoring, etc.) appear more inclined to take complementary products or illegal products, in comparison to others “hardcore gamers” (30,9 % vs. 14,4 % et 10,5 % vs. 5,8 %).

Like others physical and sport activities, this potential consumption of products, revealing a strong victory wish for corporal anchoring, would resemble to being controlled medically. Taking this naïve vision into consideration, because it is about doping which is in question here, despite the hopes of Lenhard, who describes videogames as “opportunity to weave new social relations (…) and to have ludic competitions and… without doping » (1998: 168). However, assert again “videogames = danger” would be a mistake, because we have to recall that 15% of French (25% of executive) took doping products (Mermet, 2000:20).

Finally, our observations unveiled e-sport practitioners with behaviours and representations, among others aspects concerning the body place, were oriented towards a performance goal.

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The birth of an organization

Of the 724 inquired gamers, 92,3% voted by plebiscite that they would like a regional, national and international organization of network competitive games. Thus there is a request of institutionalisation. In this context, e-sport meetings aren’t not only informal but also take the form of true competition. But what is concretely made created on field?

Internet and LAN influence

Internet has largely contributed to the birth of the competitive network gaming. However, Manuel Castells, speaking of this way of online communication, says that “networks are appropriated to capitalist economy” (1998 [1996]: 527). This can also be directed to e-sport where it features performance merchandize. The LAN analysed was organised with council support (2750 Euros for electricity, a 300 m² room), thus some private companies. Gamer’s entourage and gamers themselves, brought a logistic support: switchs18, electric cables… as far as a video projector which, unfortunately for gamers, was eventually absent. Some competitors received free invitations in favour to their material contribution. In this open dynamic, advertisement realised around the LAN was quite impressive for such little congregation: posters, forums official announcement, articles in papers and local TV who would come without any electricity problem.

To underline, 75,3% of gamers declared to be attached to a spectacularisation of their games, a new time, a link to classical sports. Phenomenon of LAN illustrates this desire if spectacularisation, with podium, TV, broadcast, etiquette directly inspired by sport, “this church with its own rites and ceremonies” (Henri Vaugrand, 1999: 49).

Clans, clubs and other organizations

18 Switch permit to link computers.

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If 64,6% of gamers said they belong to a clan. Will they found network game clubs of tomorrow? Quantifying the phenomenon is difficult, even if some clubs already exist. To the question: “Are you playing alone, with your friends, in clan or in club?”, clan gamers yet in club answer in priority “clan”… Sign of tribal culture? Are clans enough juridical form to participate in e-sport is just a demonstration of the low level of institution? The result is that only 2,8% gamers of the sample to notch “club” despite of many room network gamers organized with a “participation to an activity indicating solidarities in competition, on a collective sport schema” (Brouzeng, 2001). To another scale, will we see soon national and international federations? Friend organisations which were the only one model seem ancient now, with a hope for e-sportsmen to receive a ministerial recognition, like in Russia, already scintillate to horizon…

In a global sense, it is not very probable to consider a IOC (International Olympic Committee) supervision in the immediate future. However, if with the two mains e-sport institutions (CPL and WCG), pro-gamers remunerations will perhaps open up in “amateurism” frontage of Olympism (WCG are oversaw by Samsung), their cash prize will contribute surely to market economy: “sport qualified of professional is just, for already a long time, a capitalist company” (Brohm, op. cit. : 211). Furthermore, “neo-liberal conceptions” (Laurent Trémel, 2001 : 252) of videogames, with contents offering a capitalist model and gamers with a “conventional” profile(ibid. : 267), are some characteristics in favour of e-sport continuation.

Managers

In an emblematic sense, the manager apparition in e-sport add another indication to the merchandization practice. Managers who belonged to a team become “trainers” while external managers took the traditional role that of a sport manager. The differentiations of tasks in e-sport converge toward a sport organisation, itself inspirited to economical organisation.

Finally, against prejudices, elites of e-sport seem to have some assets for a generalisation and improvement of their remuneration.

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E-SPORT, A LOGICAL CONTINUATION OF EUPHEMISM MOVEMENT IN SPORTS?

Our invitation to define videogames as motricity activity reproduced on screen by the intermediary of a tool (joystick, mouse, keyboard, etc.) for ludic means induced an indirect reflection of “virtual”, in particular with regard to the aspects of sociability and violence. To leave from “virtual” for analysed videogames entails frequently to the apparition of personal positions, at the image of debate about videogame violence, in media.

E-sport, which is a true “videosport”, is the entry point privileged for studying violence. In particular with the parallel with one of the first sports described by Norbet Elias, the fow hunt (op. cit.: 218-238). The author notes that the hunter is enthusiastic to direct his dog in order to kill the fox. Today, Elias could say that e-sportsman take the pleasure to direct his avatar in order to eliminated the adversary avatar, sign of, by “strength physical limitation – and particularly of the fact to kill – and as an expression of this limitation, the pleasure displacement – not felt with a violent action, but in seeing it – is the manifestation of advanced civilisation mark” (ibid. : 223), advanced of civilisation which continue until us and who is going to continue then…

This control of violent process largely exceed videogames and, in sports, is recently included in a larger movement of dominant cognitive sports19, giving the opportunity to make equal play to their male homologues. In a sport misogyny world, wouldn’t it be a major obstacle to recognition of e-sport and cognitive sports? Another social and tangible question, which ask us of e-sport…

19 That could make us think that performance is only built by “mind” however it is false. These field categories, useful and practical, don not have to mask us inextricable links between mind and body.

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