Shaan Bhalaru

UWP 001
Ms. Bamert
May 30 2017
Discourse Community Project
For most people, videogames might seem like a waste of time or even a method in which

a person cannot gain information from. On the other hand, I believe that gaming is an artform

that can teach players strategies, develop problem solving skills, and give them opportunities to

connect with other players online. These positives of videogaming outweigh the negatives since

videogaming can also be applied to many other areas that can aid people in hand-eye

coordination as well as simulating real life situations that will not harm any human lives.

Chiappe confirms these pros of videogaming saying that, , action videogames, in comparison to

other genres, have been found to broaden the attentional visual field. This is likely due to the

extensive attentional demands action videogames place on individuals. (Chiappe 2012). By

learning how to apply this artform, we can have more possible applications that may even save

costs, time, and even lives. In society, there are many different types of videogames, there are

some that are simulations used in industry, virtual reality, and even games that provide

entertainment for people. The definition of art given by Erin Hallmark is a method of

communication and expression created by a conscious use of skill and imagination (Hallmark

2008). Based on Hallmarks definition, the videogame Overwatch and many other games can

be a part of technical artistry and thus an artform that expresses human imagination and

creativity.

Overwatch is a recently released game that has multiple people who play in teams that

compete to achieve certain objectives. This game is classified as a MOBA, which stands as a
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. The game consists of a battle between two teams, each with 6

players. Each player has a choice of choosing a number of characters to play from (24

characters), where each character has their own specific set of abilities as well as their main

damaging weapon. These different characters are separated in different categories to allow for a

smooth team building composition. These different categories/classes are tank: someone who can

take damage, offense: someone who can deal lots of damage, defense: someone who can nullify

damage, and finally support: someone who can focus on aiding their team in succeeding. These

aspects combined make up the game of Overwatch as well as the large discourse community of

players that make up its support group.

The goals of the discourse community of Overwatch are to collaborate with your five

teammates to win a game by achieve an objective while facing an enemy team that will stop you

from reaching your objective. This goal may also be different since some members dont have an

opinion on winning a certain match of Overwatch, they may just want to play and be entertained

by the game itself. Genre-wise, the game of Overwatch provides many literacies. It can teach the

player how to successfully deal with dangerous situations using theory and strategies gained

from experience. This ability to learn and apply strategies is a strong skill and can be used in

many other situations that dont have to do with videogaming. The vocabulary used in

Overwatch is very different, since some of it is abbreviated. For example, when a person is going

to use their ultimate ability, the player will usually say Im using my ult!. More vocabulary

that is exclusive to the game of Overwatch are the names of characters, as well as the names of

certain abilities. Another example would be, if a person says, Im going to use Tracers pulse

bomb, use Graviton Surge!, then a person who has never played Overwatch would not

understand this statement at all. What the phrase above means, is that the character Tracer will
use her ability called Pulse Bomb in combination with another persons ability called

Graviton Surge to do lots of damage to the opposing team. The ways of communication in

Overwatch are similar to many other games that have already been released at this time. In this

game, there is a small chat window in which any player can communicate with their team so as

to coordinate attacks or comment about certain observations. Another option of communication

can be use ones microphone to speak, this method is much faster and allows the player to play

while strategizing attack with their fellow teammates. And lastly, in Overwatch, there are also

emotions, actions, and poses that your character can do to communicate to other people playing.

For the primary research that I chose to conduct, I decided to interview two people. I

wanted a perspective from someone who is part of a videogaming discourse community along

with someone who is not a part of the videogaming community. For my first interview, I chose

my close friend Daniel Nasr-Church who was a part of the videogaming discourse community of

Overwatch. Secondly, I decided to choose my father, I had interviewed him across the phone and

asked him questions since he was not a part of the Overwatch discourse community. I had asked

both of my interviewees similar questions but when it came to my friend, who was part of the

Overwatch discourse community, I decided to ask him specifics when it came to the videogame

such as the types of people who are part of it, the purpose of the community, the language used,

and the activities of an average member of the particular community.

My friend Daniel describes the game of Overwatch as being a large clustering of

colorful flashing lights and character models that are enough to give anyone mild case of eye-

redness and confusion. I asked him about the community of Overwatch and what kinds of

people it consists of, he replied saying that The community is full of gamers and FPS(first

person shooter) enthusiasts. He adds by saying that its mostly consisted of people who want to
have fun and just play a good match with other people online. He had essentially answered my

second question that addressed the purpose of the community of Overwatch. I had still asked this

question and he added more information sharing that, Some people just go to have fun while

other people just want to play competitively and so theres an option given to those hard-core

players. I then asked him about the specific lexicon used during an Overwatch match that others

may not completely understand. Daniel shared that Yea of course, words that have to do with

character names and their abilities are very foreign to people whove never heard about

Overwatch. He uses an example saying that If I said something like, Mercy, use your damage

boost staff on Pharahs ultimate, then of course a person who hasnt played Overwatch will have

no clue what Im talking about. To end the interview, I asked him about art and if videogaming

can be considered an art style, he replied by saying Videogaming is a piece of art, the amount of

work that went into Overwatch for example, shows that creativity can be explored in multiple

ways rather than typical art we look at. He continues by saying that the specifics in creating the

maps of Overwatch with color and design definitely show art. He ends by talking about how

coding is a piece of art too, since it allows people to find algorithms and formulas that solve

glitches in Overwatch. Also being a part of the discourse community of Overwatch, I

completely agree with Daniels statement and how videogames can be considered modern art.

Secondly, I interviewed my dad about the community of Overwatch and videogaming in

general. I first explained the game of Overwatch to my father to see his thoughts on it. He

replied, saying that It seems like a very fun game, I wish I had something like that when I was

younger. I think I would waste a lot of time with it! He continued by saying that it seems like a

good videogame, like a good investment if wanted buy it as a gift. I then asked him what he

thought about the people and its purpose, he replied It might be full of people who play lots of
games and I think most of them play to relax, maybe like over the weekend. I continued to ask

him about videogame being considered an art, he says It can be art if someone tries to be

creative, but I think it was made for people to play and not to be looked at. Like art now is for the

enjoyment of the eyes and videogames are used for people to play. I had sensed that his

perspective was in between but more leaned to side that art was a different type of enjoyment

than videogames.

Since Overwatch has a developmental process, it requires a creative process to made to

fruition. For example, creativity is needed when designing characters, their backstories, as well

as the many settings at which the match occurs. This exploration of creativity through the

creation of games should be addressed in schools as well, instead of shunning students Sean

Roberts also has a similar view in which he says that it should encourage academics to treat

gaming as a legitimate area of study and an exciting resource (Roberts 2013). Videogaming

should be a part of creativity and exploration, teaching people how to code and how to use

technical arts should be an option to explore creativity.

Bibliography:

Chiappe, D. (July 2012) Improving Multi-tasking Ability in a Piloting Task through

Action Videogames. Retrieved from http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1201/b12321-21

CUDDY, L. (2011). The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 69(4), 430-433.

Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23883696

Gagnon, D. (1985). Videogames and Spatial Skills: An Exploratory Study. Educational

Communication and Technology, 33(4), 263-275. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/30218172

Hallmark, E. (2008). Technical Communication, 55(3), 291-292. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/43095355

Roberts, S. (2013). Discourse & Society, 24(5), 651-653. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/24441619