Abstract
This article seeks to examine how the notions of belonging and nativeness are enacted in virtual communities. It draws from an ethnographically inspired study of the players of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) that is explored through three key dimensions: space, time, and language. Drawing on concepts developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, I argue that the notion of nativeness, in the case of virtual communities, is best approached as a performance embedded in the process of becoming. In that sense, one is not but rather becomes a member of a virtual community. This process of becoming entails an exploration of smooth forms of space and the appropriation of a vernacular form of language.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 423-439 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Games and Culture |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 25 Nov 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015, The Author(s) 2015.
Keywords
- Gilles Deleuze
- language
- nativeness
- spatiality
- temporality
- virtual communities