Ethnographic Report: eSports
We spent time with the Atlanta Royal Family, a group of enthusiasts of the arena shooter title, Overwatch. The Royal Family conducts regular meets, called "Watch Parties" where they got together and watched live broadcasts of games being played in the professional Overwatch League.
In order for us to get closer to answering our question, we used a research method called applied ethnography, which is largely qualitative, involving collecting data through observations and interviews. We worked with our participants on a smaller scale, asking them about their experiences in eSports. The questions we asked were open ended, to allow the discussion to flow in a direction they felt comfortable with. Some of the questions we asked included:
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Megan (pictured on the bottom center, crouching) was at the first person we met. We were able to have a brief chat about her history in the community. Megan was a cosplayer, meaning she attended events in costumes of characters from popular media. That night, she was dressed as the Overwatch character D.VA. She went to the University of Georgia, so she was already a big fan of college football. She felt equally as passionate about traditional sports and eSports. An interesting bit we got from her was when she mentioned that her involvement in eSports added an additional bond and activity that she could share with her husband. A frequent topic of discussion between them would begin to include things like exciting plays made by their favorite teams.
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Kendra was another Royal Family member we met. She actually had no idea what Overwatch was for quite a while. But like Megan, she was also into cosplaying. Kendra was one of the organizers for the Atlanta Royal Masquerade, a group of fellow cosplayers that would arrange group photos at different conventions and events in the Metro Atlanta area.
That night, Kendra was mostly handing out business cards with the Royal Family's info for new Overwatch league fans to get into the community. Her friends are all into eSports, so she was always in good company. However, something interesting we spoke on was how her family wasn't aware of her involvement in the community. Kendra's parents were immigrants from Hong Kong, so there was a bit of a cultural gap between them. |
the logo for the Atlanta Royal Masquerade
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