Communities of Play: Outside the Game

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Communities also form outside games, through Web sites and even face-to-face gatherings dedicated to electronic gaming in its many forms. This is similar to when online and in-person groups form to discuss other mass media like movies, TV shows, and books. These communities extend beyond game play, enhancing the social experience gained through the game. Sites that cater to communities of play fit into three categories. Some collect and share user-generated collective intelligence on game play.8 Others are independent sites that operate as community organizers for gamers. Still others are maintained by the industry and focus on distributing promotional material provided by hardware manufacturers and game publishers.

Collective Intelligence

Gamers looking for tips and cheats provided by fellow players need only Google what they want. The largest of the sites devoted to sharing collective intelligence is the World of Warcraft wiki (wowwiki.com). Similar user-generated sites are dedicated to a range of electronic games including Age of Conan, Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto, Halo, Super Mario Bros., Metal Gear, Pokémon, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Spore.

Independent Sites

Penny-arcade.com is perhaps the best known of the independent community-building sites. Founded by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the site started out as a Web comic focused on video game culture. It has since expanded to include forums and a Webcast called PATV that documents behind-the-scenes work at Penny Arcade. Penny Arcade organizes a live festival for gamers called the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), a celebration of gamer culture, and a children's charity called Child's Play.

The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) has expanded to include festivals held on the West Coast, in Seattle, and on the East Coast, in Boston. First held in 2004, the events now routinely sell out all of their passes on both coasts.

Industry Sites

GameSpot.com and IGN.com are apt examples of the giant industry sites. GameSpot serves all the major gaming platforms and provides reviews, news, videos, cheats, and forums. It also has a culture section that features interviews with game designers and other creative artists. In 2011, GameSpot launched Fuse, a social networking service for gamers that is designed to be "your personal gaming dashboard." IGN.com has most of the same services, as well as the regular Webcast of a news show about games called The Daily Fix.