ABSTRACT

In order to better understand the development of play and games in modern lives, this article examines two competitive leisure groups: digital fighting game players and traditional taekwondo practitioners. Drawing on qualitative offline/online interviews (n = 56) and close reading of externally documented life narratives (n = 14), we explore how the modes and motives of engagement fluctuate in competitive players over time. The study provides a new developmental approach to continuous competitive play as leisure. Our results show rather than making linear progress from ‘casual’ to ‘serious’ leisure, individuals in both groups perceive their lasting relationships with these activities gradually evolving through their lives in three stages: acquaintance, attachment, and accommodation, The players fluctuate between casual and serious engagement, occasionally reaching a state of subjectively meaningful and socially cemented life permanence. The study suggests that the patterns of long-term play and gaming may not differ much between digital and non-digital domains.

摘要

为了更好地了解游戏在现代生活中的发展，本文考察了两个竞技休闲群体：数字格斗游戏玩家和传统跆拳道练习者。利用定性离线/在线访谈（n  = 56）和仔细阅读外部记录的生活叙述（n = 14），我们探讨了竞争者的参与模式和动机如何随着时间的推移而波动。该研究提供了一种新的发展方法，可以将持续的竞争性游戏作为休闲活动。我们的结果显示，两组人都认为他们与这些活动的持久关系在他们的生活中逐渐演变为三个阶段：相识、依恋和适应，而不是从“休闲”休闲到“严肃”休闲的线性进步，玩家在休闲之间波动和认真的参与，偶尔会达到一种主观上有意义和社会巩固的生活永久性状态。该研究表明，长期游戏和游戏的模式在数字和非数字领域之间可能没有太大差异。