KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND SURVEILLANCE IN GAME COMMUNITIES THE PRACTICE OF THEORYCRAFTING

摘要

The aim of my paper is to investigate theorycrafting, a cultural practice of gaming communities to contribute to conceptual debates and the dynamics of participation in this specific field. Theorycrafting describes a process of reverse engineering, a process of extracting design "blue prints" to understand a technology better, whose design is not accessible. This paper tries to investigate which understanding of theory and science is central in the practice of theorycrafting. Theorycrafting can be understood as the desire of players to gain control over the game and share this knowledge with other players. The production of knowledge for the community leads to tools that are used to improve the playing skills but can also be described as tools for surveillance.