Madden's just Mad

For my ethnography I interviewed two 15 year olds and an 11 year old about their gaming. All three of these kids like to play video games but are also involved in sports. One of the three has a job. All three prefer to play sports games. The games they play are almost exclusively sports games. Halo is the exception and they all three really like to play Halo. The reasons they like sports games are that they love sports and their mom won't let them buy war games. They might buy more war games if their mom didn't give them such a big hassle about them. They game an average of 5 to 15 hours a week, depending on whether or not their sport is in season. Two of the kids game in a room in their basement that is set up with a comfortable couch and television. They have the room to themselves and are allowed to have food and pop there. The other has a similar situation in his house where he can game seperate from the rest of the family. They all prefer to game with other people. They will play alone but it is much more fun for them to have people over to game.

Their favorite game right now is Madden Football 2007. However, they always like the latest versions of games best so when something new comes out the game will be their favorite and they'll play it almost exlusively. They like to play Madden because they can work together to draft their own team and then play a "season" against other teams. The commentator in the game gives them feedback on their draft picks and makes comments after the plays. They like to get feedback from the game. They love when one of them makes a player do something bad. They laugh really hard and give the person all kinds of grief, which in turn makes someone else flub up, which is cause for more hilarity. They are loud and raucus when they play as a group. They also will game for awhile and then go outside and try some of the plays they did during the game. When they get worn out from that they come back in and play some more.

These particular kids show a high level of engagement with Madden football because they take it from its intended use, gaming, and incorporate it into their lives, replicating "gaming" plays when they play football outside. Madden is marketed for males and to males and these males are attracted to what the marketers have offered them. There are no females in the game, and they thought it was a dumb question when asked if that bothered them. Part of the attraction of Madden to these kids is that they are trying on a different identity. In the game they are team builders, literally. They are powerful and skilled athletes, and they are in control. They have the power to make decisions beyond what they are allowed in their "real lives." When they go out to play football and mimic the game, they take their fantasy beyond the screen into the front yard. Gaming is a way they can live out the fantasy that all three have, that of becoming a pro athlete. Gaming is also a way for them to make social connections. With the game they all have something in common. Something to laugh about together, and to do together. Hierarchies do exist, with the best player as "top dog." As players become more skilled, the playing field, so to speak, becomes more level in terms of hierarchy. As the kids navagate growing maturity in their "real" lives, gaming allows them to try on being grown men without being grown men.