Sergeyeva O.V., Zinovyeva N.A. Gaming Spaces and the Changing Experience of Urban Communications. Logos et Praxis, 2020, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 51-60.

Abstract

Thanks to mobile technologies, a modern city exists as an intersection of real and virtual worlds, combining face-to-face and online communications. Also, a city is a constantly recreated object in virtual gaming spaces and is not just a passive background, but an important resource for the development of gameplay. Hybridization as the addition of physical space to virtual space, and transmediation as the free transfer of content between different platforms, provide new opportunities for citizens to participate and observe urban life. The article’s aim is a conceptualization of changes in the urban communication experience on the example of commemorative activities. The authors discuss the case of the Victory Parade on May 9, 2020, which was hosted by gamers in the online space, but thanks to streamers it was broadcast to a wide audience. All participants tried to somehow correspond to a real parade: they used equipment and combat subunits (units), chose locations similar to urban squares, tried to walk, ride or fly in formation, used the marches or songs of the war years. Both gamers and official teams of game developers created their parades. Authors concluded that gaming space, its architecture, and artifacts are of essential importance for this event and creates the basis for a full, partial, or creative reconstruction of the event. The authors note that online games are changing the experience of urban interactions, becoming a platform for both communication and maintaining cultural patterns, for example, for developing citizen rituals. The reproduction of urban rituals in gaming spaces reconfigures the collaborative social activities of nowadays citizens.