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Research on Professional Groups through Learning of Professional Game Players  

Kim, Sa-Hoon H. (University of Wisconsin)
Park, Sang-Wook W. (Yonsei University)
Publication Information
Journal of Korea Game Society / v.10, no.4, 2010 , pp. 23-34 More about this Journal
Abstract
The current interests in e-sports is being extended to the fields of education these days. Professional game players, so called as 'Pro-Gamers', therefore, should be recognized as human resource for education, and the theoretical foundation for them needs to be established. This study examines informal learning styles, motivation, and interactions among professional game players in South Korea. The aim of this grounded theory study is to discover the trajectory of professional game players' experiences and explain what properties and interactions they are facing depending on the stage of the trajectory. This study conceptualizes educational meaning within and across the society of StarCraft Pro-Gamers, providing suggestions for the management of human resource using models constructed. Data was analyzed by interviewing 1 consultant, 2 directors and 9 Pro-Gamers. By analyzing the data, this study explored what learning strategies Pro-Gamers construct and apply in their trajectory as Pro-Gamers. It includes how they organize learning, how they formulate their motivation and goals, how they cooperate and compete, what curricula they adapt, how they become one of the ace players overcoming their slump, and how informal education works in practice in the interaction among members of a StarCraft Pro-Gamer team. Finally, in this paper the stage theory was presented. It is argued that when the stage of the players shifts (Stage Shifting). It also brings changes to proficiency properties, emotional properties, interactional properties and educational properties related to each stage. Stages are categorized by five levels: Enjoying, Struggling, Achieving, Slumping, and Recovering. Although each stage has its own properties, the stages are grouped by two main properties, one of which is a Communicative Stage and the other is a Practicing Stage.
Keywords
E-sports; game player; professional game player; StarCraft; Pro-gamer;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
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