Community spaces of game fanbases

You can’t have a game without an online community space, no matter how large or small. The fan spaces that pop up either on twitter, reddit, tiktok or tumblr help bring awareness to the game- Unless it is already a popular game. However these spaces can either be good for the game, or ruin its reputation. 

Fans make or break a game, no matter how hard a game markets itself. Call of Duty is a good example, it is a large game from a well known company and it has millions of fans worldwide- But the fan base is not liked. Another example is Minecraft, the game is very popular, so is the company- Though the online fan spaces have been routinely negatively talked about for the past few years. 

Let’s focus on the good side of online ‘fandom’ spaces first.

Communities online, specifically twitter, have brought light to new upcoming artists who start out creating fanart of a certain streamer or youtube creator. Fan artists are usually the backbone of communities, there can be a few people talking about a game but if there is no new media to keep people talking, then the game is at a standstill from word of mouth marketing till it updates again. Fan artists draw people in, they allow ‘outsiders’ to peek into what the game is, to see what the rave is about. It also keeps current fans in online spaces who want to spread the fanart to have others talk about the game. 

For gaming creators, these artists draw attention to them, for free. I have seen youtubers reach out to fanartists to commission them to make thumbnails, or for twitch streamers to commission them to make stickers. Sometimes the creator would hire them full time, giving the – most of the time – college student or just graduated college student artists a job.

Fan spaces also serve as a place for people to just meet others with the same interests and hobbies. Many friend groups that appear online because of a creator or a game are made up of people of all ages, races, genders and sexualities- It gives people the chance to meet others they normally would not have the chance to meet in real life. 

Discord serves as another meeting spot- Despite the dangers of impersonations- discord servers have sometimes sparked romantic relationships, helped people out of situations or helped people find others who understand them. 

Fan writers are also the backbone of the community. Compared to the fanartists, they are less known and more quiet. In some spaces fan writers are not entirely welcomed, especially in a creator space. Though in a fictional game space, fan writers and fan artists share the same pedestal regular fans put them on. 

These spaces give people a chance to keep practicing their hobbies- Writing, painting, drawing, crafting or sometimes music making. A lot of these spaces are filled with people from high school, college or beyond and are just wanting a break from real life and to indulge in media that makes them happy. 

Some fanbases have begun working together to raise money for charities- Via art commissions, donations and writing commissions. Creators have also joined in- A recent example would be a cancer charity for Technoblade that many streamers came together for and all donations went to that charity- Fans have also saved up money on twitter through the ways above and donated. 

Twitchcon can be considered a community space- Despite the recent news of the past event. 

Outside media engagement between each other, fans also add to games through fan made lore, modpacks and texture packs.

Specifically, Five Nights at Freddy’s ( I know we keep mentioning them, it is just a good example) that game’s lore was so expansive that fans dug into it and began to make their own theories. It was rumored at some point Scott Cawthon used online theories to add to his own game lore. 

Minecraft fans make modpacks or texture packs to add to the vanilla base- Such as the cave dwellers, furniture mods, shaders, more detailed movements, skins, capes, sounds and so much more. 

When games get too detailed, like Five Nights at Freddy’s, Undertale, Poppy Playtime, etc- Fandom Wiki’s get made, and most times it is fans running the site. 

This site adds in all characters, their backstories, their relationships with others, sometimes very popular fan lore, and it is always updated. Fans being so dedicated to a game gave them the motivation to make a site that lets new people get up to date. 

Of course with spaces that are not regularly organized or monitored- You’ll get the bad sides of them. 

The issue with media spaces for games is that a lot of the fanbase is younger. Some have just joined the internet and have not had time to understand the dangers that come with messaging strangers or engaging with other people. Or sometimes they use the internet as a way to bully others just because they are behind a screen- Which nowadays, this leads to doxxing and that’s a whole other issue. 

Sometimes the older fanbase consists of prideful individuals who dislike new people in the space, or start discourse over the smallest things. 

For gaming creators, they will sometimes only interact with their older fanbase, and require an age limit to chat in their streams. Many younger kids don’t understand that this is for safety for the creator and for them. 

With younger fans being a part of a creator’s fanbase, they get exposed to a whole new world than what they may be used to. Lots more cursing, inappropriate phrases or images, graphic games and horrible people.

Many people who grew up with the internet understand the dangers now and wish they had someone tell them to avoid certain places- Such as discord, animo, tumblr- until they were a certain age. 

The effects of exposure to a younger audience bleeds into their real life- With more curse words in their vocabulary, images of graphic games and maybe a personality change to match the streamer they choose to watch. 

Media is catered to adults, and while there is discussion of making some type of media based for kids, it is difficult to do so when they want to be a part of the main social media. 

Sometimes when a community is closed off to ‘outsiders,’ the fans become hostile to anyone who talks negatively about the game or creator. This is what usually makes or breaks a game. 

Call of Duty is a good example, since the fanbase is mainly boys and men, women have a hard time being in the space without a negative experience occurring. Same thing with Valorant and Overwatch. 

Certain gaming creators acquire a fanbase that listens to whatever they say: If a creator says someone else is speaking ill about them, the fans will harass that other person. If a creator dislikes a game, the fan base will give bad reviews. 

Parasocial relationships are the worst part of an online community. It happens so often, it has silently become normalized deep within the space. Some fans who have been a part of the community since the beginning try to run off the parasocial fans, or try to talk some sense into others- But when the majority are similar, it is hard to bring back the original community space.