Open AccessHoarding and community in "Star Wars Card Trader"
Author(s) -
Jeremy Groskopf
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
transformative works and cultures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1941-2258
DOI - 10.3983/twc.2016.0718
Subject(s) - realm , hoarding (animal behavior) , advertising , collectable , investment (military) , game studies , internet privacy , computer science , business , sociology , media studies , art , visual arts , history , political science , ecology , archaeology , foraging , politics , law , biology
Transitioning collectibles from the physical to the digital sphere changes the culture of collecting by increasing the accessibility of trading partners and adding digital limitations on personal interaction. In this analysis, I examine the collecting game Star Wars Card Trader (2015) and its culture of mass hoarding—the collecting of vast quantities of a single, valueless digital object—through which players reintroduce elements of personality, camaraderie, and nonrivalrous collecting into a system designed primarily for anonymous profitable acquisition. Via an analysis of player behaviors both within the game itself and in online venues, I argue that mass hoarding—a user invention—acts as the central community-building behavior in this digital realm. Mass hoarding is thus a clear indication that even in the digital realm, human personalities and relationships are vital to the construction of collecting as a pastime that is more complex than an investment opportunity