Johan Kalmanlehto: Self-fashioning Through Playstyle 45be11e30be44302b1bee679a30a65b4

In this presentation I investigate the relevance of style to subjectivity by focusing on the style of gameplay. I argue that while a player’s actions are heavily dictated by the game artefact, there is always room for variation for the player’s actions in terms of habit, manners, and more generally the way of enacting agency. I discuss playstyle in terms of game mechanics, as the player’s way of accomplishing the practical task presented by the game. Style can be regarded both as deliberate fashioning of the self and inconspicuously adopted manners. Both are meaningful to self-formation, but unconscious imprints can be more powerful than deliberate manners, as they are often repeated without noticing. In gameplay, players can seek a playstyle that fits their sense of self but styles can also be imitated from other players. Practices of playing can become communal practices, especially when gameplay is shared with others.