‘Seeing isn’t doing’: Examining tensions between bodies, videogames and technologies ‘beyond’ the game

Abstract

Broadcasts of esport have come to function as technological intermediaries that shape how individuals engage with videogames in an everyday capacity. This article focuses on the moments of bodily tension when spectators of esport attempt to emulate techniques and strategies derived from broadcasts of esport matches. I present findings from a wider study which reveal three tensions: (1) antagonistic relations between players’ bodily faculties and techniques shown in esports, enculturated through esports’ popularity, and its perpetuation of bodily mastery and technological competency as key ways of engaging with videogames; (2) an inability to habituate the timings of body required in emulating high-level techniques and (3) the emergence of negative affective states – such as panic or anxiety – in attempting to replicate strategies. I propose the concept of ‘bodily finitude’ to describe and analyse these tensions.