“It’s a first!”: A Case Study on Identity Expression through Language on Twitch in a Game of Teamfight Tactics

Abstract

This ethnographic case study analyses how gamer-specific lexicon and gamer-specific phrases in chat messages from Teamfight Tactics (TFT) streamer k3soju on Twitch are used to enable the expression of (gamer)identity and membership to the Community of Practice (CoP). Data from k3soju’s Videos on Demand on Twitch are analysed in three categories: placement references, abbreviations and emotes. Transcripts and their analyses provide evidence for how language is key to performing a TFT Twitch CoP identity. The case study concludes that player experience in TFT is not sufficient (nor required) to participate in the TFT Twitch CoP and that membership needs to be maintained due to the variable nature of the CoP.