"Becoming A Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves"

Video game communities can be a valid source of interest-based connections, but I do think that McGonical's exploration of gaming sites as psychologically fulfilling communities is a little problematic. In my mind, the idea of community encompasses more than a shared interest in or appreciation of a game or art form--community goes deeper. Community can extend past game boundaries, fan boundaries, or physical boundaries into a world of expressed individuality and emotional support. Mcgonigal's article never addressed any aspect of the Halo community that goes beyond the game universe. The gamers have lore, they have tasks, they have a neat environment, and they have an overflow of game data, but they don't have anything else.

From my glancing experience with Halo, the gamers don't have much individual identity. Each person plays as a first person shooter who interacts with other gamers only through statistics. They don't actually play together, the community exist solely on a comparison basis and a sharing of game lore. Halo players may come together because of their shared Halo interest, but their community never extends the bounds of the game. It's almost like creating a community based on Tetris. There may be scores of people who enjoy playing it and appreciate the game's aesthetic, but the community remains entirely ungrounded in visceral, emotional, or social reality.

As someone who has never played Halo, I am not really qualified to speak on this subject. I do believe, however, that McGonigal's portrayal of the game as an epic community missed the mark a little bit. No matter how good game graphics are, no matter how involving the story, I don't think a true 'community' can exist if the game boundaries don't spill over into real life. McGonical states that being a part of the Halo community is "Becoming a part of something bigger than ourselves," but the individualistic interface and lack of social grounding categorize Halo's gameplay as a less massively epic, more personal media involvement.