How male young adults construe their playing style in violent video games

This study explores the various ways in which male young adults engage with violence in video games. Based on an ethnographic study (N = 26) with triangulation of diary reports, focus group interviews and a video commentary model, three conceptual axes are distinguished along which players differ in their enactment of video game violence: narration versus action, discovery versus mission-based play and reaction versus strategic play. The results suggest that individual playing styles result in exposure to different quantities and a different quality of virtual violence.