Layering literacies and metagaming in Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Abstract

The primary purpose of this ethnographic research is to explore what literacy practices unfold through and beyond gaming, how metagaming is conceptualized and how metagaming shapes the players' view and relation to their literacy practices with a particular focus on the first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). Data from this study were drawn from ethnographic research of four young males within and around CS:GO in the context of Cyprus. Findings indicate that players go through a cycle of layering literacies in order to evolve their metagaming. Metagaming is about creating fluid forms of optimal or unexpected tactics and strategies during game play that go beyond the rules of the game to counter the opponent(s) by using pre-existing, current, and new knowledge from past game plays, as well knowledge and information from online and offline literacy practices. These layered literacies are multidirectional, interest-based and are part of learning related to high-level making decisions. The results contribute to the body of literature suggesting ways videogames and more specifically metagaming, could support literacy in L1 classrooms.