St. Augustine Game Shops Build a Culture of Gaming Through Cooperative Play
From Dungeons and Dragons to St. Augustine
In 1974 Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. published Dungeons and Dragons, the premier tabletop role-playing game. This was the dawn of modern gaming culture. Gamers share in a culture of artistry, camaraderie, competition, and adventure.
Gaming also has economic, social, and artistic value that influence popular culture on larger scales.
In St. Augustine this culture is focused on local game shops. Big Daddy Game Shop, D20 GameSpot, and The Nerd Out are hubs of gaming activity in St. Augustine. At these shops people socialize, compete, learn, teach, and enjoy the culture of gaming.
Who are the Experts in the Gaming World?
Gaming professionals, academics, and pro-gamers are all valuable sources of information.
Noah A. O’Neill is a game designer. O’Neill uses the internet to keep up with gaming news.
“I follow IGN for the news and Bethesda and Nintendo for game company updates. I find out about games through social media, YouTube and Twitter being the biggest ones,” O’Neill states.
Peter Adkison founded Wizards of the Coast in 1990. WoTC is one of the top names in game production.
Elaine Chase is the Vice of President of Global Brand Strategy and Marketing at Wizards of the Coast. Chase has worked at Wizards of the Coast since 1999, making her a vetted expert in the gaming industry.
Chase’s Twitter handle is @ElaineChase. Chase often tweets information about gaming. Chase signifies tweets relating to her job with the #WOTCstaff hashtag.
Gabriel Nassif is a top Magic: The Gathering player. He has won one Grand Prix and has placed top eight in six Grand Prix.
Nassif writes articles for Channelfireball. His articles focus on Magic: The Gathering; his expertise.
Game shop owners and employees are valuable resources for gamers.
Emily McKeown is a featured D&D player on Natural 20Somethings. McKeown enjoys visiting The Uncommons, a game shop in Manhattan.
“I like it best because the atmosphere is a nice balance of casual and dedicated. There’s literally hundreds of games to try and the people who work there all love games but they’re also paid to teach you to play new ones. They have DnD games run by the staff and great coffee and snacks. Overall it’s just a really welcoming atmosphere,” McKeown states.
What Makes a Gamer?
Due to the original niche nature of gaming, gamers tend to share some key similarities.
According to researchers, role-players often have heightened creativity.
In the academic study, “The Effectiveness of Experiential Methods in Training and Education: The Case of Role Playing,” Aryeh G. Kidron states;
“Involvement in role playing is related to creativity of individuals and groups.”
Gaming also inspires innovation.
Industry leader Upper Deck announced a new digital gaming platform. Upper Deck and SkyReacher Entertainment created Legendary DXP, an app for Upper Deck’s game, Legendary. This app will allow players to play whenever and wherever they want.
As gaming needs shift, technology advances to accommodate those changes. In some cases, gamers use technology to game in creative ways.
Levi A. Miles is a gamer and a former employee at Little Shop of Magic in Las Vegas.
“I engage with the gaming community on several different social media sites, including Instagram, by using the the #Gamer and #Gaymer hashtags, and I also have a large following on Tumblr at GaymeMaster.Tumblr.com where I blog about the Pathfinder RPG and Dungeons & Dragons,” Miles States.
Miles plans to broadcast his weekly games on his YouTube and Twitch accounts.
When do Gamers Play Games?
Those who play at game shops depend on shop events schedules.
Luis Casado is the owner of D20 GameSpot in St. Augustine. D20’s weekly schedule includes Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, X-wing, and more.
An Audio slideshow of Luis Casado listing the weekly schedule of D20 GameSpot. Created with Adobe Premiere. (By: Mal Carney)
Gamers are especially active during major gaming events, such EVO. ESPN2, Disney XD, and Twitch broadcasted this fighting tournament.
Large numbers of experienced gamers competed at the 2017 Pokémon International Championships.
Magic: The Gathering’s Amonkhet Game Day invited players to participating game shops to compete for prizes.
Where do Gamers Game?
Game shops are found all over the world.
Levi A. Miles has visited game shops around the world. From Las Vegas to Budapest, Miles tries to visit game shops wherever he goes.
“Each shop has a different environment, but I think what is really cool about each of these spaces is that they’ve created havens for players to come in, socialize in, play their games, and build a community. Each store and its community has its own distinct personality,” Miles states.
St. Augustine has a handful of game shops. These shops host different events and appeal to different demographics.
Big Daddy Game Shop hosts many Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh events. Events include a regularly scheduled Pokémon Club, Free Pokémon 101, and Pokémon Tournaments.
D20 GameSpot does not have any scheduled Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh events. Instead, this shop focuses on Magic: The Gathering and D&D.
“The Yu-Gi-Oh community here is pretty minimal as well as Pokémon,” Casado states.
A podcast interview with Luis Casado, owner of D20 GameSpot. Created with Adobe Audition. April 2017. (By: Mal Carney)
Big Daddy Game Shop and D20 GameSpot are not the only local shops for gamers in St. Augustine.
The Nerd Out is another game shop in St. Augustine.
The shops all serve as spaces for people to come together and play games.
An infographic map of St. Augustine, pinpointing game shops that specialize in trading card games and tabletop games. Created using Google Maps. July 2017. (By: Mal Carney)
Why do Gamers Game?
People play games for a myriad of reasons.
Dakota Smith of Big Daddy Game Shop focuses on the community aspect of gaming.
“We really want parents to feel comfortable bringing their children, because generally what you see at a game shop is the 14 to 24 age. We don’t really see the seven to 14, but during the day during the summer when they would be able to come up and be able to spend their time we want them to be able to get together and network and meet new friends and meet people that are like them and then teach one another and learn team-building skills and learn socializing and everything like that,” Smith states.
A video of Dakota Smith, employee at Big Daddy Game Shop in St. Augustine, discussing his opinions on gaming culture. Created using Adobe Premiere. May 21, 2017. (By: Mal Carney)
Competition is a key factor in many games.
In 2015 The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo held an illustration competition. Gamers played Pokémon Art Academy for a chance to have their art turned into a Pokémon TCG card.
Some gamers are drawn to collectibles or games that make them nostalgic.
In 2017, Konami appealed to fans by releasing exclusive Yu-Gi-Oh cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Superstars! All-foil set.
In June 2017, Bandai released their Digimon ver. 20th V-Pets, updated re-releases of the original v-pets from 1997.
Why Does Gaming Matter?
In “The Role-Playing Society: Essays on the Cultural Influence of RPGs,” Andrew Byers and Francesco Crocco state;
“Furthermore, RPGs have also received considerable attention in popular culture, which depictions of RPGs -- usually D&D -- and games in film, television, music, and popular literature.”
Yu-Gi-Oh has remained relevant since its release in 2002.
This card game has inspired parodies. It has been the focus of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit. It has even broken two world records.
Edward Schneider and Brian Hutchison of the University of South Florida, attest to the creative value of video games in their paper “Referencing the Imaginary: An Analysis of Library Collection of Role-Playing Game Material.”
“A recent article by The New York Times pointed out how influential the game has been in shaping a generation of writers and creative (Gilsdorf, 2014).”
What Role Does Gaming Play in Your Life?
At its core gaming culture is about community. No one has to play alone.
Share your gaming stories using the #StAugGaming hashtag on Instagram and Twitter.
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