Game Mode: Finding friends on and offline (Rebroadcast)

WAMU 88.5 | By Arfie Ghedi, Chris Castano

Published November 20, 2023 at 2:02 PM EST

A photo shows visitors in front of the Xbox booth at the Gamescom video game fair in Cologne, western Germany.

Traditionally, video games are viewed as an isolating experience: sitting alone, in a basement or locked room, staring at a television for hours on end, and not speaking to anyone.

Honestly, most of that last sentence is true, minus the last bit. Since the early days of the console wars, gamers have gathered around televisions and online to do what they love. They’ve started websites, YouTube channels, Discord servers, conventions, and more in order to find each other, make friends, and get their game on.

What do these communities look like? And what do they mean to the people who are a part of them?

Arfie Ghedi, Chris Castano

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