In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

520 Walkthrough Frederik De Grove and Jan Van Looy In its most basic form, a walkthrough is a text describing step by step how to complete (part of ) a digital game. In practice, walkthroughs often comprise additional information such as maps of the game space, lists of items and their characteristics , cheat codes, tips on how to build characters, and strategies to use. Hence, there can be considerable overlap with other types of paratext to the game such as game guides, strategy guides, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) (Crawford 2012). Walkthroughs are sometimes commercially provided, but in most cases they are created by players. This requires a significant amount of time, eff fi ort, and mastery of the ff ff game and is often a collaborative project by several authors based on requests by the broader community (Karaganis 2007; Newman, 2005, 2008). Providing a walkthrough generally rewards the author(s) with a certain status within the game community. Thus, the practices of producing, adapting, and making use of walkthroughs are firmly rooted fi within fan culture and the broader game community (see games and education, participatory culture). Whereas in the past walkthroughs consisted mostly of written text, the popularity of video-sharing platforms has given rise to a multitude of walkthroughs in audiovisual formats. Due to the nature of the medium, audiovisual walkthroughs tend to focus on showing how players can complete (parts of ) the game. Written text, on the other hand, is generally deemed more suited to providing additional information such as maps and lists of items and their corresponding features. ■ See also cheats, worlds and maps References and Further Reading Crawford, Garry. 2012. Video Gamers. London: Routledge. Karaganis, Joe. 2007. Structures of Participation in Digital Culture. New York: Social Science Research Council. Newman, James. 2005. “Playing (with) Videogames.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 11 (1): 48. ———. 2008. Playing with Videogames. London: Routledge. W Web Comics Karin Kukkonen Web comics are comics (primarily) published on and distributed through the Internet. Some, but by far not all, of these comics make use of the affordances of ff ff digitalization. Web comics are usually individual and nonprofessional efforts, and even ff ff though larger infrastructures exist, no web comics industry comparable to the print comics industry has emerged. Reportedly, the first web comic was Erik Milikin’s fi Witches and Stiches, which began its run in 1985. In the 1990s, the number of web comics rose steadily, with the arrival of now-established web comics such as PhD (1997–), Penny Arcade (1998–), and PvP (1998–). The 2000s saw an explosion of web comics, as collectives were established and more and more creators put their work online. Most established web comics update on a regular basis, often one to three times a week. In some cases, this leads to run numbers of over one thousand installments (the run of Sluggy Freelance, for example, is currently four thousand). However, web comics can also change their URLS rapidly, end their run abruptly, or be taken off the web entirely. Because of the less professionalized environ- ff ment of web comics, the majority of them only exist as long as the author has interest in them. In Reinventing Comics (2000), McCloud outlines three revolutions connected to web comics: digital production, digital delivery, and digital comics. Not only web comics but also increasingly print comics are produced digitally. However, digital delivery (or distribution ) is the point at which web comics differ most clearly from printed comics. Even if ff ff they do not often make use of digital affordances, web comics are “pure information” in ff ff the sense that they are distributed in digital form through the Internet. Distribution and Infrastructures Distribution through the Internet means that creators with their own web page can reach a large audience without having to work for a comics publisher and having to rely on their distribution networks with comics shops and booksellers. These creator web pages feature the latest installment of the web comic, an archive of previous installments, information on the creator, a forum for communication with and between readers, and sometimes a web store (Allen 2001; Partridge 2005; Zanfei 2008). Successful web comics, such as Penny Arcade or e Ctrl+Alt + + +Del + + , have a wide readership and monthly viewings in the millions (according to their self-report), and they can rely on income from advertising and merchandise. Other successful creators publish print anthologies of their web comics (like Sinfest or t PvP), or their web comic is syndicated into newspapers...

Share