A Coaching Framework for Meta-Games: A Case Study of FPS Trainer

Introduction

Game coaching became a profession in the creative industry since mid-2000s, with the rise of record-breaking online tutors for entertainment games (Lee, 2005). For instance, Victor DeLeon III, aka Lil Poison was recognized by Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest professional video game players or pro gamer at the age of six years old in 2004 (Lee, 2005). Players actually paid $30 an hour for an individual coaching session on a video game titled Halo 2 through his personal website. Other pro gamers also offered similar services at different rate, generally based on the level of achievement and expertise of individual pro gamers in the game world.

In general, online game coaching services are offered either through personal website or through third party web portals. Initially, these websites were created as a paratext or surround to enrich game playing experience, as advanced players would share tips and tricks on how to win in the game world. The nature of such paratext evolved when the mechanics and elements of entertainment games turned out to be sufficiently complicated of games become complicated. In order to acquire mastery of skills and winning strategies, novice players started to request paid personal coaching session from advanced players. As for advanced and professional gamers, they may advertise or promote their coaching services through these websites. This phenomenon of demand and supply developed into a need for dedicated online game coaching portals, where game-coaching website sprung up like mushrooms through the game industry (see Table 1).