When paratexts become texts: de-centering the game-as-text

ABSTRACT Most academic research on and discussions about paratexts define them as texts or artifacts that surround a central text, lending that central text meaning, framing and shaping how we understand it. Researchers who study games and game culture have examined how materials such as walkthroughs, game guides, and Let’s Play videos function as paratexts to shape how we understand what a particular videogame might be like and how best to play it. Yet sometimes texts become paratexts themselves when the object of study shifts. In this short essay I explore situations where the (seemingly) central object becomes de-centered, where the game becomes the paratext for other texts. These cases demonstrate the danger in “fixing” some texts as central and others as peripheral. By discussing the worlds of game modding and professional streamers on Twitch.tv, I argue for flexibility in when a text might become a paratext and vice versa.