Beyond Gameplay: Creating a Community on YouTube

This thesis deals with the intricate dynamics of community formation within gaming content on YouTube. Focusing beyond mere gameplay, the study seeks to discover the nuanced ways in which a YouTuber fosters camaraderie and cultivates positive, friendly relationships with their followers through shared language. Drawing on theories of community, virtual interaction, and social media affordances, the study examines how members engage with Daz and with each other across three types of videos: Gameplay, Daz Watches, and Life Update. Using a mixed-methods approach, comments were qualitatively coded into categories, while a chi-square test was applied to compare frequencies across video types. By doing so, this thesis aims to offer insights into the complex dynamics of community formation and members’ engagement within a single YouTube gaming channel, while at the same time contributing to a deeper understanding of virtual community-building in the contemporary media landscape.