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Book chapter: “Simulating combat in Counter-Strike: a training session in competitive mode”

On February 25, 2025, CRV Publishing (Curitiba, Brazil), in partnership with the publishing house of CEP/FDC [in Portuguese: Center for Personnel Studies and Forte Duque de Caxias], released the book Media and Education in the Armed Forces, part of the Human Dimension collection. The volume consists of 15 chapters, organized into three sections:

  1. The history of education and educational policy in the Armed Forces.
  2. Active teaching methodologies and media education/educommunication.
  3. Media representations of the Armed Forces and strategic communication.

In chapter eight, titled Simulating Combat in Counter-Strike: A Training Session in Competitive Mode, Ricardo Moutinho and I explore the interaction between Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) players. Our analysis focuses on a specific situation: an experienced player teaches her eight-year-old brother how to play CS:GO in Competitive Mode.

Our goal is to discuss how a praxeological approach — centered on the actions of members, in this case, the players — can be useful for investigating the preparation of new FPS (first-person shooter) players and how this process unfolds in practice. This perspective allows us to examine the concept of “instructed actions” (actions performed in response to instructions) and the omnipresent temporal aspects of strategy games. Analyzing these elements contributes to a broader understanding of related concepts, such as logical grammar and the ethnomethodological notion of membership, both of which are fundamental to instructional studies.

Furthermore, investigating how players communicate during instructional activities helps us understand the formation of new gaming cultures. This discussion also encourages reflection on how specific elements of these games may relate to military training practices, which increasingly use digital media to simulate battles in networked environments.

In addition to the editors’ excellent reception of our work, it is important to highlight the role of CEP/FDC — an institution of higher education within the Brazilian Army — in fostering discussions on the various uses of digital media, particularly video games, and their broader societal implications.

We would like to thank the CEP/FDC Publishing House for the initiative, Railson Moura and CRV Publishing for bringing the book to life, as well as the organizers Suzana Marly da Costa Magalhães, Marcio Vieira Xavier, Raquel Timponi Pereira Rodrigues, Karenine Miracelly Rocha da Cunha, and Drielle Cristina da Cruz Souza Afonso. Finally, a special thanks also to Edison Luis Gastaldo for the invitation.

You can buy a hard cover copy of the book or download it for free following the link below.

http://dx.doi.org/10.24824/978652516582.0.179-208

Our “Public elective courses taught by foreign teachers” at FJNU just got a major upgrade — here’s why it matters

[this is a (not very formal) translation of a news article originally published here: https://cfl.fjnu.edu.cn/41/7b/c6329a409979/page.htm]

Good news for our FJNU students who ever wanted to learn a new language with a native-speaking teacher. This semester, the School of Foreign Languages has rolled out an upgraded version of its multilingual elective courses. And students are already loving it.

What’s new?
Instead of just English or the usual go-to languages, students now have eight courses to choose from, covering four languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean. Plus, classes are running on both the Qishan and Cangshan campuses, making it easier to fit them into their schedule.
The response? Overwhelmingly positive. In the very first week, students jumped at the opportunity to sign up, showing just how much demand there is for high-quality language learning.

More than just a language class
One of the biggest changes is the way these courses are taught. Instead of the usual grammar drills and textbook-heavy approach, the program now follows a “Language + Culture + Practice” model.

What does that mean in real life?

  • They’re not just memorizing words, but learning how to use them in real life conversations.
  • They get cultural insights that make learning more meaningful (and help avoid awkward misunderstandings).
  • There’s a strong focus on practical skills, so they can actually apply what they learn outside the classroom. No more “oh, you don’t actually say that” situations when speaking the language in daily life interactions.

Basically, this isn’t your typical foreign language class. It’s designed to be an immersive experience aimed at building real-world communication skills — whether they’re planning to study abroad, working in an international setting, or just expanding their horizons.

Why this matters for the future?
This isn’t just an isolated initiative, it’s part of a bigger movement. In recent years, our College of Foreign Languages has been rethinking how foreign languages are taught, moving toward a system that prioritizes skill development over rote learning.

The success of this program is also helping push the university’s “Double First-Class” (双一流建设) development goals forward. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s China’s national strategy to build world-class universities and disciplines. And innovative, internationally-focused programs like this one are a key part of that vision.

The “Double First-Class” initiative is a significant program launched by the Chinese government in 2015 to elevate the quality of its higher education system. The primary goal is to develop a group of world-class universities and disciplines by the mid-21st century, thereby enhancing China’s global competitiveness in education. (Wikipedia)

Online gaming, instructed actions and overlapping temporalities

By the very end of December 2021, me and my supervisor Ricardo Moutinho got published on Ethnographic Studies,

In this paper, we explore an interaction between a competitive “Counter Strike: Global Offensive” player and her younger brother, whom she is tutoring in his first match in competitive mode. At least two phenomena, intertwined with each other, are prominent in this data excerpt. One is the boy’s consistent orientation to his sister’s instructions, accountable and observable through the work of following them. The other one deals with the intricacies and overlaps of Lebenswelt (life-world) and Spielwelt (game-world) time, and how these apparently different temporalities constitute a temporal whole. Analysis suggests that communication in this instructional setting is grounded in gestalt-contextures that embrace multiple embodied forms of interaction such as talk, gesture, gaze, as well as in-game elements (such as rules to follow and goals to achieve), and how important is the re-specification of those elements as a set, not as a mere sum of individual pieces. Moreover , it is discussed how, while in a gameplay context, players use their common-sense reasoning and practices to elaborate strategies and develop skills necessary to successfully reach their goals.

Brincher, Sandro, & Moutinho, Ricardo. (2021). The intricacies and overlaps of Lebenswelt and Spielwelt during an instructed match of Counter Strike: GO. Ethnographic Studies, 18, 238–262. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5805426

This article was based on data I am analyzing in my PhD thesis as well, and it was our very first academic collaboration so far.

If you prefer ResearchGate (and I really hope you have a profile there instead of Academia.), here is the link.

Welcome

Hi, there. My name is Sandro Brincher and this is a blog I created in order to share academic content related to my research interests. As I mentioned in the About section, these includes Game Studies, Ethnomethodology, Phenomenology, and Conversation Analysis. I also stated there that I would to share some data, but it actually depends on ethical considerations, among other factors. In general, I am very mindful of the material I make publicly available, so readers should not expect anything out of the ordinary.
If you have any comments on the content of this blog, want to share reading suggestions, including your own work, or would like to send me some delicious vegan recipes, I’m all in! Just get in touch.

All my best,

Sandro Brincher.