ABSTRACT
This chapter explores assertive dark play through a discussion of its manifestations relevant to the call of duty (CoD) first-person shooter franchise on the Xbox 360 console. It focuses on three specific manifestations of assertive dark play: boosting, glitching, and lobby modding. Boosting, glitching, and modding can be regarded as dark-play manifestations that exist in a continuum of perceived escalation and seriousness, necessitating increased technical proficiency, awareness of the structures and processes of the game, perceived risk, and premeditated dark-play intent. Boosting exists within the social sphere of player organization and thorough understanding of the game's operation, where players collaborate to reach game goals rapidly. Glitching marks an interrogative, experimental approach to the game code and processes, where exploitable weaknesses are isolated and subsequently utilized. Lobby modding revolves around the unauthorized modification of CoD code, necessitating the circumvention of security countermeasures, interpretation, alteration, and reintegration of the modified with the whole.
