#TeamLaV’s Origins and Idea of Gamer

They always say every story has a beginning. The narrative of Language-as-Victory (LaV) has been shaped by our belief in an idea and the fortunate discovery of like-minded individuals among the gamers who assisted us in establishing #TeamLaV. The opening chapter of this volume serves two purposes. First, it introduces the genesis of our research project, the factors that led us to design it, and the possibility of turning our research into a book. Then, the chapter details the different stages of our project since 2014, recalls our history as we look back at the other researchers who have joined us over time, and then introduces the current members of #TeamLaV who participated in this volume. Following that introduction, the chapter explores our concept of a gamer, a topic that has been a subject of ongoing conversation throughout the project. We will introduce our working definition and four-pronged taxonomy to characterize gamers as the groundwork that helped #TeamLaV craft the LaV conceptual framework featured in Chapter 2.