Gaming, Live Streaming, eSports and Beyond, with T.L. Taylor

In this episode, professors Colin and Henry, along with T.L. Taylor, Director of the MIT Game Lab, explore the rise of game studies as an academic field. Taylor shares her journey from studying virtual worlds in the 90s to becoming an expert in live streaming and eSports, shedding light on gaming's cultural impact and academic challenges.

They delve into the interactive relationship between game designers and players, examining how games reflect socio-technical systems. The conversation also touches on eSports, its growth into a major profession, and the influence of game developers and venture capital.

The episode wraps up with a discussion on the broader concept of play, including theme parks and the desire for "re-enchantment" in everyday life, highlighting the intersection of games, play, and self-expression.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Games Mentioned
Everquest
World of Warcraft 
I Love Bees
The Beast

Important Concepts in Games
Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs)
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs)
Minmaxer

T.L. Taylor publications
Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming
Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming
Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture
Games Matter (Knight Foundation)

Other Research Mentioned
Pew research on gaming, 2017
Nancy Baym and Jean Burgess, Twitter: A Biography (hashtags as a user-generated intervention)
Alice Marwick (networked harassment)
Eric von Hippel (innovation)
Jane McGonigal, Why I Love Bees: A Case Study in Collective Intelligence
Chris Weaver, ‘Elder Scrolls 6’: How the Series Became a Hit With Elderly Gamers
Jean Beaudrillard
Bruno Bettelheim

Other Mentions
Twitch
Twitch Top Streamers 2024