RAISING THE STAKES: E-SPORTS AND THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF COMP torrent

Author: T. L. Taylor
Edition: Reprint edition
Publication Date: January 30, 2015
Publisher: The MIT Press
ISBN-10: 0262527588
ISBN-13: 978-0262527583
Pages: 336 pages
Format: pdf
Size: 5.3M

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Competitive video and computer game play is nothing new: the documentary King of Kong memorably portrays a Donkey Kong player`s attempts to achieve the all-time highest score; the television show Starcade (1982--1984) featured competitions among arcade game players; and first-person shooter games of the 1990s became multiplayer through network play. A new development in the world of digital gaming, however, is the emergence of professional computer game play, complete with star players, team owners, tournaments, sponsorships, and spectators. In Raising the Stakes, T. L. Taylor explores the emerging scene of professional computer gaming and the accompanying efforts to make a sport out of this form of play. In the course of her explorations, Taylor travels to tournaments, including the World Cyber Games Grand Finals (which considers itself the computer gaming equivalent of the Olympics), and interviews participants from players to broadcasters. She examines pro-gaming, with its highly paid players, play-by-play broadcasts, and mass audience; discusses whether or not e-sports should even be considered sports; traces the player`s path from amateur to professional (and how a hobby becomes work); and describes the importance of leagues, teams, owners, organizers, referees, sponsors, and fans in shaping the structure and culture of pro-gaming.

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