Top of the game: career trajectories in esports
Video games are a solo activity, to be played in the privacy of one's own pyjamas… right? Wrong. Over the past decade, an esports league has been rapidly expanding. Now, the worldwide audience for esports is the same size as that of golf, with prize pools for tournaments regularly exceeding $10 million. So, who are these people? Who is involved in the complex systems of professionalising, promoting and playing esports?
Bio
Emma Witkowski is a Senior Lecturer in the Game Design program at RMIT University. As a ethnographer working at the intersection of sports, digital games and media cultures, particularly the professionalisation of esports, networked team practices, gender and mega-events, she has published widely on Networked Careers, the practices surrounding serious digital gaming leisure and the player-to-professional conditions of esports. She is a board member of the Australian Esports Association and has worked on esports projects with Essendon Football Club, the SA Commissioner for Children and Young People, and IBM.
8:00pm @Kicks, L1 450 Elizabeth Street Melbourne VIC 3000.
This event is hosted in a venue that is wheelchair accessible.
Please reach out to knowledge@melbourne.vic.gov.au to request an Auslan interpreter for this event.
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