Team work is an essential part of any sport or game. Even sports such as cross country or track, which involve competing against others as well as yourself heavily incorporate aspects of teamwork. I played water polo, swam, and ran cross country in high school and still try to involve myself in those sports today.…

  This article could not be timelier.  Many of our discussions have strayed into the gender issues that permeate throughout the play industry. Minecraft is now choosing a side in the controversy, by adding the option of a female character. As of Wednesday (4/29/15), Minecraft will introduce Alex and end their gender inequality.  Girl characters…

The LEGO Company and their amazing “interlocking bricks” have been household names for almost 70 years, but why? While A Million little Bricks, is to be read as a chronological history, broken down into decade-based chapters, leaving much of the critical reading to the audience, the book is nonetheless a valuable tool when approaching the…

Video Game: The Movie focused on the history of video games: past, present, and future. The director, Jeremy Snead, created a relatively easy documentary to follow with interesting transitions and plenty of people to talk about their opinions on the history of video games. This also leads to a problem, yet also a solution. The…

I have always wondered about the professionalization of gaming, and Taylor’s book definitely helped to sort out some of the threads. Like Edbo, I remember watching the twitch thing and just was amazed at how SO many people were watching it and commentating. I honestly did not understand how it was entertaining to watch. I…

I really enjoyed Taylor’s book. A lot of her discussion on the growth of e-sports reminds me of some of the growing pains experienced by baseball in the late nineteenth century, especially some of the difficulties that come with such a decentralized format of sport. For all of the regimentation that comes with bureaucratic leagues,…

Raising the Stakes was an interesting read, taking on a historical tone more than a modern exploration of esports for me. The structure and culture of the scene seems to have not changed all that much from its inception to where it is today. It has become more structured since it started, but the style…

I think that Taylor touches on a lot of very important issues of computer gaming in this book. The issue that I gravitate towards the most is the further development of gaming as a franchised sport. In the Gaming as Industry chapter Taylor cooly debates whether or not computer gaming will become a “well oiled…