Lately, I've been really interested in exploring games in academia. Games as media and culture has been growing as a field of research as games become more pervasive in mainstream culture. So when someone told me that there was a research book on esports, I had to check it out. Many esports and gaming fans have had the experience of reading a news article, book, or online write-up about their community and culture that just misses the mark. Gaming, as a culture and community that is becoming more mainstream, is still sometimes misrepresented in media. Thankfully, this book was not one of those cases, and I would argue that this is the comprehensive book on esports.
Book Chapters 1) Playing for Keeps 2) Computer Games as a Professional Sport 3) Professionalizing Players 4) Growing an Industry 5) Spectatorship and Fandom 6) Conclusion
The researcher TL Taylor’s book, Raising the Stakes, is one of the few books out there that "gets it”. It may be the best esports book to date that truly captures what happens in the community as a whole, and reflects on the effect of the emergence and vast growth esports on both the industry and the individual. While she may outline the behavior and actions of players that may seem “obvious” to the common esports fan, she delivers deeper insight into the behaviors of players and the community that can bring new perspective to even the most diehard esports fan. It makes you think why some behaviors are more ‘obvious’ to esports fans, and not so obvious to the general public, or even the gaming mainstream.
Taylor is a sociologist and the book is published in MIT Press, so do not be caught off guard if you run into a few paragraphs with academic rhetoric. However, for esports fans – the grounding of social theories within the context of esports gives allows for the reader to find the theories more relatable. Taylor’s past research work in MUDs, MMO’s, and virtual worlds gives her a perspective that is relatable for the common gamer. Her insight is augmented by her extensive academic background, giving fresh perspectives on how gaming communities exist as a culture, and where esports fits into the picture.
Taylor speaking about esports on PBS Off Book series
Esports from an alternative perspective I am a bit hesitant to say that the book captures all of esports, but that may be the only way to describe the depth of topics she pursues. From the first events where ‘people playing video games for (recognition and) money’, to exploring if esports can be traditional sports, and going over the experiences of players, teams, and multi-million dollar leagues – the book is both an excellent primer and rich collection of how esports exists today and where it has been in the past.
Her perspective as a researcher is invaluable in Chapter 2, “ Computer Games as a Professional Sport” – in which she tackles a debate that has plagued the community since its inception – “Is eSports really a sport?” Taylor brings in a comprehensive academic arsenal to attack the question – including sports theorists, game design, social theory, and writes in a way that someone with no background in social theory will still have a fairly easy time framing these ideas within the realm of gaming.
In one of my particularly favorite parts of the book, Taylor touches on how players, admins, and the community mediate league rules and play when technology breaks down, and how this negotiation between people and the game occurs in traditional sports as well. The chapter speaks about how the physical body situates itself with respect to a variety of games, and how there is an idea of ‘finesse’ with how a player acts through their mouse/keyboard or controller. Overall, she explores the similarities and differences between traditional sports and esports in how their players and community work with technology, and definitely was one of the most insightful parts of the book for someone who has read repetitive arguments within the forums within the ‘esports vs sports’ debate.
There’s a lot of ground covered in the book, and the details are not harmed by the book’s broad scope. From gamer identity, ‘is esports a sport’, to the trials of the industry and players, every topic is treated with thorough investigation and respect. For StarCraft fans, the conflict between Blizzard and KeSPA during the Brood War era is covered in great detail as well.
A look into an esports world without streaming The landscape of esports changes at an extremely rapid pace. She states that the first draft of the book was done in 2009, before the release of StarCraft 2 and more importantly, the boom of live streaming within the esports space. For the modern reader, the absence of live streaming in the book may be the biggest element missing from what is otherwise a fantastic investigation into the realm of esports However, Taylor is currently researching the proliferation of live streaming in her current work.
Lecture about livestreaming at Harvard's Berkman Center
Still, how well the book still reads and captures the essence of the esports community without the live streaming perspective is a testament to how well researched, and how well thought out, Raising the Stakes really is. I have yet to encounter another written piece that has reflected my experience with the community in an accurate and personable way.
For anyone interested in esports culture, esports history, and how the concept of competitive games affects the culture around gaming as a whole, this book is definitely worth checking out. Esports is a fascinating collision of new technology and culture with traditional sports structure, and is a phenomenon that could only happen in the present. There is a growing body of research around the growing esports phenomenon, and this book provides a great primer into the academic perspective on the emerging culture. In my opinion, this is the book to refer anyone to who is interested in understanding esports – for both newcomers and veterans.
On April 09 2013 03:52 shindigs wrote: Her perspective as a researcher is invaluable in Chapter 2, “ Computer Games as a Professional Sport” – in which she tackles a debate that has plagued the community since its inception – “Is eSports really a sport?” Taylor brings in a comprehensive academic arsenal to attack the question – including sports theorists, game design, social theory, and writes in a way that someone with no background in social theory will still have a fairly easy time framing these ideas within the realm of gaming.
In one of my particularly favorite parts of the book, Taylor touches on how players, admins, and the community mediate league rules and play when technology breaks down, and how this negotiation between people and the game occurs in traditional sports as well. The chapter speaks about how the physical body situates itself with respect to a variety of games, and how there is an idea of ‘finesse’ with how a player acts through their mouse/keyboard or controller. Overall, she explores the similarities and differences between traditional sports and esports in how their players and community work with technology, and definitely was one of the most insightful parts of the book for someone who has read repetitive arguments within the forums within the ‘esports vs sports’ debate.
so what youre saying is the book addresses but doesnt try to answer the "is esports a sport" question?
It addresses the question and explores how esports is similar to sports in a variety of ways. It discusses professionalism, league structures, long practice hours, but I found the most interesting comparison to be how in both sports and esports, its about how humans perform with technology or the artifacts of the game. One example in the book talked about how in swimming, there is constant debate about how much a swimsuit's technology (fabric) plays a role in enhancing the performance of a swimmer, similar to if keyboard macros or similar assisting technologies should be allowed or banned in esports.
What I took out of it is even if you don't say esports is sports, they're very similar and from my perspective esports is something else entirely.
I applied for a research grant to study esports last year but was rejected because of the claim that there isn't enough existing literature to justify researching this. It was a stupid argument, since a lack of literature is supposed to also illustrate the need for it to be studies. I'm certain the review committee just didn't like the idea of people playing video games for a living and someone getting a grant to study them.
If I apply again this coming academic year I think this book will help in terms of establishing the literature.
I really enjoyed this book, I was pretty pleasantly surprised to find she actually explored the issues surrounding esports in an interesting way and seemed to understand the various facets that go into it from both the fan and industry side. In particular I thought the mediation in play part was pretty fascinating (like Shindigs did) because it was an angle I hadn't considered before. Really cool read, definitely recommend people check it out.
Also she quotes MrHoon at one point and Kennigit in another and that's pretty amusing.
On April 09 2013 09:41 Sumahi wrote: I applied for a research grant to study esports last year but was rejected because of the claim that there isn't enough existing literature to justify researching this. It was a stupid argument, since a lack of literature is supposed to also illustrate the need for it to be studies. I'm certain the review committee just didn't like the idea of people playing video games for a living and someone getting a grant to study them.
If I apply again this coming academic year I think this book will help in terms of establishing the literature.
On April 09 2013 09:59 heyoka wrote: I really enjoyed this book, I was pretty pleasantly surprised to find she actually explored the issues surrounding esports in an interesting way and seemed to understand the various facets that go into it from both the fan and industry side. In particular I thought the mediation in play part was pretty fascinating (like Shindigs did) because it was an angle I hadn't considered before. Really cool read, definitely recommend people check it out.
Also she quotes MrHoon at one point and Kennigit in another and that's pretty amusing.
On April 09 2013 09:59 heyoka wrote: I really enjoyed this book, I was pretty pleasantly surprised to find she actually explored the issues surrounding esports in an interesting way and seemed to understand the various facets that go into it from both the fan and industry side. In particular I thought the mediation in play part was pretty fascinating (like Shindigs did) because it was an angle I hadn't considered before. Really cool read, definitely recommend people check it out.
Also she quotes MrHoon at one point and Kennigit in another and that's pretty amusing.
wtf, what was my quote?
A later respondent, Kennigit-TL, followed up on the Starcraft issue:
The Turret bug is banned in every major Korean league. WCG is originally (and will is) a Korean event and it has always been banned. The issue lies in the fact that the official rules look for an intentional exploit of the bug. When Stork then said that he had no idea about the bug, no one wanted to step on any toes— Samsung, international sponsor of WCG is also his team’s sponser [sic] (Samsung Khan). Obviously he would have taken the match either way but it’s still very fishy.
@Khonsu, I have to agree with you [sic] points on starcraft. The foreign players admitted to fiddling a bit with their performances to force 2 koreans into a match up. While I agree with you on the glitching as a gameplay mechanic (it is accepted in open arms with pushing through mineral walls( the fact remains that if it had a [sic] been a foreign player who had done to T/ O bug he would have been disqualified instantly. (Ali 2007)
Taylor, T. L. (2012-04-17). Raising the Stakes (Kindle Locations 1497-1505). MIT Press. Kindle Edition.
EPT![[image loading]](http://cms.mit.edu/images/books/raising-the-stakes.jpg)
