GAMS1503 Esports Cultures (5 cr)

The course gives an overview of the quickly developing field of competitive gaming, covering various forms of games, and the main concepts used. The main actors and their roles will be discussed, with special emphasis on audiences and audience practices, both in online streams and LAN events. The course also looks at the historical development of competitive gaming since the first arcade game tournaments. Other topics include sportification and the relation of esports to traditional sports and physical exercise, esport transmediality, and esports as business and profession. 

On completion of this course the student

• understands the interdisciplinary nature of esports research and recognizes the central research questions and research orientations
• nows the major developments and forms of competitive gaming with its international, regional, and cultural variations
• understands the process of sportification and professionalisation of competitive gaming
• understands esports audiences and knows their central audience practices
• understands how sustainability is connected to esports 

• Karhulahti, V.-M. (2020). Esport Play: Anticipation, Attachment, and Addiction in Psycholudic Development. London: Bloomsbury. Chapters 1 & 2.
• Ruotsalainen, M., Törhönen, M., & Karhulahti, V.-M. (2022). Modes of esports engagement in Overwatch. Palgrave Mcmillan.
• Taylor, T.L. (2012). Raising the Stakes: E-sports and the professionalization of computer gaming. MIT Press. Available as a digital book from the university library.
• Koskimaa, R. (2024). Esports culture in Europe. In Routledge Handbook of Esports (pp. 605-617). Routledge.
• Carter, M., & Egliston, B. (2021). The work of watching Twitch: Audience labour in livestreaming and esports. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 13(1), 3-20.