FDG2017

Panelists: T.L. Taylor, Emma Witkowski, Marcella Szablewicz, Will Partin and Abe Stein

Abstract
This panel looks at compelling ground up histories and practices of grassroots esports involvement, from industry and state level engagement to homespun practices. We explore both the ongoing local and community-based engagements as they exist alongside and within an increasingly institutionalized industry. Our field of view is international and the cases explore esports in North American, China, and Australia, as well as situating the scene as a multi-national venture with global markets. We explore how various funding models are interwoven with fandom and leveraging community. We look at how media rhetoric around addiction is impacting amateur and pro-aspirational esports play. We tackle how infrastructures, from broadband networks to the material spaces of game cafes, form important nodes in understanding how a local esports scene functions. And we present a history of esports broadcasting which situates our current media moment as rising out of a DIY culture.