Often it seems as though today's games are constantly worked over for eSports potential by many stakeholders other than game developers.

At GDC 2017 qualitative sociologist T.L. Taylor (MIT/AnyKey) dug into this phenomenon, exploring how community engagement in your game can effectively be a form of transformative work, one which challenges narrow models of authorship, ownership, governance, and growth.

With eSports' public profile on the rise and so many companies turning to focus on how (or if) they should invest in games as professional, public spectacles, Taylor spoke to the practical value devs and game industry professionals may find in integrating expert enthusiast communities into their work.

It was a well-researched and expert talk about a very popular topic, one that's well worth watching for game developers and eSports enthusiasts alike. If you didn't get the chance to see it at GDC this year, no worries -- you can now watch it for free over on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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