John Yoon, GI resident and English PhD student, chaired a panel at the Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX) in Toronto, October 26-28. His co-panelists were Campbell Macrae, Executive at the UW Smash club, Andre Paradis, Founder of the UW LoL club, Alexandra Orlando, Games Institute alumnus and Games studies researcher and streamer, and Charlie Watson, CEO and founder of SetToDestroyX.
The purpose of the EGLX panel was to generate conversations and ideas about important considerations for eSports, particularly as it becomes a more established fixture in popular culture. According to Yoon:
It's time we move past the clichéd discussions of the legitimacy of eSports as bona fide competition. We have to shift our attention from what eSports is to what eSports can accomplish.
ESports is more nuanced than competitive gaming: it is a cooperative society. The panel considered the state and role of eSports in our communities, examining how the industry can contribute to community building online and offline.
Various levels of community have blossomed ranging from grassroots competitions, collegiate level play, and professional organized play. What should these strata of our industry do to further their growth and foster meaningful community engagement for the future?
A recurring question the panel addressed was "who is responsible for shaping how the industry develops?" How do players shape eSports? What about fans, organization, or administrators?
As eSports grows, there are increasing concerns about fostering inclusivity and representation in the scene. The panelists considered who should have the responsibility and authority over these sensitive decisions.
Esports is currently an inchoate industry so the panelists argued that it's crucial to pose these questions now while we have time to determine the course of development. This was a dedicated dialogue for honing the questions and considerations, bringing them to the fore of eSports discourse, and examining how the industry should pursue the answers.