Oh man I've got a real bone to pick with this organization's grievance policy don't even get me started
Matt Knutson
@mattknutson.bsky.social
Assistant professor at UND, director of academic program in esports. Research areas: game studies, gender and sexuality in digital spaces, media temporality, esports. Pronouns: he/him
Last panel of the day: "Play and Pathways: How Gaming and Esports Enhance Student Engagement," moderated again by Tobias @borie.bsky.social , with James Fraser-Murison, Milo Van Heugten, and Désiré Koussavo. We're using esports a lot with our students. Why does esports work with the students?
Next at #GEIW2026: "The Future of Youth in Esports: Safety, Belonging, and Education" with Tobias Scholz @borie.bsky.social (University of Agder) and Kristelle Lavallee (Discord).
Next in #GEIW2026: "Building Academic Esports: Policy, Structure, and Legitimacy" with Graham Ashton, Dr. Brett Abarbanel, and Nepomuk Nothelfer. Let's skip bios! Semi-seriously encourage you to look up Defining academic esports. Conceived by @borie.bsky.social "esports designed with ed purpose"
First afternoon session today at #GEIW2026: "Why Education is the Next Growth Engine for Esports" with Pia Büsecker, Jesse "Jerax" Vainikka, and Hannamags Byrne. Jerax: Started with having fun, social activity. Later competition, play at my skill level. Now I have much better understanding.
Last session of #GEIW2026 before lunch: "Global Standards, Integrity, and the Future of Games and Esports" with Daniele Schmidt-Fischer, Michael Lewis, Sergi Mesonero, and Stephen Hanna. Should games and esports even be standardized at all?
Noon panel at #GEIW2026 is "Esports for Publishers: Past, Present, Future" with Bernd Gottsmann, Anne Banschbach, Atila Yesildag, and Anna Baumann. Anna: Professionalism has developed over the years. Past 15 years, tried to hit NFL before hit economics of local football club. Rewind 10-12 years.
Next up at #GEIW2026, Esports Integrity Challenges and Solutions with Leandro Toscano, Mark Azzi, Pierre-Xavier Chomiac de Sas, and Rodolphe Ruffié Farrugia. Joining this panel already in progress... Mark: Inception of our idea was necessary function to maintain status as integrity body.
IMPACT Live at IEM Cologne is starting soon. First some opening remarks from Sam Cooke, Alfie Wright, and Stephen Hanna. Followed by several hours of talks about the esports industry, integrity in esports, and esports education. #GEIW2026
Nearing the end of #SCMS26, and guess what's still left to talk about? P18, Reexamining Esports with @a-c-cote.bsky.social, @maxwellfoxman.bsky.social, Keung Yoon Bae, and Taylore Woodhouse. Starting in 30 min in Alpine 1.
So far, reports from O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport indicate security lines are under 15 minutes. #SCMS26
Rise and shine, #scms26! We've got a scintillating panel to start the final day of the conference. Feeling the Virtual: Embodiment and Sensation in Games, Porn, and Haptic Media. @daveparisi.bsky.social, @teddymax.bsky.social, @mkaisar.bsky.social, and Cecilia Chen.
Next up at #scms26 is L10, a fantastic looking roundtable on Institutions of Game Histories with @lainenooney.bsky.social, @noahspringer.com, Jeremy Saucier, and special guest @aarontram.bsky.social, moderated by @liebenwalde.bsky.social. Should be a great conversation!
Panel E1 at #scms2026: Sorry I didn't live-post this! Really amazing conversation about game history. I'm going to post some notes to self about some big take-aways.
Hello #SCMS2026! Excited for this panel, C20 with @kategalloway.bsky.social, @oscarmoralde.com, and @hyeonjin.bsky.social: Embodying and Performing Gameworld Sonic Environments. (Sponsor: Sound and Music Studies SIG.) First up: Galloway.
I'll be at #scms26 at 2:15pm today (Session C) with @hyeonjin.bsky.social and @kategalloway.bsky.social! Drop by
If you’re headed to the @scmstudies.bsky.social conference in Chicago this week, I’ve put together this feed that pulls in every post tagged with #SCMS26 to make it easy to connect and follow along! Say hey if I’ll see you there! ✌️
Our (@mahliann.bsky.social, @marcuscarter.com, and I) book GAME STUDIES: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD is officially OUT everywhere in the world except the US for some reason. So here is an actual thread about why we wrote it and what we were trying to achieve with it.
📢 THIS Friday Jan 23 @ 2pm ET 📢 🗡️📜🕹️ Cameron Kunzelman talks Assassin’s Creed, history, and how the franchise explores freedom, control, and conspiracy across time. 🗡️📜🕹️ 🎟️ TIX + Info: buff.ly/P2lVM1D 💸 Our talks are always FREE and PUBLIC. DONATE: buff.ly/QUhQANh
Putting a final exam I'm Blackboard. The "✨ Auto-generate question" option from the assessment drop-down menu is, I assume, a direct line to the Provost to inform them that the instructor is incompetent. Does anybody out there know for sure?
Family Enters Crisis Talks After Learning Restaurant Has 45-Minute Wait http://theonion.com/family-enters-crisis-talks-after-learning-restaurant-ha-1819577952/
Concise story from NPR about tuition cost changes over time. It's one thing to hear that tuition at 4-year universities has risen by 100% over the last 30 years, and it's another to see it visualized and put in context with tuition at Purdue, Harvard, etc.
College 'sticker prices' have risen dramatically. Here's why
It's no secret that going to college can be very expensive, with tuition costs rising faster than financial aid. But what's causing that price tag to rise so quickly?
npr.org
I've been playing Q-UP, a brilliant and deeply weird incremental game with an esports theme. It starts with a simple coin flip and spirals into a fugue of emergent mechanics. I'll post some thoughts here as I idly play… store.steampowered.com/app/3730790/...
Save 10% on Q-UP on Steam
Sick of long queues, unfair matchups, and arbitrary reflex tests? Try Q-UP, the coin flipping eSport. It's one part clicker, one part multiplayer strategy game, one part demented capitalism simulator,...
store.steampowered.com
Thrilled to be presenting today at the premier conference in the study of #esports, the Esports Research Network Conference! #EsportsEDU This is being livestreamed *right now* & continuously through Friday in successive handoffs between global regions. Catch it at twitch.tv/esportsresearchnetwork
EsportsResearchNetwork - Twitch
ERN Conference 2025, sponsored by Corsair for Business
twitch.tv
👀 Amazing insider's perspective on the Pro Tour from @jimdavismtg.bsky.social featuring Reid Duke. I know I'll be citing this one I'm the future! youtu.be/3crdirj9quM?...
🏆 Behind The Pro Tour: An Inside Look From Testing House To The Trophy 🏆
YouTube video by Jim Davis
youtu.be
Shout-out to Netflix subtitles for making "squelching" part of our national lexicon.
Today a piece from @teamliquid.com's Newsroom came out talking about collegiate esports degree programs, and I had the pleasure of being interviewed for it! teamliquid.com/news/world-c... The piece came out great - it weaves together many perspectives and addresses challenges in the space.
A guide to esports degrees: what to expect
Is an esports degree a valuable career path or just a gimmick? We spoke to professors and experts to find out what to expect from an academic esports program.
teamliquid.com
Local Professor Competes for $400 in Prizes on MTG Arena I competed in this weekend's Arena Direct on MTG Arena. As I try to get there in the video, I talk about something I've previously published on - the professional history of MTG. The game is what I would call a "peripheral esport."
Playing for a Collector Booster Box in the MTG Arena Direct
YouTube video by Matthew Knutson
youtu.be