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Discussion and Q&A with Marijam Did, author of *Everything to Play For: How Video Games are Changing the World*, in conversation with Jo Lindsay Walton.
Everything To Play For asks if videogames can achieve egalitarian goals instead of fuelling hyper-materialist, reactionary agendas. Combining cultural theory and materialist critiques with accessible language and personal anecdotes, industry insider Marijam Did engages both novices and seasoned connoisseurs. From the innovations of Pong and Doom to the intricate multiplayer or narrative-driven games, the author highlights the multifaceted stories of the gaming communities and the political actors who organise among them. Crucially, the focus also includes the people who make the games, shedding light on the brutal processes necessary to bring titles to the public.
Marijam Did is a Lithuanian-Tatar games industry critic dissecting the intersection between videogames and IRL politics. Her work has been published by the Guardian, VICE, GamesIndustry.biz, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and others. Marijam was a Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, and is currently a Senior Marketing Executive at a Bafta-winning videogames studio. Marijam served as the Chair of Communications Committee for Game Workers Unite International - an organisation that assisted the global push for unionisation in the videogames industry; she also co-founded GWU UK - the first legal trade union that has come out of the movement. In 2019, Marijam was nominated for GamesIndustry.biz’s 100 Women in Games as well as Campaigner of The Year at MCV UK Awards.
Jo Lindsay Walton is a writer and researcher at the University of Sussex. He recently edited the collection Utopia on the Tabletop (Ping Press). He can be found online at jolindsaywalton.com / sadpress.itch.io