Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG) is an interdisciplinary centre for research/ creation in game studies and design, digital culture and interactive art

Events


May 18, 2022

Ka-Ching x GameBling: Virtual Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion

What is Ka-Ching x GameBling?

During this event, we will screen the Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation documentary (trailer available here), followed by a moderated panel with guest speakers Dr. Sylvia Kairouz (Concordia University) and Alexander Ross (University of Toronto).


Ka-ching! Takes us behind the scenes of slot machines, through interviews with designers, mathematicians, game theorists, anthropologists, but also players themselves. Based in Australia, the documentary illustrates the attractive power of slot machines, as well as the Australian government’s unsuccessful attempts to curb their problematic potential.

Dr. Sylvia Kairouz is an associate professor at Concordia University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and holds the Research Chair on Gambling, at Concordia University. She is also the head of Concordia University’s Lifestyle and Addiction Research Lab. She has published in sociology, social epidemiology, and public health journals.

Alexander Ross is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. He was a graduate fellow at the McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology from 2018 to 2020. His research interests include the political economy of communication, critical platform studies, and the gamblification of games. His dissertation project focuses on how platformization and app economies are transforming digital gambling and creating new forms of cultural production.

This event is an opportunity to learn more about slot machine gambling games and their contexts, as well as a chance to reflect on the GameBling game jam and its methodological implications for deepening our understanding of such games.

WHAT? Movie screening and Discussion
WHEN? Wednesday, May 18th – 12pm to 3pm EST
WHERE? Zoom webinar: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/j/85930450594