Matt Knutson
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mattknutson.bsky.social
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
Pinned
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
Reposted by Matt Knutson
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
November 14, 2025 at 8:17 PM
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
November 12, 2025 at 12:50 PM
👀

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
October 2, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
If you’re on academia dot edu, let me suggest that you strongly consider deleting your account.
September 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Shout-out to Netflix subtitles for making "squelching" part of our national lexicon.
September 4, 2025 at 8:37 PM
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
August 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
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
August 11, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
The State Department under Rubio is resuming the processing of student and visiting scholar visas after a halt of nearly a month. But it's now checking social media accounts of applicants to look for what it calls "hostility" to the U.S. Story: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/u...
U.S. to Review Social Media Posts of Student and Scholar Visa Applicants
www.nytimes.com
June 18, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
All will be bedazzled.
June 18, 2025 at 1:10 AM
The most exciting part about a summer to-do list is not yet knowing which items I'm going to end up leaving unfinished this time around!
May 29, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Grades in ✅️
Productive writing retreat this week ✅️
Last-minute end-of-semester grant submitted ✅️
Talk given at the Scholastic Esports Expo in Manitoba ✅️

Aww yeah, now I can enjoy the rest of this work trip and get summer started in style. Have a great break, academic friends!
May 23, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Here's a little spelling trick: whenever I try to spell the word "occasionally," I say to myself "don't fuck this up like you did last time," and I carefully think through how to spell it: O-C-A-S-S-I-O-N-A-L-L-Y then I press space and see the little squiggly red line reminding me that I'm hopeless.
May 12, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope
May 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM
AI and the Tommy Boy-ification of Higher Ed.
May 7, 2025 at 2:06 PM
What's it called when Billy Mays can't be there in person to get a tough stain out but sends a surrogate instead?

Proxy Clean
May 6, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Happening on UND campus today and tomorrow: the finals for Dakota Collegiate Rocket League! m.twitch.tv/dakotacolleg...

One of the most hype, high-energy esports events in the collegiate scene and super proud that UND gets to host it.
dakotacollegiaterl - Twitch
DCRL | SEASON 6 | CROSSBAR KINGS VS SILVER LEVELING | DIV C | LAN
m.twitch.tv
May 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
Introducing the latest and greatest in generative AI technology: you

Play YOU ARE GENERATIVE AI now!

direkris.itch.io/genai
You Are Generative AI by Kris Lorischild
A Large Language Model Simulator
direkris.itch.io
April 30, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
new pinned post: my cv! my current employment ends in june and i'm looking for work and gigs! hire me to do narrative design / writing for digital or tabletop games, commission me to make an art game for a gallery, invite me to speak remotely at your school. or simply write me into your will and die
April 8, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Been a while since I stayed up for a midnight preorder/release! Luckily got through with one retailer while my other Switch 2 order sat in a cart I couldn't check out. Okay, off to bed. Looking forward to telling the kids the good news in the morning :)
April 24, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Sorry, it's just been one of those [lifetimes].
April 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
Katherine Maher, president and CEO of National Public Radio, talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the White House proposal to eliminate federal funding for public media.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher addresses future of federal funding for public media
Katherine Maher, president and CEO of National Public Radio, talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the White House proposal to eliminate federal funding for public media.
www.npr.org
April 17, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
“Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government,” Harvard attorneys wrote to federal officials. “Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms.”

If you’ve never given to Harvard, GIVE NOW!

search.app/M76p3GzTmMuc...
Harvard Will Fight Trump’s Demands | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard will not comply with the Trump administration’s demands to dismantle its diversity programming and limit student protests in exchange for its federal funding, University President Alan M. Garb...
search.app
April 14, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Saw the #minecraftmovie with my family and was actually shocked at how much audience participation happened throughout. It was like Rocky Horror-levels with the tweens and teens applauding every little inside reference. Might sound annoying but it was exciting to experience.
April 13, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Reposted by Matt Knutson
Friends at #scms25... if you heard me talking about the doc I am working on and wanted a quick link here we are: www.kickstarter.com/projects/car...
Halcyon Daze: The Final Voyages of the Galactic Starcruiser
A feature-length documentary about the closure of Disney's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and the fandom it left behind
www.kickstarter.com
April 6, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Next in P19 of #scms25 is John Vanderhoef: Blink and You'll Miss it: Feeling and Fighting Time in Before Your Eyes.

In Before Your Eyes draws our attention to blinking. Blink and you'll surrender. Benny conveys biography through a player's eyeblinks. Registered blinks advance key moments.
April 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM