Come celebrate the launch of Coin-Operated Americans: Rebooting Boyhood at the Video Game Arcade. Join me for a reading, book signing, and Q&A for my book on the history of coin-op video games. There will also be raffle prizes and swag, and Geek Bar has food and drink for purchase.

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“Carly A. Kocurek provides a fascinating cultural history of arcade gaming and, in doing so, offers keen insight into our ongoing conversations around gender and gaming. This is a must read for those interested not only in game studies but in the evolution of American boyhood.” —T.L. Taylor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“An excellent study of the early history of the video game industry and how it came to define the gamer as male.”—Paul Stenis, Library Journal

“It’s when the author traces today’s information economy to the arcade culture of the late ‘70s / early ‘80s that Coin-Operated Americans is its most engaging. The title itself is a double entendre. It points to the denizens of the arcade, while also hinting at the piecemeal, bit work, the contingent, contractual labor that an increasing number of Americans engage in, especially younger ones. Sites like Elance, TaskRabbit, Uber, Lyft, just to name a few, along with the flexible scheduling software of big box stores and fast food restaurants, and temp agencies farming workers to subcontractors for Amazon, thematically, though tangentially, have their root in the arcade: the digitization of physical objects and services.” — James Obesen, Pop Matters

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Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers attend the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.