CFP: 4th Global Conference: Videogame Culture and the Future of Interactive Entertainment

Wednesday 11th July 2012 – Friday 13th July 2012

Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom

Call for Papers:

This inter- and multi-disciplinary conference aims to examine, explore and critically engage with the issues and implications created by the mass use of computers and videogames for human entertainment and focus on the impact of innovative videogame titles and interfaces for human communication and ludic culture. In particular the conference will encourage equally theoretical and practical debates which surround the cultural contexts within which videogames flourish.

Papers, presentations, workshops and reports are invited on any of the following themes:

1. Videogames and Gaming

- Theories and Concepts of Gaming.
- Identifying Key Features and Issues.
- Videogames as Text. Videogames as Interactive Image.
- Multidisciplinary Approaches to Videogame Analysis.
- Film, Literary, Art Studies and Cultural Studies Approaches to the Analysis of Videogames.

2. Videogame Cultures

- Emerging Practices in Online and Offline Gaming.
- Games as Cultural Artifacts.
- Pervasive Gaming, Convergence and the Integration of Videogames.
- Videogames as Art.

3. Games and Society

- Ethical Issues in Videogames, Videogame Controversy – Rating, Violence, Sex, Morality and their relation to Maturity.
- Videogames and Politics.
- Propaganda Games.
- Censorship.

4. Games with Meaning?

- Social Impact Simulations.
- Educational Use of Videogames.
- Serious Games.
- Documentary Videogames.
- Political Issues.
- The Relationship between Game and Gamer.

5. Reception, Temporality and Videogames

- Player Generations.
- Old Originals vs. Retro games.
- Indie Games and Low-Tech Aesthetics.
- Innovations in Independent Game Movements.

6. Immersion and Embodiment

- New Forms of Interaction, Immersion and Collaboration in Videogames.
- Sound, Music, Touch, and Game Space.
- The Role of Innovative Interfaces.

7. Works in Progress

- Games in Development.
- Approaches to Game Design.
- Discussion Workshops on Games under Production.
- Best Practice and Know-How Exchange.

A presentation with a quick demo of the game and workshop proposals are strongly encouraged. We might offer 2 hour slot for 1-3 intensive workshops on design methodologies and media comparative sessions. Delegates presenting in the frame of workshops are eligible for publishing in special track of Videogames 4 ebook on methodologies.

The Steering Group particularly welcomes the submission of pre-formed panel proposals. Papers will also be considered on any related theme.

300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday 13th January 2012.

If an abstract is accepted for the conference, a full draft paper should be submitted by Friday 11th May 2012. Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to both Organising Chairs; abstracts may be in Word, WordPerfect, or RTF formats with the following information
and in this order:

a) author(s), b) affiliation, c) email address, d) title of abstract, e) body of abstract, f) up to 10 keywords

E-mails should be entitled: VG4 Abstract Submission.

Please use plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain from using footnotes and any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as bold, italics or underline). Please note that a Book of Abstracts is planned for the end of the year. We acknowledge receipt and answer to all paper proposals submitted. If you do not receive a reply from us in a week you should assume we did not receive your proposal; it might be lost in cyberspace! We suggest, then, to look for an alternative electronic route or resend.

Joint Organising Chairs

Daniel Riha
Charles University
Prague,
Czech Republic

Rob Fisher
Network Founder and Network Leader
Inter-Disciplinary.Net
Priory House, Freeland, Oxfordshire OX29 8HR
United Kingdom

The conference is part of the ‘Critical Issues’ series of research projects run by Inter-Disciplinary.Net. It aims to bring together people from different areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are innovative and challenging. All papers accepted for and presented at the conference are eligible for publication in an ISBN eBook. Selected papers may be invited to go forward for development into 20-25 page chapters for publication in a themed dialogic ISBN hard copy volume.

For further details of the project, please click here.

For further details of the conference, please click here.

Please note: Inter-Disciplinary.Net is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence.