DiGRA 2017: Call for Participation

*** Due Dates Updated Feb 20 ***

Call for Participation DiGRA2017: The 10th Digital Games Research Association Conference, 3rd – 6th July, 2017.

The Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) announces the Call for Participation for DiGRA 2017, to be held 3rd – 6th July, 2017, at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.

DiGRA 2017 will bring together a diverse international community of interdisciplinary researchers engaged in cutting edge research in the field of game studies. DiGRA 2017 is supported by Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University, the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne.

The conference welcomes submissions on a wide range of topics associated with studies of games and play, including, but not limited to:

  • Game cultures
  • Games and other cultural forms
  • Communication in game worlds
  • Gender and games
  • Games as representation
  • Minority groups and games
  • Games and childhood
  • The games industry
  • Independent games
  • Games criticism
  • Gaming in non-leisure settings
  • Game studies in other domains
  • Hybrid and non-digital games
  • History of games
  • Game design
  • eSports and spectatorship
  • Platform studies
  • Game production studies

Tracks

DiGRA 2017 will bring together a diverse international community of interdisciplinary researchers engaged in cutting edge research in the field of game studies. In line with this, it accepts and encourages submissions in the following tracks, on a wide range of subjects associated with studies of games and play, including, but not limited to:

  1. Game histories and regional game studies (studies of particular historical and regional contexts of game development, cultures, and practices).
  2. Player experience (studies of play, including empirically-driven observations of game interactions or interviews with players, as well as game interfaces, player metrics, modelling player experience).
  3. Game cultures (including research based on social science methods of cultural forms, practices, and groups associated with games, play, identity, and spectatorship, including studies of the games industry, game studios or production cultures).
  4. Game design (including, studies of game production, design technologies, techniques, practices, methods, design and development post-mortems).
  5. Games media (humanities-informed research focused on games through representational analysis and close readings, theorization such as phenomenology of games or software studies and platform studies approaches, as well as political-economy of games industries).
  6. Philosophy and critique of games and play (ontologies and frameworks, philosophical explorations).
  7. Non-traditional & industry contributions (see Non-Traditional & Industry Contributions page for full information)

Submission Types

We welcome a range of contributions to DiGRA 2017. These include full papers, extended abstracts, panel and workshop proposals, and doctoral consortium participation, as well as proposals for events and other activities that fall outside the academic tradition.

Full papers will be peer-reviewed, published on the conference website and published in the conference proceedings available via open-access through the DiGRA digital library.

All other submissions will be reviewed by a panel of track chairs and the conference organisers for suitability for DiGRA 2017. These submissions will be published on the conference website, but will not be included in the conference proceedings published through the DiGRA Library.

Unless otherwise noted, submissions should be made via EasyChair.

Full Papers

  • No more than 16 pages (excluding references) using the DiGRA 2017 template
  • Submit as an anonymized pdf
  • Will be peer-reviewed
  • Must be original; it cannot be published or be under concurrent review elsewhere
  • Will be published on the conference website
  • Will be published in the open access DiGRA Digital Library
  • Must use the DiGRA 2017 full paper submission template

Full Papers are peer-reviewed publications of original Game Studies research. Full Papers represent mature, complete research. Authors must present accepted Full Papers at the DiGRA Conference. Accepted manuscripts will appear in the Proceedings of the 2017 DiGRA International Conference, which is published in the open access DiGRA Digital Library. Accepted Full Papers may come from any area of Game Studies research: academia or industry; science or humanities; analysis or design.

Authors with questions should contact the proceedings chairs, Casey O’Donnell and Martin Gibbs  

Submissions are now open via EasyChair.

Extended Abstracts

  • The suggested length for an Extended Abstract is 500-800 words, with a maximum of 1000 words, excluding references
  • Key references should be included
  • Submit as a pdf
  • Will be peer-reviewed using a juried process by a panel of track chairs and the conference organisers
  • Will be published on the conference website
  • Will not be published in the DiGRA Digital Library
  • Give a short description in the abstract field of EasyChair (but there is no need for an Extended Abstract to have an abstract).
  • Use of the DiGRA 2017 Extended Abstract submission template is preferred but not required
  • Download the DiGRA 2017 extended abstract submission template (optional)

The Conference Program Committee recognizes that there are many and diverse ways to contribute to Game Studies research. The purpose of an Extended Abstract is to demonstrate a contribution interesting to a DiGRA audience. An Extended Abstract might describe a study or research program that is underway, but might also describe a pending program of research. It might outline findings, or it might establish and discuss a research question. It might describe the study’s method or methodology, or it might focus on outcomes and results. It might describe work that has been planned, work that is in progress, or work that has been completed.

Submissions are now open via EasyChair.

Panels

  • A panel session will typically occupy a single conference session and have a duration of 90 minutes.
  • Panel proposals should have a maximum length of 1000 words, excluding references
  • Panel proposals should include: the focus or topic of the panel; a description of why the topic will be of interest or relevant to DiGRA attendees; a list of confirmed participants; and a description of their background and expertise
  • Will be published on the conference website
  • Will not be published in the DiGRA digital library
  • Use of the DiGRA 2017 submission template is preferred but not required
  • Download the DiGRA 2017 submission template (optional)

Submit panel proposals by email to the DiGRA 2017 General Chair, Marcus Carter

Workshops

The conference workshops are half-day or full-day sessions focused on particular game-related topics. Workshops provide an opportunity for new ideas, theories and trends to be presented and discussed. Workshops can also be practical tutorials or involve studio-based activities.

Concise workshop proposals of no more than 1000 words (excluding bibliography) should include:

  • the major objectives and expected outcomes of the workshop
  • justification for the workshop informed by current trends and research
  • the format and activities planned for the workshop
  • the organizers’ background
  • the duration (half- or full-day) of the workshop
  • the anticipated number of participants
  • how participants will be recruited and selected
  • any publication plans arising from the workshop activities
  • Will be published on the conference website
  • Will not be published in the DiGRA digital library
  • Download the DiGRA 2017 submission template (optional)

Submit workshop proposals by email to the Workshops Chairs, Douglas Wilson and Jussi Holopainen by (deadline extended) Monday, January 23, 2017.

Non-Traditional & Industry Contributions

The DiGRA 2017 planning committee believes that there is excellent research and scholarship happening in the spaces between/outside the traditional submission formats we offer. We also believe there is something valuable to be gained in putting researchers in conversation with developers, journalists, artists, activists, and other people working in games and related disciplines. If you don’t work full-time in the academy but would still like to present at DiGRA 2017, see the Non-Traditional & Industry Contributions page for more information.

Doctoral Consortium

  • Selection for the one-day doctoral consortium will be based on an extended abstract, with a maximum of 1000 words, excluding references
  • Key references should be included
  • Will be published on the conference website
  • Will not be published in the DiGRA digital library
  • Submit as a NON-anonymized pdf
  • Submit to the doctoral consortium track on EasyChair
  • Give a short description in the abstract field of EasyChair (but, there is no need for a Doctoral Consortium application to have an abstract).
  • Submissions must use the DiGRA 2017 submission template

Important Dates

Submission date (Workshops): [deadline extended] 23 January 2017
Acceptance/rejection notification (Workshops): 27 January 2017

Submission date (Full Papers, Abstracts, Panels, and Doctoral Consortium): 5 March 2017 [EXTENDED]
Acceptance/rejection notification (Full Papers, Abstracts, Panels, and Doctoral Consortiums): 8 April 2017

Submission date (Non-Traditional & Industry): 4 April 2017
Acceptance/rejection notification (Non-Traditional & Industry): 14 April 2017

Camera ready (all written submissions): 25 April 2017

 

Conference dates: 3rd – 6th July 2017

 

Questions? Email

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