1st Global Conference: Videogame Cultures and the Future of Interactive Entertainment

Friday 10th July - Sunday 12th July 2009
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.

2. Videogame Cultures
Emerging Practices in Online and Offline Gaming.
The changing Role of the Player.
Social Dimension of Online Gaming and Presence in
Virtual Worlds.
Videogame Modifications, Modders and their
Subcultures. Avatars and Identity.

3. Videogame Technologies and the Future of
Interactive Entertainment
The Spatiology of Videogames and Virtual Worlds.
Interaction, Interactivity and Collaboration in
Videogames. The Role of Innovative Interfaces.
Hard Core and Casual Gaming.

4. The History of Virtual Worlds and their Cultures
The Evolution of Gaming Communities. The Cult
Videogames and Interfaces of the Past. The
Pioneers of Virtual Worlds. The lost Genres.

5. The Relations between Cinema and Videogames
Crossmedia and Transmedia Approach to Videogames.
Cutscene Production. Machinimation. Interactive
Storytelling.

6. Art and Experimental Games
The Aesthetic Aspects of Videogames. Performative
Use of Videogames. Mixed Reality Games. Net-Art.

7. Serious Games and Educational Use of 3-D
Videogames and Virtual Worlds
Serious Games and Social Impact Simulations.
Documentary Videogames. Edutainment. Case Studies
on Educational Use of Videogames. Political
Issues. Censorship.

Papers will be considered on any related theme.
300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday
6th February 2009. If your paper is accepted for
presentation at the conference, an 8 page draft
paper should be submitted by Friday 5th June 2009.

300 word abstracts should be submitted to both
Organising Chairs; abstracts may be in Word,
WordPerfect, or RTF formats, following this order:

author(s), affiliation, email address, title of
abstract, body of abstract

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
E-Mail: daniel.riha@ff.cuni.cz

Rob Fisher
Network Leader
Inter-Disciplinary.Net,
Freeland, Oxfordshire,
United Kingdom
E-Mail: gc@inter-disciplinary.net

The conference is part of the 'Critical Issues'
series of research projects run by ID.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 will be published 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 about the project please visit:
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ci/Cyber/gc/gc.html

For further details about the conference please visit:
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ci/Cyber/gc/gc1/cfp.html