Aug 102020
 

Meaningful Play 2021 Conference Overview
Whether designed to entertain or to achieve more “serious” purposes, games, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality have the potential to impact players’ beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, emotions, cognitive abilities, physical and mental health, and behavior.

Meaningful Play 2021 is a conference about theory, research, and game design innovations, principles and practices. Meaningful Play brings scholars and industry professionals together to understand and improve upon games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade in meaningful ways.

The conference will include thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in academia and industry, peer-reviewed paper presentations, panel sessions (including academic and industry discussions), innovative workshops, roundtable discussions, and exhibitions of games and prototypes.

Conference Audience and Themes
The conference is primarily for:
industry and academic game researchers
industry and academic game designers and developers
game educators
students
government and NGOs interested in games

The three primary themes of the conference are:
exploring meaningful applications of games
issues in designing meaningful play
learning, education & games
The first theme includes an examination of games (of all types) from primarily an academic research perspective.

The second theme focuses on much more practical knowledge from the front-line of actual design, development, and use of games, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality experiences for meaningful purposes.

The third theme is focuses the use of games for learning and education, as well as the teaching of game making and game studies within academia.

+infos(oficial): https://meaningfulplay.msu.edu/index.php

Jun 102020
 

“12th International Conference on Videogame Sciences and Arts

26-28 November 2020

Videojogos 2020 will be the 12th International Conference on Videogame Sciences and Arts.

It is a joint organization between the School of Public Management, Communication and Tourism – Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (EsACT – IPB) and the Portuguese Society of Videogames Sciences (SPCV).

As in previous editions, this conference will gather researchers, professionals in the extended area of videogames, teachers and students in a forum to discuss videogame related topics and their impact on various aspects such as society, health, heritage, economy or education. The goal is to promote the exchange of ideas, share experiences and results in the areas of interest, through presentations, workshops, interactive demos and panels.

Covid-19 statement: While our intent is to run a live social event, with the safety of attendees, speakers, volunteers and staff in mind, Videojogos 2020’s Organizing Committee is closely monitoring official guidance from public health officials and will update any information needed regarding participation in the conference.

We welcome long and short papers, posters, interactive demos and workshops. All presenting new scientific results, innovative technologies, best practices, or improvements to existing techniques and approaches in the multidisciplinary research field of Games Research.

Suggested topics for contributions. Other topics may be included:

  • Accessibility
  • Aesthetics
  • Audio
  • Art Games
  • Critical Games
  • Criticism
  • Design
  • Development
  • Games and Creativity
  • Gaming Culture
  • Gamification
  • Gaming and Performance
  • Game Studies
  • Hybrid Games
  • Game-based Learning
  • Methodology
  • Narrative
  • Non-Digital Games
  • Pervasive Games
  • Serious Games
  • Speculative Games
  • Transmedia
  • Technology
  • VR / MR / AR

Submissions

  • Papers

All Papers (short or full) selected for international publication should be submitted in English. We will select the 40% best research papers, peer-reviewed and ranked on the basis of originality, relevance of the results and presentation quality, to be published with our annual Springer proceedings volume. A second batch of papers, to be selected based on originality and promising value of the work being developed, will be selected for a works-in-progress volume to be published by SPCV. Accepted papers will require that at least one representative registers in the conference to present the work.

Submissions of Full and Short Papers should follow the Springer Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) format (see “Information for Authors of Springer Computer Science Proceedings”). Use the Microsoft Word template for Mac or for PC. Add to your final submission the Consent to Publish.

[Full papers: 12 – 15 pp. | Short papers: 6 – 8+ pp.]

  • Posters

Posters offer the opportunity for presenters to share their work through a quick introduction to the conference audience, followed by one-on-one discussions next to the poster. Each submission should be 1-2 pages A0 in length, in portrait orientation (vertical). Accepted posters will require that at least one representative registers in the conference to present the poster in a designated area.

Posters text should be in English. The poster design and elements (figures and text) should be readable from a distance of 2 meters. Posters will be displayed throughout the conference duration in large windows, for which they should be printed previous to the conference. The submission should be done in PDF format, based on the template provided (poster template). Add to your final submission the Consent to Publish.

[Posters: 1 – 2 pp. A0 (vertical)]

  • Interactive Demos

We welcome the submission of innovative Interactive Demos within the areas of interest covered by the conference. Interactive proposals should be in English. Proposals should provide a clear description of the work (1000–1200 words) and a URL (e.g. WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc…) for access to relevant media assets. Interactive demos will be displayed throughout the conference duration, for which they should be accompanied by technical requirements information. Accepted interactive demos will require that at least one representative registers in the conference to present the work. The submission should be done in PDF format, based on the template provided (interactive template). Add to your final submission the Consent to Publish.

[Interactive: 1000 – 1200 words description]

  • Workshop

Authors may also propose Workshops within the areas of interest covered by the conference. Proposals should be in English and provide a clear description of the work to be conducted (1000-1200 words), technical requirements information and, whenever needed, a URL (e.g. WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc…) for access to relevant media assets. Accepted workshops will require that at least one representative registers in the conference to conduct the activities. The submission should be done in PDF format, based on the template provided (workshop template). Add to your final submission the Consent to Publish.

[Workshop: 1000 – 1200 words description]

Authors and their affiliation, or associate institutions, must be omitted for all categories in initial submissions. Revisions will be double-blind.

Proceedings will be published by Springer in their Communications in Computer and Information Science series as a Post-conference volume.

The Communications in Computer and Information Science is a book proceedings series by Springer and Indexed by SCOPUS, SCImago, and ISI Proceedings.

The remaining selected papers, selected posters, interactive demos and workshops will be published in a Proceedings Book (with ISBN) edited by SPCV.

Important dates:

  • Full and short papers
    • Paper Submission: 31 July
    • Author notification of the review: 30 September 
    • Print-ready version: 9 October
  • Posters
    • Poster Submission: 14 September
    • Poster Communication of Acceptance: 16 October
  • Interactive
    • Interactive Submission: 14 September 
    • Interactive Communication of Acceptance: 16 October
  • Workshops
    • Workshop Submission: 14 September 
    • Workshop Communication of Acceptance: 16 October 
  • VJ2020
    • Conference: 27 to 28 November”

+infos(oficial): http://videojogos2020.ipb.pt/

May 162020
 

THEME
Inspired by the rich history of Malta which spans over 7 millennia, the theme for FDG 2020 is “Games and their Heritage”. While this theme seems especially suited for academics interested in archeology and games, its topics are not limited to social sciences. For game criticism, the theme is appropriate for a reflection on ethics in video games—as well as ethics in game academia, which is becoming ever-more relevant. Games for a purpose around cultural heritage, history education etc. can be highlighted. The theme can challenge current practices in game technology and AI, focusing on ensuring replicability and the creation of persistent repositories, corpora or shared wiki-spaces. For game design and player experience, the theme motivates comparisons of past and current games in the same genre, or remakes of the same game. More broadly, “games and their heritage” is a relevant theme to incentivize surveys and meta-reviews of past work.

PAPER SUBMISSIONS
FDG invites authors to submit papers up to 10 pages long, excluding references, reporting new research. Papers need to be anonymized and submitted in the ACM SIGCONF version of the ACM Master Template to a paper track. Accepted papers will be included in the proceedings under their track. When submitting, authors are requested to select one of the following tracks that fits most closely with their submission.

GAME ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
This track focuses on the many applications of computational and artificial intelligence to the playing, design, development, improvement, and testing of video games. Topics include general game-playing AI, procedural and player-driven content generation, mixed-initiative authoring tools, computational narrative, believable agents, and AI assisted game design.

GAME DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
This track focuses on research that furthers the practice of game design and development. Submissions that examine, validate, invalidate, or create game making practices, patterns, mechanics, dynamics or aesthetics are encouraged to submit. Such work includes innovative and alternative methods of design, practical examinations of implementation protocol, socio-cultural critique of game-making culture, and empirical analysis of game-making processes and more. The focus of this track is scholarly examination of game design and development, as produced through case studies, A/B testing, review of literature, comparative analysis or other such appropriate efforts.

GAME CRITICISM AND ANALYSIS
This track calls for papers that approach the criticism and analysis of games from humanities-informed perspectives. Submissions are encouraged from scholars engaging in narrative, visual and software studies approaches to games and games criticism using methodologies such as archival research, hermeneutics, and oral history. This track will also consider critical theoretical and/or historical analysis of games, and game genres from perspectives such as (but not limited to) postcolonial theory, feminism, historicism, subaltern studies, queer theory, the environmental humanities, and psychoanalysis.

COMPUTER-HUMAN INTERACTION AND PLAYER EXPERIENCE
This track focuses on the exploration of different ways for designing and implementing interaction between the player and the game, as well as on understanding the experiences derived from those interactions. This track will consider qualitative and quantitative experimental studies. Topics include, but not limited to, persuasive games, augmented reality, virtual reality, novel controllers, user research, and player psychology.

GAME ANALYTICS AND VISUALIZATION
This track is suitable for all papers pertaining to aspects of game data science, analytics and game data visualization. This includes work based on player behavioral data analysis, including player modeling, churn analysis, and creating or understanding players’ profiles as well as aspects of business intelligence, such as performance evaluation or workflow optimization. Papers submitted to this track should present contributions that advance the current state-of-the-art, taking into account the knowledge bases in academia and industry, of players, play behaviors, processes or performance. We encourage submissions that span methodological approaches including quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods, as well as novel contributions to methodological approaches. Examples of topics include visualization of game data, analysis of behavioral (or other) game data, advances in methodological approaches to analyze and visualize game data, as well as applying or expanding statistical methods, machine learning, including deep learning, and AI, as well as visualization algorithms used to collect or analyze game data.

GAME TECHNOLOGY
This track is suitable for papers on game engines, frameworks, computer graphics techniques, rendering, animation, networking, novel interaction techniques (such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and alternate controller schemes) and other technical areas. Papers submitted to this track should advance our technical knowledge in creating games. Papers on analytics, visualization and artificial intelligence should be submitted to the more specific track and not this one.

GAMES BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT
This track calls for papers showing results on the use of games, gaming, and game design for primary goals that are not entertainment. Topics include serious or transformational games, games with a purpose, advergames and exergames, gamification and gameful design, game-based learning and curricula, informal learning in games, and educational and other ‘serious’ uses of entertainment games and gaming practices. Authors are encouraged to highlight the importance of the target problem that the game is addressing, and how their design or research findings makes a contribution to the current state of research on games for a purpose.

GAME EDUCATION
This track is concerned with the teaching of games, game development and design, and game-related concepts at all levels of education and training. Topics include design and development of curricula, instructional methods, teaching tools and techniques, assessment methods, learning/instructional activities, collegiate game programs, e-sports and educational program management. (Note: for research in gamified and game-based learning, please submit to Games beyond Entertainment track, unless it is work on game-based/gamified learning of game concepts).

+infos(oficial): http://www.fdg2020.org/

Feb 152020
 

“The Irish Conference on Game-Based Learning (iGBL), formerly the Irish Symposium on Game-Based Learning, now in its 10th year, will be hosted in Cork on 25th and 26th June 2020.

This conference provides a forum for all stakeholders interested in exchanging ideas, projects, and best practices on the use of games and game-based approaches to support motivation, learning, and change.

  • Researchers will be able to present and share their latest findings.
  • Students will have an opportunity to present their research or showcase their games, and meet specialists in this field to obtain constructive feedback.
  • Instructors will have the opportunity to share how they have used games in their classroom, discover new game-based teaching approaches and share new game-based skills that they can integrate into their teaching.
  • Companies will be able to showcase their products and explain how these can be used in the context of learning and motivation.

Prospective presenters can submit their abstracts through the online submission system.

We welcome abstracts from a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, teachers, or students, who will have the opportunity to conduct workshops, present research results, or provide insights on how they managed to design or use games for educational or motivational purposes.

Important Dates

  • 22nd of February: Final Abstract submission deadline.
  • 25th of March: Notification of abstract acceptance.
  • 25th of March: Successful abstracts are invited to submit an extended version to be published in the conference proceedings.
  • 12th of April: Registration deadline for presenting authors.
  • 12th of April: Submission of extended abstracts.
  • 22nd of April: Notification of acceptance of extended papers.

Feb 152020
 

Uma lista das conferências acerca de videojogos..

DiGRA (the Digital Games Research Association) +infos(https://digra2020.org/)
Foundations of Digital Games (FDG) +infos(http://fdg2020.org/)
The Irish Conference on Game-Based Learning (iGBL) +infos(http://www.igbl-conference.com/)
PUDCAD Universal Design Education Practice Conference +infos(http://pudcad2020conf.itu.edu.tr/)
Replaying Japan +infos(https://replaying.jp/)