[ecrea] Central and Eastern European Game Studies Conference, Oct 2014, Brno, Czech Rep.

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CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN GAME STUDIES CONFERENCE
Brno, Czech Republic, October 10-11, 2014
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The Central and Eastern European Game Studies Conference aims to be a 
meeting place for academics, journalists, developers and members of the 
public to discuss the phenomenon of computer and video games. It builds 
on the three year long tradition of the national game studies conference 
hosted by Masaryk University. This year, the conference will take place 
on October 10-11, 2014, and will be international in scope, bringing 
together experts from the Central and Eastern European region. Espen 
Aarseth will be the keynote speaker.

Conference website: http://gamestudies.cz/ceegs/

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

500 word abstract deadline: May 12, 2014

THEME AND SCOPE

The main theme of the conference is "Digital Games in the Context of 
Central and Eastern Europe". (We use the term "digital games" as a 
broader term which covers computer and video games.)

Due to many historical, social, economic and cultural specifics of the 
region, digital games have developed differently in Central and Eastern 
Europe than in the well-documented areas such as the U.S. or Japan. 
Research into games has also traced a path different from the 
"mainstream" of game studies represented by the U.S., the U.K. and 
Scandinavia. This conference will question these specific developments 
as well as more universal theoretical and empirical questions and design 
challenges faced by scholars and game creators  in the region. We 
understand the region in a broad sense, including the Visegrad countries 
(Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary),  the Baltic countries, the 
Balkans, the European successor states to the Soviet Union (Ukraine, 
Belarus, and Russia), and also Germany and Austria.

Being an interdisciplinary conference, we invite submissions in all 
fields related to the study of games, including, but not limited to, 
media studies, cultural studies, sociology, psychology, literature, film 
studies, history, philosophy, theory of art, computer science, law, and 
design. Although CEEGS is primarily an academic conference, we will 
welcome contributions not only by game researchers, but also by 
designers, artists, writers, critics or journalists, given that their 
submissions fit the theme and the aim of the conference. Despite the 
regional focus, we welcome abstracts from anywhere in the world. The 
conference language is English.

To present at the conference, you must submit a 500 word abstract of 
your presentation. All submissions will be reviewed by a board of 
reviewers, comprised of games and media scholars based in Central and 
Eastern Europe and appointed by the conference's program committee.

We invite abstracts on any of the following topics:

- digital games and Central and Eastern European societies
- digital games and the national cultures of Central and Eastern Europe
- histories of digital games and homebrew computing in Central and 
Eastern Europe
- current trends among game players and audiences, especially in the 
region of Central and Eastern Europe
- current trends in game design and game industry, especially in the 
region of Central and Eastern Europe
- challenges and opportunities in game scholarship and education
- legal issues and market regulations concerning digital games
- non-digital games in Central and Eastern Europe - LARP, tabletop and 
card games

Please submit abstracts using Easychair at the following link:

https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ceegs2014

Following the acceptance, we will provide letters of invitation when 
requested. For any inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us at 
(ceegs /at/ gamestudies.cz) <mailto:(ceegs /at/ gamestudies.cz)>.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Abstract submission: May 12 (length: 500 words)

Notification: June 12

Early bird registration deadline: August 31, 2014

Conference: 10-11 October 2014

Conference fee: 40 euro / Early bird: 30 euro

Conference fee for students: 20 euro / Early bird: 10 euro

Conference Program Committee:

Jaroslav S(velch, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic (program 
coordinator); Jan Mis(kov, MU Game Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, 
Czech Republic; Piotr Sitarski, University of ?ódz', Poland; Zsófia 
Ruttkay, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest; Zdenko Mago, 
Constantin The Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia; Jakub Macek, 
Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Sabine Harrer, University of 
Vienna, Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Keynote speaker:

Espen Aarseth is a principal researcher at the Center for Computer Games 
Research at the IT University of Copenhagen. Previously, he co-founded 
and was a professor at the Department of Humanistic Informatics at the 
Universiy of Bergen. Aarseth's influential work includes his 1997 book 
Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature, which defined many 
theoretical questions which would later face game studies. After 
Cybertext, he went to be one of the key figures in the establishment of 
game studies as a discipline. In 2001, he co-founded the academic 
journal Game Studies and has since been its editor-in-chief.



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Jaroslav S(velch
New media and digital games researcher
Faculty of Social Sciences - Institute of Communication Studies and 
Journalism
Charles University in Prague

http://svelch.com