[ecrea] Call for Papers for ICA 2018 preconference Games Everywhere, Gaming Everywhere

CALL FOR PAPERS
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION
2018 PRECONFERENCE GAME STUDIES DIVISION

Games Everywhere, Gaming Everywhere. On the Edge of Ubiquity, from 
Mobile to Augmented Reality Games and Beyond

Date: May 24, 2018
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Venue: Prague, Břevnov Monastery, Markétská 1/28, Praha 6 - Břevnov
Submission Deadline: January 15, 2018 at 11:59pm EST
More info on: http://www.games-everywhere.com

THEME

The ICA Game Studies Division invites both game scholars and game 
developers to a one-day conference on gaming that takes place aside from 
desktop and TV settings. Building upon a wide distribution of 
high-performing gaming devices and a flourishing market for gaming and 
gamification apps, multi-platform gaming enjoyed a renaissance in recent 
years with booming numbers of gamers and ever-increasing revenues. As a 
consequence of this revival, video gaming today not only predominates 
many households as one of the favorite pastime activities but also 
breaks into locations in both private (e.g. bedroom) and public sphere 
(e.g., public transportation services, train stations, or bus stops, 
sidewalks, work/classrooms) that were, thus far, not associated with 
gaming. Game streaming allows us to take our favorite games with us, 
wherever we go as long as there is an internet connection. These days, 
games have become an almost ubiquitous part of everyday life, where we 
can watch live streams of other people playing games, giving game 
advice, or discussing games 24 hours a day.

The emergence of these non-traditional gaming contexts questions extant 
knowledge on video gaming as new audiences with needs and motivations 
different from long-standing gamers find their way to video games. Novel 
and idiosyncratic gaming practices and experiences have arisen, which 
bring into question the relationships between games and their players. 
On the producer side, gaming outside traditional desktop and TV settings 
also opens up opportunities for game designers to create innovative play 
concepts as well as for the incorporation of technological innovation 
that layer real-world settings with gamified content. In addition to 
these new developments, we also see a revival of retrogaming and a 
re-emergence of public arcades (e.g. VR gaming arcades). Acting in 
concert, these developments offer a fertile ground for game-related 
scholarship to broaden its scope towards new phenomena and to question 
well-established principles.

 To meet these new circumstances, our conference theme puts strong 
emphasis on gaming beyond the prototypical desktop and TV setting. Thus, 
the goal of this one-day event is to examine the past, present, and 
future of ubiquitous gaming. We aim to transcend division boundaries to 
facilitate interdisciplinary exchange and multi-perspective discussion 
on these issues as well as establish a fruitful dialogue between 
academia and industry. Consequently, the conference welcomes submissions 
from different theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Due to this thematic focus, potential submission may include, but are 
not limited to, the following:

- Gaming practices outside traditional gaming settings
- Modes of play/ types of play
- Game streaming and Let's Plays
- Retrogaming
- Gaming arcades
- (Positive and negative) effects of gaming aside traditional settings
- Perceptions of gaming outside traditional settings
- Motivations for gaming outside desktop/TV settings
- Public gaming and audience reactions towards gaming in public places
- Gamification approaches
- Technological features for gaming outside traditional settings (e.g. 
Virtual Boardgames, Virtual Tabletops) - Demos or prototypes of mobile 
games or gaming platforms
- Novel gaming technologies (Mixed Reality, Augmented Reality,...)
- etc.

This list is far from exhaustive. We encourage submissions using a wide 
array of theoretical and methodological approaches (including but not 
limited to critical/rhetorical, qualitative, and quantitative research 
methods). We also encourage not only academic, but also industry 
submissions (including market/player analyses, potentials, game design 
concepts, showcases, prototypes that challenge the status quo).

EVENT FORMAT

The event provides participants a platform to present their current 
research and to enter into dialogue with both multidisciplinary academic 
audiences and industry practitioners. The conference will consist of 
(submission-based) paper sessions where recent work is presented, each 
followed by a discussion led by two invited respondents, one from 
academia and industry. Additionally, invited keynote speakers will 
provide an opening and a closing address for the event.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

The conference invites several types of submissions:

- Research Reports (all forms of empirical work)
- Theoretical Papers (all forms of theoretical work, e.g. brainstorming 
of ideas, position papers)
- Demonstrations (game or tech prototypes/products)

For Research Reports and Theoretical Papers, submitted proposals should 
provide (1) a brief description of the theoretical background, (2) 
research questions, and (3) a summary of the methodological approach. 
Submissions are not required to provide full results in case of ongoing 
data collection, but presenters are expected to to present their results 
at the conference.
We encourage all forms of game-related Demonstrations (e.g., tech/game 
demos, prototypes, etc.). Proposals should provide (1) a brief 
description of the basic functionality, purpose, and mechanics of the 
demonstration and (2) how it relates to the main focus of the 
pre-conference.

Word limit: 500-1200 word extended abstracts, excluding references (6th 
ed. APA style).

Submissions should consist of two separate files: a first file with a 
version of the paper blinded for peer review and a second file with all 
author information (name(s), institution(s), title). Submissions will be 
blind reviewed by a panel of international scholars. Please note that 
authors may not submit work that has already been submitted to the main 
ICA conference.
Please email all submissions and questions to Kevin Koban 
((koban /at/ hrz.tu-chemnitz.de))

Deadline for submissions: January 15, 2018 at 11:59pm EST
Notification of acceptance: February 15, 2018

ORGANIZERS

Daniel Pietschmann, Chemnitz University of Technology
Kevin Koban, Chemnitz University of Technology
Akiko Shibuya, Soka University
Douglas Schules, Rikkyo University
Tim Wulf, University of Cologne
Maxwell Foxman, Columbia University

For the ICA Game Studies Division



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