[Commlist] CPF: Consensual Play

    Consensual Play

deadline for submissions:

April 30, 2024

full name / name of organization:

The Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds

contact email:

(kmorrissey1 /at/ wpi.edu) <mailto:(kmorrissey1 /at/ wpi.edu)>

note:

No payment from authors will be required

The Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds invites submissions for a guest 
edited special issue exploring consent in games. The issues surrounding 
consent are far-reaching, and what constitutes consent continues to be a 
live subject of debate in wide-ranging arenas (including healthcare 
choices, data access, gun ownership rights, and sexual assault). As 
discussions around consent and entitlement swirl around the public 
sphere, game scholars and designers have a critical opportunity to 
explore this crucial cultural conversation through the lens of games.

Games have long offered a distinctive exploration of consent through the 
concept of the magic circle, which involves voluntarily suspending 
real-world constraints within the playspace (Huizinga 1938, Salen and 
Zimmerman 2004; Zimmerman 2012). While the magic circle itself does not 
explicitly relate to consent, the player’s agreement to abide by the 
rules of the game world can be seen as a kind of implied consent within 
the context of the game. Thus, when players are forced to endure 
unwanted game elements, it can feel like a breach of consent. And yet 
this imposition of undesirable game aspects can be a way for designers 
to challenge societal norms by pushing the boundaries of player 
experience. What may initially feel uncomfortable to the player can 
become an opportunity to unpack why certain realities are uncomfortable 
to play in. This perspective recently received attention at the 2023 
Queerness and Games Jam, where scholars like Sharang Biswas advocated 
for the queer design value of non-consensual design. This work is 
tangent to discussions of abusive game design (Sicart and Wilson 2010) 
and works of game designers like Bennett Foddy, whose games sadistically 
enjoy punishing players with punitive mechanics.

Games can also be a place for players to take ownership of their 
experience by negotiating their desires in self-imposed rituals (Baker 
2021). To play is to participate in a symbolic world, and when a player 
adds their own rituals within the game space to enhance their 
engagement, they are actively consenting to play on a symbolic level. 
Personalized rituals can allow players to “queer” a game so as to 
represent the player’s identity and deeply engage in a gamespace which 
may not inherently include them (Iqbal 2023). Mattie Brice and Emma 
Vossen have explicated the connection between sex play and ritual, 
observing how BDSM requires ongoing consensual play within a structure 
of events: participants communicate boundaries and desires, act out a 
scene, and close with the act of aftercare.

To advance the exploration of consent within games, this special issue 
invites contributions that examine how games depict, navigate, 
establish, and, at times, infringe upon consent. We encourage 
submissions that offer new insights into the relationships between 
players, gaming environments, and designers within the context of 
consensual play. Critical/cultural approaches are encouraged. Activist 
work that advocates for consensual games is also welcome. Contributors 
are encouraged to consider a wide range of subjects for their 
submissions. These topics may encompass, but are not limited to:

●Game narratives that do or don’t ask for/respect player consent

●Queer magic and ritual

●Consent mechanics

●Consent in online and multiplayer gaming

●Ethical considerations of consent within the game development process

●Activist work promoting consent in fandoms and gamer communities

●Sex work and games

Submissions

To submit an article, please follow the 'Submit' button on the left of 
this page <https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-gaming-virtual-worlds>.

Paper length: 5,000–8,000 words for long papers, 3,000–5,000 words for 
short articles.


Deadline: 30 April for long papers; 15 May for short papers


Contact: Please write to Kathleen Morrissey with any questions 
((kmorrissey1 /at/ wpi.edu) <mailto:(kmorrissey1 /at/ wpi.edu)>)

Aims & Scope

The Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds (JGVW) is an international, 
peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of games and playful 
practices across media platforms and genres. It is a leading forum for 
interdisciplinary dialogue within game studies, focusing primarily on 
theory and criticism of games, the intersection of media, game design 
and gaming culture, and the performative and transformative dimensions 
of games and virtual worlds. The journal is open to diverse research 
approaches including: theoretical, empirical/ethnographical, creative 
and pedagogical methods, as well as submissions from essayists and 
reviewers. We are particularly interested in inter- or 
multi-disciplinary contributions that connect scholars across multiple 
discourses

Download the Notes for Contributors above for information on format and 
style of submissions. If you need this document in a more accessible 
format, please contact (info /at/ intellectbooks.com) 
<mailto:(info /at/ intellectbooks.com)>. Find more information on Intellect's 
Accessibility page <https://www.intellectbooks.com/accessibility>.

All articles submitted should be original work and must not be under 
consideration by other publications.

Journal contributors will receive a free PDF copy of their final work 
upon publication. Print copies of the journal may also be purchased by 
contributors at half price.

Peer Review Policy

All articles undergo initial editorial screening either by the journal's 
Editorial Team and/or incumbent Guest Editors. Articles then undergo a 
rigorous anonymous peer review by two referees, following the guidance 
in Intellect's 'Peer review instructions' 
<https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-editors-and-contributors#instructions-for-peer-reviewers>. 
Based on this feedback, the Editors will communicate a decision and 
revision suggestions to authors. To appeal an editorial decision, please 
contact the main Editor who will consider your case.

Ethical Guidelines

The journal follows the principles set out by the Committee on 
Publication Ethics (COPE) <https://publicationethics.org/>. Read our 
Ethical Guidelines 
<https://www.intellectbooks.com/ethical-guidelines>for more on the 
journal's standards.

References

Baker, Meguey. "Ritual in Game Design." Lumpley Games, December 30, 
2021. [https://lumpley.games/2021/12/30/ritual-in-game-design/] 
<https://lumpley.games/2021/12/30/ritual-in-game-design/]>

Gray, Kishonna L., Gerald Voorhees, and Emma Vossen. Feminism in Play. 
Springer, October 4, 2018.

Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. 
Beacon Press, 1944.

Ruberg, Bonnie, and Adrienne Shaw, eds. Queer Game Studies. University 
of Minnesota Press, 2017.

Salen, Katie, and Eric Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game Design 
Fundamentals. MIT Press, 2004.

Wilson, Douglas, and Miguel Sicart. “Now it's personal: on abusive game 
design.” Conference on Future Play (2010).

Biswas, Sharang, and Iqbal, Izzy. "The Queerness and Games Jam 
Symposium." Discussion panel. YouTube, October 14-28, 2023. [ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3e4OcqC1AU] 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3e4OcqC1AU]>

Zimmerman, Eric. "Jerked Around by the Magic Circle - Clearing the Air 
Ten Years Later." Game Developer, February 7th, 2012. 
[https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/jerked-around-by-the-magic-circle--... 
<https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/jerked-around-by-the-magic-circle---clearing-the-air-ten-years-later.]>



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