Special thanks to Drs Jacqueline Burgess, Stephanie Harkin and Brendan Keogh for facilitating an online (Zoom) session that provided some tips and hints for writing and structuring your DiGRAA 2024 abstract. The session has been recorded for those who could not attend.

Zoom recording (available for 100 days): https://usc-au.zoom.us/rec/share/MxjhGoL7roJJRFLPgQ7CrDVvCYhCtXPyY6P63E0i1OFhbv2tTrpnaC7QQl4sTcTe.DorBl7IfDDz0BYwR
Passcode: rYi6J$V7

We invite you to contribute to a three-day Game Studies conference held on Monday 12th, Tuesday 13th, and Wednesday 14th of February, 2024, at The University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia. Registration is free. 

Important dates 

3 November 2023 – Submission deadline (extended from 27 October 2023)
24 November 2023 – Notification of submission outcomes
12–14 February 2024 – Conference 

Details 

The DiGRA Australia 2024 National Conference is an opportunity for academic and non-academic games researchers, critics, designers, developers and artists to share their work. We aim to provide an inclusive forum that reflects the diversity and vibrancy of Game Studies in Australia, and that allows newcomers and veterans alike to meet other people who are critically engaged with games, players and the culture that surrounds them. 

2024 marks ten years since the founding of DiGRA Australia and our first event – a one day symposium, “What is Game Studies in Australia?”. While there is no theme for this year’s conference, we still want to hear about whatever you in the Australian Game Studies community have been working on. We welcome submissions describing research projects that are completed or still underway. We also welcome contributions from industry members. Tell us about that idea you’ve been turning over in your mind that you’d like to test out in front of an audience. 

DiGRAA 2024 will be hosted at University of Melbourne’s Parkville Campus in Melbourne, Australia. It will run as a hybrid conference, allowing both online and in-person attendance (including online presentations).  

Submission process 

Submissions will be based on Extended Abstracts of 400-800 words. Instructions on how and where to submit Extended Abstracts will be circulated before the submission deadline. 

All submissions will be reviewed by members of the organising committee and the program committee which is chaired by Dr Melissa Rogerson. Submissions do not need to be anonymous. 

Extended Abstract submissions 

This is the standard format for submissions to the DiGRAA conference. Between 400 and 800 words (excluding references) using the DiGRAA template. Accepted Extended Abstracts will be presented at the conference as a 10-minute talk (live or pre-recorded video) followed by a live group question time. Accepted Extended Abstracts will be archived on the DiGRAA website. 

Submission rules 

To ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to present their work, only one submission may be made per lead author, and individuals may present only one paper during the conference. There is no limit on secondary authorship. 

To present at DiGRAA 2024 you will need to be a member of DiGRA Australia. Membership is optional for non-presenting authors. You do not need to be a member at the time of submission, only at the time of the conference. You do not need to be a member of DiGRA International.

Please note that as of July 2022, membership for those in full-time work with at least 12 months remaining on their contract will cost $50/year. Membership is free for all others (including students, sessional academics, etc.). Membership registration processes are currently being developed and will be available in time for conference registration. 

The DiGRA Australia conference has a ‘grey list’ policy for accepted submissions that are withdrawn with no reason provided, or for which the presenter simply does not attend. Please familiarise yourself with the specifics of this policy here. 

UPDATE: All submissions are to be made via this Google Form https://forms.gle/wR73FwzB6QvqoeMP9

Publication 

Accepted Extended Abstracts will be archived on the DiGRAA website. Video presentations (subject to permission) will be published on a dedicated YouTube channel. Aligning with DiGRAA social media policy, you will have the option not to have your video archived. 

Tips for authors 

We advise potential authors to review the papers from previous DiGRA Australia conferences as a guide to the expected tone and quality. Some further tips: 

• We welcome submissions that explore both in-progress and complete works, but they should represent novel (unpublished) scholarship. If the submission resembles previously published work, we recommend the author explicitly identify the additional contribution of their DiGRA Australia submission. 
• Papers can present any kind of research, analysis or commentary, but should be written so that the importance of the work can be understood by reviewers working in different disciplines or using different approaches. 
• We recommend that submissions articulate the issue or research question to be discussed, the methodological or critical framework used, the findings or conclusions to be presented, and/or the relevance to the wider game studies discipline. 
• Submissions from academics are typically expected to have references to reflect the author’s engagement with existing scholarship. 

Conference Organising Committee 

Dr Mahli-Ann Butt, University of Melbourne (Conference Co-Chair)
Dr Lucy Sparrow, University of Melbourne (Conference Co-Chair)
Dr Melissa Rogerson, University of Melbourne (Program Chair)
Nellie Seale, University of Melbourne (Social Program Officer)
Matthew Sidji, University of Melbourne (Hybrid & Tech Officer)
Madeleine Antonellos, University of Melbourne (Diversity & Accessibility Officer)
Brian McKitrick, University of Melbourne
Timothy Williams, University of Melbourne
Dorsa Kafili, University of Melbourne
Rory Manning Graham, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Eddie Paterson, University of Melbourne
Professor Martin Gibbs, University of Melbourne

Any queries about the conference can be directed to Mahli-Ann Butt: mahliann.butt@unimelb.edu.au 

The program for the Games Symposium for Oceania and the Asia Pacific (GSOAP) is now available here. The event is free and hybrid!

Games Symposium for Oceania and the Asia Pacific

June 14th, 2023 — St Kilda Library

Exploring new perspectives of video game and tabletop roleplaying culture with game artists, makers, and researchers in Asia Pacific and Oceania.

The Asia Pacific is remarkably overlooked as the largest region of annual game production and consumption. This omission represents an opportunity to share games and games-adjacent research. Given the enormous diversity and variation in videogame production and engagement practices, this one-day symposium aims to spark emerging new perspectives.

This symposium is jointly organised by DiGRA Australia, Chinese DiGRA, and in partnership with Pride at Play. We especially encourage researchers working in Chinese sectors to submit their work on game culture to share and collaborate with the workshop attendees.

We invite short provocation submissions from game makers, scholars, artists, writers, and players exploring how games, and the cultures surrounding them play out in their local contexts within Oceania, Asia Pacific regions, including overseas Chinese and Asian perspectives around the world. Provocation submissions are jury-curated by the symposium organising committee.

Presentations must be contextualised in Oceania or the Asia Pacific and themes may include:

• Defining Oceania and Asia Pacific games research
• Exploring intersectional identities and influencers in overseas Chinese and Asian cultures
• Navigating specific regional characteristics of making and playing games
• Highlighting different or shared lived experiences within game culture
• Contextualising gender, sexuality, race, and nationality in Oceanic and the Asia Pacific regions
• Examining national/transnational game histories and futures
• Recollecting post-mortems of game production in identity play
• Platforming local and regional aesthetics and concerns in games
• Critiquing gaming counterpublics, political advocacy and resistance
• Celebrating and critiquing game fandoms/role-playing/cosplay

Submissions

Submit your provocation via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/piRXheqLAf7jxGds9

Provocation submissions should have a short title, be around 75-100 words, and clearly describe its context, main points, and the potential for further conversations at the workshop. As this is a curated symposium, submission should include author names and a brief 50 word biography.

Provocation Submissions: 1st May, 2023 (extended to 8th May, 2023).

Acceptance Notifications: 14th May, 2023.

Full-day Symposium: 14th June, 2023.

Organising Committee

Dr Mahli-Ann Butt, President of DiGRA Australia

Dr Hugh Davies, President of Chinese DiGRA

Dr Xavier Ho, Head Curator of Pride at Play
For all enquiries and questions about the symposium please contact Xavier Ho <xavier.ho@monash.edu>.