DiGRA Australia has a long-standing commitment to inclusivity and diversity. We note that parent-researchers often face inequitable hurdles to attend and fully participate in conferences. As such, we have assembled the following information for parent researchers considering attending DiGRAA 2019.

Children at DiGRAA

We welcome children to DiGRA Australia, and any children in attendance are welcome to attend conference talks, meals and events for free. For catering purposes, please register your child on Eventbrite separately which will allow you to notify us of any dietary requirements your child has. The social event on the evening of the 12th will be held in the dining area of a local pub, where accompanied children can attend until 9pm. It is our hope that this will allow parent-researchers to more easily participate in the social events that are an important part of conferences.

Please note that some conference presentations may involve content that is unsuitable for younger audiences (such as discussions of violent or sexual imagery from videogames, or mature themes). Presenters will be notified in advance that there may be children in attendance, and to provide a content warning at the start of their talk so that children can be removed.

Parenting Space

We welcome babies to DiGRA Australia and breastfeeding is welcome anywhere at the conference. The conference venue is accessible to prams.

On Level 2 of the venue (accessible via lift) there is a dedicated parenting space for babycare needs including feeding and changing, with a microwave and hot water available. Unfortunately the parenting space does not have a refrigerator. Parents with babies are welcome to leave bags of childcare paraphernalia at the registration desk nearby.

Simply speak to a conference organiser on the day if you’ll require access to this space, and we’ll show you where it is.

Access to Child Care

As a small, free conference it is not possible for DiGRA Australia to provide on-site childcare. However, the following childcare centres located near The University of Sydney offer occasional care:

Redfern Occasional Care
55 Pitt Street
Redfern NSW 2016
+61 2 9288 5620

SDN Glebe Children’s Education & Care Centre
112a Glebe Street
Glebe NSW 2037
+61 2 9552 3747

Marrickville Occasional Care
356 Victoria Road
Marrickville NSW 2204
+61 2 9558 1591

Flexibility for Parents

To assist parent-researchers juggling child-care challenges, we are able to offer presenters flexibility in the day their talk is scheduled. Please contact the conference organiser after your talk is accepted if you have a preferred day, or time of day, for your talk.

As a free conference, caregivers are welcome to also attend with the researcher-parent, and caregivers attending alongside a researcher-parent are welcome to also attend conference talks, meals and events. Please register caregivers separately via eventbrite for catering purposes.

If you have questions or suggestions to improve this page, please contact the conference organiser Marcus Carter <marcus.carter@sydney.edu.au>

Acknowledgements

Calisi, R. (2018) Opinion: How to tackle the childcare-conference conundrum. Proceedings of the Natural Academic of Sciences USA 115(2): 2845-2849.

We are delighted to announce that DiGRAA 2019 will be held at The University of Sydney, February 12-13. The CFP is available here.

Key Dates

November 12^th – Abstract Submission Deadline

December 12^th – Notification of Submission Outcome

February 12^th & 13^th – Conference

DiGRA Australia 2019: What’s Next?

We invite you to contribute to a two-day game studies conference to be held 12^th and 13^th February at The University of Sydney. Registration for DiGRA Australia conferences is free.

Key Dates

November 12^th – Abstract Submission Deadline

December 12^th – Notification of Submission Outcome

February 12^th & 13^th – Conference

Keynote Speaker

Professor Mia Consalvo, Canada Research Chair in Game Studies & Design, Concordia University

Details

The academic field of game studies has largely arisen in the past 20 years, energised by the phenomenal growth of the digital games industry. More recent developments such as mobile gaming and the resurgence of non-digital play have encouraged scholars to acknowledge the plurality of game experiences, practices, cultures and design. Across Australia, studying games is increasingly becoming institutionally recognized and encouraged, and nominated as key areas of interest in job advertisements in departments traditionally specializing in literature, media studies, human-computer interaction and design.

So, this year’s DiGRA Australia conference asks, ‘What’s Next?’

It is our intent with this theme to encourage research and discussion that speaks to and guides the future direction of games research in Australia. We encourage submissions that reflect all aspects of scholarly engagement with games. It is not a requirement that submissions engage with this theme.

We organise such an event acknowledging that understanding games is not an exclusively academic endeavour and excellent work is occurring in a wide variety of spaces outside of formal scholarship. Consequently, we encourage non-academic game researchers, critics, designers, developers and artists to attend and contribute to the event.

Following on from the success of previous DiGRA Australia events, DiGRA Australia will remain a single track conference.

DiGRA Australia is actively concerned with cultivating an inclusive research community. As such, as with previous DiGRA Australia events, registration for the 2019 National Conference will be free. Further, and for the first time, up to ten bursaries of no more than $500 each will be available for students and non-salaried early-career researchers no more than five years out from the end of their PhD who have a paper accepted to the conference to help cover travel and accommodation costs.

Submission Format

We invite interested authors or makers to submit 400-800 word abstracts (not including references), anonymously for peer review.

We advise potential authors to review the abstracts accepted for publication at previous DiGRA Australia conferences [see here] as a guide to the expected tone and quality. Some further tips:

• Submissions from academics are typically expected to have references to reflect the author’s engagement with existing scholarship.
• We welcome submissions that explore both in-progress and complete works, but should represent novel (unpublished) scholarship. If the abstract resembles previously published work, we recommend the author explicitly identify the additional contribution of their DiGRAA submission.
• We recommend that papers articulate the issue or research question to be discussed, the methodological or critical framework used, and indicate the findings or conclusions to be presented and/or the relevance to the wider game studies discipline.
• 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.

Accepted abstracts will be uploaded to the DiGRA Australia website.

Submission Process

Submissions will be made online, via easy chair:

Please enter your 400-800 word abstract or full paper in the abstract box in easy chair, as well as uploading it as a formatted attachment using the template here.

We ask authors not to submit more than 2 abstracts to the conference.

Applications for a travel bursary can be made through this form. Please complete your EasyChair submission of your abstract before completing this form.

Conference Committee

• Dr Marcus Carter, The University of Sydney
• Dr Ben Abraham, University of Technology Sydney
• Dr Malcolm Ryan, Macquarie Univeristy
• Mahli-Ann Butt, The University of Sydney
• Jacob Grice, The University of Sydney
• Ben Egliston, The University of Sydney
• Harriet Flitcroft, The University of Sydney
• Kyle Moore, The University of Sydney
• Soojeong Yoo, The University of Sydney
• Geoff Hill, SAE Sydney

FAQ

Do I have to be a member of DiGRA or DIGRA Australia to submit an abstract or attend the conference?

No you do not have to be a member! The conference is open to all.

The Australian chapter of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) invites expressions of interest from relevant departments, schools, or centres at Australian universities to host the fourth DiGRA Australia National Conference in February 2019.

The successful host will be selected by the DiGRA Australia board. The board will be guided by the following criteria in making their decision:

1. The conference should be run by a department with a cohort of academics and postgraduates producing research relevant to the field of game studies.
2. The host should be able to provide the necessary institutional support to ensure a successful conference.
3. The host should be able to head the peer-review process, with assistance from the DiGRA Australia board.
4. Following the success of previous national conferences, the 2019 conference should have no registration fee and, pending on submissions, be capable of running a single track for two days.
5. In the event of more than one competitive bid, cities other than Sydney and Melbourne will be preferenced to support regional equity.

The deadline for expressions of interest is Friday, 31 August. The board will decide on a successful host in early September, with the intent to see a Call For Papers released shortly afterwards. Ideally, the peer review process for abstracts will be complete by mid-December.

Please send expressions of interest that address the above criteria, or any queries, to the DiGRA Australia President, Brendan Keogh (brendan.keogh@qut.edu.au).

Please find below the final program for our DiGRAA 2016 Symposium. If you note any errors, please contact us.

The event will be held at Swinburne University in the AGSE building.

Thursday 17 November

Friday 18 November

2016 DiGRAA National Conference CFP

We invite you to contribute to a two-day game studies symposium from November 17^th-18th, 2016 to be held at Swinburne University of Technology. The theme for the DiGRAA Symposium 2016 will be ‘Tensions’.

**Please note: There has been a submission extension. Submissions are now due on Friday August 26th.**

Details

Games have frequently been sites of conflict, contention, and competition. As both games and gaming culture develop, however, these sites of conflict and their related tensions are shifting across multiple axes. Games themselves are objects of tension in different ways: while conflict is still often used to drive narrative and gameplay, designers continue to experiment with the line between comfort and unease. Conversely, those who play and make games are more diverse than ever before, and the tensions over representation, politics, and demographics continue to dominate public games discourse. The purpose of the 2016 DiGRAA Symposium is to explore the tensions in all aspects of engaging with games. This may include: gameplay, mechanics, game design, or game culture.

We organise such an event acknowledging that understanding games is not an exclusively academic endeavour and excellent work is occurring in a wide variety of spaces outside of formal scholarship. Consequently, we encourage non-academic game researchers, critics, designers, developers and artists to attend and contribute to the event.

Some suggestions for topics include (but are not limited to):

• Representations of race
• Gender and sexuality
• Sex in games
• Conflict as game mechanic
• The aesthetics of violence
• Death and tension

Important Dates

Abstract Submission Deadline – Aug 26

Notification of Acceptance – Sept 19

Symposium Date – Nov 17-18

Following on from the success of previous DiGRA Australia events, we fully expect that DiGRA Australia 2016 will remain a single track conference.

The Event

The conference will run from 13:00 – 17:00 on the 17^th November, and from 9:00 – 17:00 on the 18^th November at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn campus. An evening social event and exhibition will occur on the 17th on campus. A morning doctoral workshop will run from 9:00 – 12:00 on the 17th, which will require registration prior to the event

Submission Format

We invite interested authors or makers to submit 400-800 word abstracts (not including references), anonymous for peer review. We will also accept full papers of up to 4,000 words and the same rules apply. Submissions from academics are typically expected to have references to reflect the author’s engagement with existing scholarship.

We advise potential authors to review the abstracts accepted for publication at previous DiGRA Australia conferences as a guide to the expected tone and quality. We welcome submissions that explore both in-progress and complete works, but must represent novel (unpublished) scholarship. If the abstract resembles previously published work, we recommend the author explicitly identify the additional contribution of their DiGRAA submission. We recommend that papers articulate the issue or research question to be discussed, the methodological or critical framework used, and indicate the findings or conclusions to be presented and/or the relevance to the wider game studies discipline. 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.

Accepted abstracts will be uploaded to the DiGRA Digital Library as will accepted full papers.

Submission Process

Submissions will be made online, via easy chair.

Easychair Submission link:

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=digraa16

Please enter your 400-800 word abstract or full paper in the abstract box in easy chair, as well as uploading it as a formatted attachment.

Conference Chairs

Ms Laura Crawford (Vice President, DiGRAA Australia/Lecturer Games and Interactivity, Swinburne University of Technology)

Dr Daniel Golding (Lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology, Media and Communications)

2016 DiGRAA National Conference CFP

We invite you to contribute to a two-day game studies symposium from November 17^th-18th, 2016 to be held at Swinburne University of Technology. The theme for the DiGRAA Symposium 2016 will be ‘Tensions’.

Details

Games have frequently been sites of conflict, contention, and competition. As both games and gaming culture develop, however, these sites of conflict and their related tensions are shifting across multiple axes. Games themselves are objects of tension in different ways: while conflict is still often used to drive narrative and gameplay, designers continue to experiment with the line between comfort and unease. Conversely, those who play and make games are more diverse than ever before, and the tensions over representation, politics, and demographics continue to dominate public games discourse. The purpose of the 2016 DiGRAA Symposium is to explore the tensions in all aspects of engaging with games. This may include: gameplay, mechanics, game design, or game culture.

We organise such an event acknowledging that understanding games is not an exclusively academic endeavour and excellent work is occurring in a wide variety of spaces outside of formal scholarship. Consequently, we encourage non-academic game researchers, critics, designers, developers and artists to attend and contribute to the event.

Some suggestions for topics include (but are not limited to):

• Representations of race
• Gender and sexuality
• Sex in games
• Conflict as game mechanic
• The aesthetics of violence
• Death and tension

Important Dates

Abstract Submission Deadline – Aug 19

Notification of Acceptance – Sept 19

Symposium Date – Nov 17-18

Following on from the success of previous DiGRA Australia events, we fully expect that DiGRA Australia 2016 will remain a single track conference.

The Event

The conference will run from 13:00 – 17:00 on the 17^th November, and from 9:00 – 17:00 on the 18^th November at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn campus. An evening social event and exhibition will occur on the 17th on campus. A morning doctoral workshop will run from 9:00 – 12:00 on the 17th, which will require registration prior to the event

Submission Format

We invite interested authors or makers to submit 400-800 word abstracts (not including references), anonymous for peer review. We will also accept full papers of up to 4,000 words and the same rules apply. Submissions from academics are typically expected to have references to reflect the author’s engagement with existing scholarship.

We advise potential authors to review the abstracts accepted for publication at previous DiGRA Australia conferences as a guide to the expected tone and quality. We welcome submissions that explore both in-progress and complete works, but must represent novel (unpublished) scholarship. If the abstract resembles previously published work, we recommend the author explicitly identify the additional contribution of their DiGRAA submission. We recommend that papers articulate the issue or research question to be discussed, the methodological or critical framework used, and indicate the findings or conclusions to be presented and/or the relevance to the wider game studies discipline. 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.

Accepted abstracts will be uploaded to the DiGRA Digital Library as will accepted full papers.

Submission Process

Submissions will be made online, via easy chair.

Easychair Submission link:

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=digraa16

Please enter your 400-800 word abstract or full paper in the abstract box in easy chair, as well as uploading it as a formatted attachment.

Conference Chairs

Ms Laura Crawford (Vice President, DiGRAA Australia/Lecturer Games and Interactivity, Swinburne University of Technology)

Dr Daniel Golding (Lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology, Media and Communications)

Conference program available here.