CFP: 2016 DiGRA Australia Queensland Symposium
Wayfinding
Academic work on games and play in Queensland is being conducted within a wide variety of disciplines and from an even broader number of conceptual and analytical approaches. DiGRAA Brisbane is thus delighted to announce the inaugural event of this local chapter, a one-day symposium aimed at bringing together those interested in the study of digital (and non-digital) games and play in Queensland (and Australia more broadly) to discuss current and future work.
We organise such an event acknowledging that ‘game studies’ should not be an exclusively academic endeavour – exciting and ground-breaking work is occurring in a wide variety of commercial, professional and amateur contexts. Consequently, we encourage non-academic game researchers, critics, designers, developers and artists to attend and contribute to the event. Submitted abstracts will not be evaluated harshly for not engaging with academic literature, as we see this as an opportunity for these disparate communities to engage and share knowledge.
The theme, ‘Wayfinding’, speaks broadly to how we as a community of games research practices in Queensland orientate ourselves—how we determine the routes we are travelling and where we hope our research is going. It invites submissions that describe projects completed or still under way, that prompt discussion, or report findings or arguments conducted by those studying games or play in the broadest sense. We welcome perspectives from game studies, UX, interaction design, narratology, media studies, and beyond. By attending and presenting works like these, your presence contributes to the theme, helping us all map what the study of games and play ‘is’ in Queensland and Australia in 2016.
Attendance at the event is also an opportunity to shape and be involved in the future direction of this regional DiGRA chapter.
The symposium will run all day on Saturday 2nd April, 2016 at This Must Be The Place (Shop 8, Bakery Lane, 694 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley), followed by an evening social event organised nearby. Attendance at the symposium is limited, and registration will be required.
After the symposium, selected presenters will be invited to submit full papers for a peer-reviewed journal issue that will build on the symposium’s themes.
About DIGRA Australia
DiGRA Australia is the Australian chapter of the Digital Games Research Association, which is the premiere international association for academics and professionals who research games and associated phenomena. It encourages high-quality research on games, and promotes collaboration and dissemination of work by its members.
Although the focus of DiGRA has historically been on ‘digital’ games, DiGRA Australia welcomes research on all forms of games and play, digital and non-digital.
Important Dates
- Abstract Submission Deadline – Monday 29th Feb, 2016
- Notification of Acceptance – Monday 7th March, 2016
- Symposium Date – Saturday 2nd April, 2016
Submission Format
We invite interested authors to submit 400-800 word abstracts, accompanied by a 100 word bio. 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 in last years DiGRA Australia conference 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.
Submissions are required to use the DiGRA conference publication format. Accepted abstracts will be uploaded to the DiGRA Digital Library.
Submission Process
Submissions will be made online, via EasyChair.
Please enter your 400-800 word abstract in the abstract box in EasyChair, as well as uploading it as a formatted attachment.
Conference Chairs
Dr Christy Dena – Games Department, SAE Creative Media Institute
Dr Brendan Keogh – Games Department, SAE Creative Media Institute
truna aka Jane Turner – School of Design, QUT