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.