The 2007 Women in Games conference has issued their call for papers for their April event, "New Platforms, New Players, New Perspectives", at the University of Wales. This'll be their fourth year celebrating the contributions of the fairer sex to interactive play, and if you'd like to get involved, there are a few options:
Submissions can be made within the following categories: full paper, short paper, poster, panel or student forum. All submissions will be anonymously peer-reviewed by the Women in Games steering committee.
disclaimer: I'm a member of that steering committee
General strands of interest to the committee:
1. The Big Game There are a handful of games that have broken out to become international bestsellers that appeal to all types of player and are commonly acknowledged to be mass market. We invite detailed analysis and readings of games in this category in order to better understand why and how these titles transcend existing markets.
2. Other Players We all play in different ways and from different contexts, and yet the notion of mass market often caters to the lowest common denominator, chasing the tail of last year¹s top sellers to justify huge development budgets. In our fractured post modern environment the possibility for cheaper product focussed at niche markets is growing. This strand seeks to explore a range of play contexts and styles in order to expose and celebrate other players.
3. Non-Games The interrelationship between play and digital games cannot be taken as read; many game tasks are repetitive and tedious, more like work than play. At the same time there is much digital play that takes place outside the game frame. This strand calls for submissions that explore the ways in which playfulness can open up possibilities for new form of experience.
4. The Performance of Play It has been 20 years since Brenda Laurel¹s initial research linking computers and theatre; further work has recently emerged celebrating performance aspects of game play within the context of digital game form. We invite contributions that explore what performance means in the game play context.
5. Situated Play/ers We would be particularly interested in presentations or workshops that looked at games in the context of digital consumption more generally. Here we would welcome contributions from those interested in studying games in relation to broader issues around domestic leisure forms particularly those which are able to draw from or develop the work in feminist media studies and research from within the field of study of ICT uses and practices. We are also actively seeking to encourage wider considerations of embodiment and aesthetic practices in game play.
As well as the battery of academics we hope will submit, WiG's interested in encouraging industry participants to contribute.
More information is available on their website. Submission deadline's 26 January. That'll keep you busy over the holidays!
