The Games User Research Summit 2015 is proud to announce its annual call for participation. This year’s summit will take place in San Mateo, California, the day before GDC. Please see www.gamesuserresearchsig.org for more info.
Full information at:
http://www.gamesuserresearchsig.org/gur-summit-2014—presenters-1.html
Introduction
The Games User Research Summit, hosted by the IGDA Games User Research Special Interest Group, is the best opportunity for members of our community to learn, share, and discuss high quality Games User Research work. Now in its 5th year, the Games User Research Summit is pleased to announce that we have once again grown to accommodate presenting an even wider array of interesting, valuable, and actionable content for our attendees.
This year’s theme is COMMUNITY: “Advancing applied research, connecting dedicated researchers” In line with the GUR SIG’s initiatives for this year, the theme of COMMUNITY for the 2015 GUR Summit is intended to promote the exchange of methods, theories, and lessons learned, in support of real-world GUR applications. Simultaneously, we acknowledge and embrace meaningful growth within the GUR community, from seasoned practitioners to ambitious students, and all members in between. Please consider the ways in which your submission can help our community grow and strengthen at this year’s GUR Summit.
To that end, we are inviting proposals for presentations, panels, roundtables, and tutorial sessions focused on work in and around games user research. A non-exhaustive list of illustrative workshop topics is provided below, as a guide to potential authors.
Illustrative Summit Topics
- [Recruiting Logistics] Methods for recruiting appropriate participants, issues of representative and valid sampling frames, and targeting niche audiences.
- [Testing Logistics] Methods for testing at all development lifecycle stages (pen-and-paper concepts, early prototypes, vertical slices, production).
- [Training Logistics] Effective ways to train new researchers, as well as existing studio personnel, to facilitate user research.
- [Research Protocol Methods] Methodologies for research protocols in diverse genres, and gaming platforms.
- [Research Protocol Testing] Diverse instruments, and processes for testing, including the respective pros and cons, as well as best practices in implementing the instruments.
- [Research Protocol Statistics] Statistical methods for detecting, and leveraging actionable features of player experiences.
- [Teamwork] Strategies for interfacing with diverse game development project roles, including producers, designers, and clients.
- [Research Reporting] Techniques for reporting results relevant to game development project roles, including how, and what gets reported.
- [Broader Research Scope] Findings from related disciplines (cognitive science, human-computer interaction, human factors and ergonomics) relevant to the process of games user research.
- [Case Study Presentation] Lessons learned from utilization of any of the above in real-world contexts, with specific work examples provided
Summit and Proposal Submission Format:
We will accept several kinds of submissions for the summit:
- Presentations – appropriate for describing completed or ongoing GUR work, with clearly defined topics and takeaways for the audience.
- Panels – appropriate for discussing a topic of mutual interest for several researchers for which multiple expert perspectives are useful, and insightful. Panel proposals are encouraged to consider audience participation, as well as having a panel moderator.
- Roundtables – appropriate for openly discussing topics in a more freestyle format than a panel, where everyone present is encouraged to contribute to the topic of the roundtable. Roundtable proposals are encouraged to touch upon topics of broad interest.
- Tutorial Sessions – appropriate for presenting introductory topics relevant to anyone starting out in the games user research community, or seasoned researchers looking to expand their knowledge base in a particular area.
- Live Demonstrations – we are expecting a new and improved venue this year, which may accommodate a live ‘how-to’ session for individuals interested in how others are performing GUR. This collaborative session is experimental and a major first for us; proceed with great trepidation!
- Other – appropriate for content not covered in the formats above. Please be as specific as possible in your proposal to get a clear idea of what you are imagining for your session.
All proposals must adhere to the following format:
- Your name: (If submitting a panel or multi-person talk please put presenters in authorship order – clearly mark submitting author’s name)
- Your organizations’ names: (For each person listed)
- Desired format for presentation: (Choose Presentation, Panel, Roundtable, Tutorial Session, Live Demonstration or Other)
- Desired duration of presentation: (30 minutes or 60 minutes)
- Choose an area of interest: (Select from the list above, or submit an original idea from a different area!)
- Intended audience: Senior professionals, novice researchers, members of academia
- Abstract: 300 words (max)Outline: 750 words (max)
- Images: (Any images must be embedded in the Word/PDF file)
- Special equipment requirements / other requirements not listed.
- The best reviewed submissions will be accepted and allotted a presentation time during the summit.
- Email your submission to gursigsubmissions@gmail.com
Schedule Submission Deadline: 11:59PM December 31st, 2014 UTC-11(if it is December 31st anywhere in the world, it is OK to submit)
Acceptance Notification:January 19th, 2015.
