Call for Papers for a special journal issue of the Journal of Communication and Society, nº27, ISSN: 1645-2089, to be published during the 1st semester of 2015, on the theme of “Videogame Communication. Expression, Engagement and Experience”
Editors: Nelson Zagalo, Miguel Sicart and Emmanoel Ferreira
We’re pleased to announce an upcoming issue of the Journal of Communication and Society dedicated to the studies of communication on the media of videogames.
*** SCOPE ***
For the past fifteen years videogames have thoroughly been researched from a myriad of academic angles – psychology, education, anthropology, computer science, economy, arts, etc. – In this special issue it is our intention to proceed with the study of the medium, now focused on the questions of communication. As much as older media, such as literature, printing press, photography and film, in recent years videogames have been used as a means of communication and expression in several areas, including: Advertising (advergames); Journalism (newsgames); Political Communication (serious games and political games), among others. At this point of the history of videogames, we think that we should state and discuss questions like: can videogames be taken as a strong communication medium? What new possibilities this particular medium can bring and sum up to the broad field of communication? Are there any restraints on the use of videogames as a means of communication, in relation to older and established media?
*** TOPICS ***
We call for position papers in the following (non-exclusive) list of topics:
Communication in Videogames
Creation and Expression through Videogames
Expression through Game and Narrative
Communication and Interactivity
Design for Videogame Communication
Attributes of Videogame Engagement
Experiencing Videogames
Relations, Bonds and Links
Videogame Media or Art
Procedural Expression in Videogames
Cognition in Videogames’ Communication and Expressive Processes
Videogames and Materialities of Media
Communication through Advergames
Newsgames as a means of Communication
The role of Serious Games and Political Games in Media
*** SUBMISSION ***
Authors are asked to submit first an abstract proposal of 250 words that will be reviewed for acceptance. After that authors will then be requested to submit full papers which will go through peer-review process. Final papers must be formatted with CECS publication guidelines. Submissions and any question, or doubts should be sent to: cecs@ics.uminho.pt or to one of the editors, with the reference in Subject of “nº27”.
Accepted languages: Portuguese and English
*** IMPORTANT DATES ***
Abstract proposition of interest (250 words): 30th June 2014
Notification of acceptance: 30th July 2014
Full paper submission: 30th November 2014
Revisions Notification: 10th January 2015
Camera Ready: 30th January 2014
Journal Publishing: 1st Semester of 2015
*** About the Editors ***
Nelson Zagalo (nzagalo@ics.uminho.pt) is professor and researcher of Interactive Media at the University of Minho (Portugal). He got his PhD on Communication Technology working on new interaction paradigms in virtual environments. Created and coordinates the Master on Interactive Media and the research group engageLab, founded the Portuguese Society of Videogame Sciences. Published in the domains of videogames, film studies, interactive storytelling and aesthetic emotion. He is author of the books, “Interactive Emotions, from Film to Videogames” (2009) and “Videogames in Portugal: History, Technology and Art” (2013).
Miguel Sicart (miguel@itu.dk) is a games scholar based at the IT University of Copenhagen (Denmark). For the last decade his research has focused on ethics and computer games, from a philosophical and design theory perspective. In 2009 he published “The Ethics of Computer Games” (The MIT Press), a comprehensive philosophical theory on games and morality, based on his doctoral work. In 2013 his book “Beyond Choices: The Design of Ethical Gameplay” (The MIT Press) extended that research with a focus on the design of playful, ethically relevant experiences. He has a new book forthcoming in 2014, “Play Matters” (The MIT Press), where he provides a theory of play for the age of computing machines.
Emmanoel Ferreira (emmanoferreira@midia.uff.br) is professor at the Media and Cultural Studies Department at Fluminense Federal University – UFF (Brazil). He created and leads the research group MediaLudens: Videogames, Cognition and Interactive Media Laboratory at UFF. He has published articles covering the fields of computer animation, digital and interactive media, game studies and platform studies. His present research, within the fields of game studies and platform studies, is focused on two subjects: an investigation on the MSX computer platform and an investigation on the worldwide 8-bit-computer demoscene.