(Apologies for any cross-posting)
Under
the Mask: Perspectives on the Gamer
2nd June 2010
Research Institute for Media Art and Design
University of Bedfordshire
Luton Campus, Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire, UK
Without
the gamer, games do not exist. As Galloway reminds the reader in Gaming:
Essays On Algorithmic Culture, without the player, games are simply static code waiting
to be enacted, a rulebook waiting to be used. Therefore to understand
videogames, we must also understand their audience. This conference aims to
address the issues that surround the player of digital games as contributor,
consumer and propagator of their culture, not only through presentation and
discussion, but also through actively engaging with games and their users.
This years keynote is provided by Henry Lowood, curator for the History of
Science & Technology at Stanford University.
Once more, a number of Professional Gamers will be attending the conference to
demonstrate their expertise and share their experiences, whilst throughout the
day competitions will be held on the various formats available, with a variety
of digital game prizes on offer. In creating such an environment, the
organizers hope that the participants will able to explore sociological,
psychological, and ludological issues within a game-playing context, such as:
What takes place between player and screen?
How does the control interface and game content shape player
behaviour?
What consequences are there to the increasing surveillance of
players within online games?
What role does gender assume in game culture and
community?
Are there consequences of play for gamers, psychologically,
socially and culturally?
Also of interest is the notion of the fan in games: fiction, art, walkthroughs,
and game interpretations - what do these communities have to say on the place
of the user within their communal/cultural hierarchy?
Call for papers:
New methodologies or adapted methodologies for studying the
player;
Case studies of gamers interacting with novel control
interfaces;
Case studies of users in social settings;
Case studies of the relationship between gender and games;
Case studies of gamers in competitive/professional settings;
Methodologies relating to Psychoanalysis and Analytical Psychology;
Genre and its relation to player performance;
The role of professional, casual and social gaming within game
culture and
Presentations/Analyses of fan fiction and fan art.
Topics may include: sport simulations, MMOGs, first-person shooters,
performance games (Dance, Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero etc), mobile games,
novel interfaces, sociological methodologies (adapted and new), audience
reception, gender studies, psychoanalysis/analytical psychology, behavioural
case studies, professional gaming, competitive gaming, social gaming, girl
games, game art, fan fiction, fan art, and so on.
Abstracts of 250 words, accompanied by contact details and a brief biography to
be received by the 5th of March to: [log in to unmask]
Conference Organizers
Prof Luke Hockley
Dr Gavin Stewart
Steven Conway
