[artinfo] Call for abstracts: “Digital Games in the Context of Central and Eastern Europe”

[Eszter Toth]

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
 deadline:EXTENDED UNTIL May 30

THEME AND SCOPE
The main theme of the conference is “Digital Games in the Context of Central and Eastern Europe”. (We use the term “digital games” as a broader term which covers computer and video games.)
Due to many historical, social, economic and cultural specifics of the region, digital games have developed differently in Central and Eastern Europe than in the well-documented areas such as the U.S. or Japan. Research into games has also traced a path different from the “mainstream” of game studies represented by the U.S., the U.K. and Scandinavia. This conference will question these specific developments as well as more universal theoretical and empirical questions and design challenges faced by scholars and game creators  in the region. We understand the region in a broad sense, including the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary),  the Baltic countries, the Balkans, the European successor states to the Soviet Union (Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia), and also Germany and Austria.

Being an interdisciplinary conference, we invite submissions in all fields related to the study of games, including, but not limited to, media studies, cultural studies, sociology, psychology, literature, film studies, history, philosophy, theory of art, computer science, law, and design. Although CEEGS is primarily an academic conference, we will welcome contributions not only by game researchers, but also by designers, artists, writers, critics or journalists, given that their submissions fit the theme and the aim of the conference. Despite the regional focus, we welcome abstracts from anywhere in the world. The conference language is English.
To present at the conference, you must submit a 500 word abstract of your presentation. All submissions will be reviewed by a board of reviewers, comprised of games and media scholars based in Central and Eastern Europe and appointed by the conference’s program committee.

We invite abstracts on any of the following topics:
- digital games and Central and Eastern European societies
- digital games and the national cultures of Central and Eastern Europe
- histories of digital games and homebrew computing in Central and Eastern Europe
- current trends among game players and audiences, especially in the region of Central and Eastern Europe
- current trends in game design and game industry, especially in the region of Central and Eastern Europe
- challenges and opportunities in game scholarship and education
- legal issues and market regulations concerning digital games
- non-digital games in Central and Eastern Europe – LARP, tabletop and card games

Please submit abstracts using Easychair at the following link:
https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ceegs2014

In case you are not familiar with Easychair, we also accept abstracts via e-mail on the adress below.
Following the acceptance, we will provide letters of invitation when requested. For any inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us at ceegs at gamestudies.cz.