The 7th Annual Chinese DiGRA Conference
———
We are excited to announce this year’s Chinese DiGRA conference, hosted by the School of International Communications at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China on the 7th and 8th of November 2020. Given the current restrictions on travel, we are planning this year’s Chinese DiGRA as an online event. Papers will be presented via Zoom to registered conference attendees, and there will be Q&A sessions as usual. While we would much prefer to be inviting everyone to Ningbo, there are some advantages to the online format: this year, we encourage people to submit and present in Chinese or English, and we will be providing subtitling for all the presentations.
Call for Papers
Conference themes
We invite submissions on any aspect of Chinese games, game industries, game design and gaming cultures. We also invite submissions from people located in the Chinese-speaking region who are researching any aspect of games. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Analyses of game design and development traditions and practices in the region
- Representation, diversity and inclusiveness in ‘Chinese’ games and game (development/play) cultures
- The Chinese game industries and their future possibilities/weaknesses
- Critical analysis of the Chinese game industries
- Gaming and production cultures in specific ‘Chinese’ regions
- China as the biggest videogame market in the world
- Critical analyses of ‘Chinese’ games and games popular in China
- Critical considerations of future game development in the Chinese-speaking region
- Local game design issues
- Specificities regarding computer games within Chinese cross-media environments
- Computer games and playability in the context of interactive art and creative media
- Government policy on production and consumption of games
- Esports in the Chinese speaking region and beyond
- The history of Chinese games and gaming
- Comparative analyses of Chinese and other games, game industries and game cultures
*The Chinese DiGRA conference facilitates networking amongst game scholars working in the Chinese-speaking region. Therefore, apart from the above topics we also encourage submissions from scholars located in the Chinese-speaking region working on any aspect of game research.
Format
- Submissions can be in English or Chinese.
- Please submit a maximum 1000 word (or 1700 characters) extended abstract.
Important dates
September 20th: Deadline for submissions
September 30th: Decisions announced. Presenters receive additional practical information about how to record and submit their presentations (we recommend PowerPoint with voiceover or the free and open software OBS [Open Broadcast Software])
October 1st: Conference registration opens
October 7th: To facilitate subtitling, we ask all presenters to send us a video (or a PowerPoint presentation with voiceover) and transcript of their presentation in advance. We will translate and subtitle the video/PPT with voiceover. The presentation will be broadcast at the conference, and this will be followed by a live Q&A session.
November 7th and 8th: Conference.
How to submit
Please email a pdf version of a maximum 1000-word/1700 character (excluding references) extended abstract no later than September 20th, 2020 to Chinesedigra2020@nottingham.edu.cn. Please make sure to include “CDiGRA2020 Submission” in the subject line of your message. Extended abstracts will be selected by conference and program chairs based on their academic rigor and relevance to the themes of the conference. Note that the extended abstracts do not need to be anonymous. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by September 16th. Accepted authors will have an opportunity to submit their extended abstracts for inclusion in the DiGRA Digital Library. For questions regarding paper submission and the topics of the conference, or for questions on the conference, please contact Chinesedigra2020@nottingham.edu.cn.
Organization description and history
Chinese DiGRA is a regional chapter of DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association) focusing on game research relevant to Chinese speaking countries and the surrounding regions. Chinese DiGRA aims to enhance the quality, quantity, and international profile of games research in the Chinese-speaking context, by developing a network of game scholars and researchers working in the Chinese-speaking world and/or on aspects of Chinese games and gaming cultures, forging links between academic and professional researchers on games, supporting teaching and PhD development in the region, and disseminating and promoting Chinese game scholarship around the world. Chinese DiGRA is run by a board comprised of top academics in the fields of Chinese games research from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. You can find more information on Chinese DiGRA, including papers from previous conferences, at our website.
Keynote speakers:
Christopher B. Patterson (Ph.D., U of Washington) is an Assistant Professor in the Social Justice Institute at the University of British Columbia, where he researches video games and new media through the lens of empire studies and queer theory. His first book, Transitive Cultures: Anglophone Literature of the Transpacific (Rutgers University Press, 2018), won the American Studies Association’s 2020 Shelley Fisher Fishkin Prize for International Scholarship in Transnational American Studies. His latest book, Open World Empire: Race, Erotics, and the Global Rise of Video Games, was published by NYU Press in April, 2020. His articles have appeared in the journals Cultural Studies, American Quarterly, Games and Culture, and other venues.
Organising committee of Chinese DiGRA 2020 Conference
Dr Bjarke Liboriussen (Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham Ningbo China)
Dr Paul Martin (Associate Professor, University of Nottingham Ningbo China)