Call: Foundations of Digital Games (FDG) 2020

Call for Papers

Foundations of Digital Games (FDG) 2020
15-18 September, 2020
Malta
http://fdg2020.org

Workshop, panel and competition proposals deadline: 2 December 2019
Abstract and paper deadlines: 13 and 27 January 2020

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW

Foundations of Digital Games (FDG) 2020 is proud to invite research contributions in the form of papers, games and demos, doctoral consortium applications, as well as panel, competition, and workshop proposals. We invite contributions from within and across any discipline committed to advancing knowledge on the foundations of games: computer science and engineering, humanities and social sciences, arts and design, mathematics and natural sciences. Papers, Games and Demos will receive double-blind peer reviews. All other submissions will be single-blind. All papers are guaranteed at least three reviews. Games and Demos are guaranteed two reviews. There will be no rebuttal. As in previous years, we aim to publish the FDG 2020 proceedings in the ACM Digital Library. All contributions should be submitted at https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=fdg2020

IMPORTANT DATES

Workshop Proposals: 2 December 2019
Panel Proposals: 2 December 2019
Competition Proposals: 2 December 2019
Full Paper abstracts: 13 January 2020
Full & Short Papers: 27 January 2020
Games and Demos: 25 May 2020
Doctoral Consortium applications: 25 May 2020

THEME

Inspired by the rich history of Malta which spans over 7 millennia, the theme for FDG 2020 is “Games and their Heritage”. While this theme seems especially suited for academics interested in archeology and games, its topics are not limited to social sciences. For game criticism, the theme is appropriate for a reflection on ethics in video games-as well as ethics in game academia, which is becoming ever-more relevant. Games for a purpose around cultural heritage, history education etc. can be highlighted. The theme can challenge current practices in game technology and AI, focusing on ensuring replicability and the creation of persistent repositories, corpora or shared wiki-spaces. For game design and player experience, the theme motivates comparisons of past and current games in the same genre, or remakes of the same game. More broadly, “games and their heritage” is a relevant theme to incentivize surveys and meta-reviews of past work.

PAPER SUBMISSIONS

FDG invites authors to submit short (5-6 pages excluding references) or full papers (7-10 pages excluding references) reporting new research. Both short and full papers need to be anonymized and submitted in the ACM SIGCONF version of the ACM Master Template (https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template) to a paper track. Accepted papers will be included in the proceedings under their track. When submitting, authors are requested to select one of the following tracks that fits most closely with their submission.

Game Artificial Intelligence:
This track focuses on the many applications of computational and artificial intelligence to the playing, design, development, improvement, and testing of video games. Topics include general game-playing AI, procedural and player-driven content generation, mixed-initiative authoring tools, computational narrative, believable agents, and AI assisted game design.

Game Design and Development:
This track focuses on research that furthers the practice of game design and development. Submissions that examine, validate, invalidate, or create game making practices, patterns, mechanics, dynamics or aesthetics are encouraged to submit. Such work includes innovative and alternative methods of design, practical examinations of implementation protocol, socio-cultural critique of game-making culture, and empirical analysis of game-making processes and more. The focus of this track is scholarly examination of game design and development, as produced through case studies, A/B testing, review of literature, comparative analysis or other such appropriate efforts.

Game Criticism and Analysis:
This track calls for papers that approach the criticism and analysis of games from humanities-informed perspectives. Submissions are encouraged from scholars engaging in narrative, visual and software studies approaches to games and games criticism using methodologies such as archival research, hermeneutics, and oral history. This track will also consider critical theoretical and/or historical analysis of games, and game genres from perspectives such as (but not limited to) postcolonial theory, feminism, historicism, subaltern studies, queer theory, the environmental humanities, and psychoanalysis.

Computer-Human Interaction and Player Experience
This track focuses on the exploration of different ways for designing and implementing interaction between the player and the game, as well as on understanding the experiences derived from those interactions. This track will consider qualitative and quantitative experimental studies. Topics include, but not limited to, persuasive games, augmented reality, virtual reality, novel controllers, user research, and player psychology.

Game Analytics and Visualization:
This track is suitable for all papers pertaining to aspects of game data science, analytics and game data visualization. This includes work based on player behavioral data analysis, including player modeling, churn analysis, and creating or understanding players’ profiles as well as aspects of business intelligence, such as performance evaluation or workflow optimization. Papers submitted to this track should present contributions that advance the current state-of-the-art, taking into account the knowledge bases in academia and industry, of players, play behaviors, processes or performance. We encourage submissions that span methodological approaches including quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods, as well as novel contributions to methodological approaches. Examples of topics include visualization of game data, analysis of behavioral (or other) game data, advances in methodological approaches to analyze and visualize game data, as well as applying or expanding statistical methods, machine learning, including deep learning, and AI, as well as visualization algorithms used to collect or analyze game data.

Game Technology:
This track is suitable for papers on game engines, frameworks, computer graphics techniques, rendering, animation, networking, novel interaction techniques (such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and alternate controller schemes) and other technical areas. Papers submitted to this track should advance our technical knowledge in creating games. Papers on analytics, visualization and artificial intelligence should be submitted to the more specific track and not this one.

Games beyond Entertainment:
This track calls for papers showing results on the use of games, gaming, and game design for primary goals that are not entertainment. Topics include serious or transformational games, games with a purpose, advergames and exergames, gamification and gameful design, game-based learning and curricula, informal learning in games, and educational and other ‘serious’ uses of entertainment games and gaming practices. Authors are encouraged to highlight the importance of the target problem that the game is addressing, and how their design or research findings makes a contribution to the current state of research on games for a purpose.

Game Education:
This track is concerned with the teaching of games, game development and design, and game-related concepts at all levels of education and training. Topics include design and development of curricula, instructional methods, teaching tools and techniques, assessment methods, learning/instructional activities, collegiate game programs, e-sports and educational program management. (Note: for research in gamified and game-based learning, please submit to Games beyond Entertainment track, unless it is work on game-based/gamified learning of game concepts).

WORKSHOP PROPOSALS

FDG workshops are full-day or half-day sessions focused on current and emerging game-related topics. They can provide a setting for new developments to be presented, discussed and demonstrated, or be hands-on or studio-based. We especially encourage workshops and topics that involve participants from diverse disciplinary and other backgrounds working together to explore and advance new areas of game-related scholarship.

Concise workshop proposals (2-4 pages, excluding references, in the ACM SIGCONF version of the ACM Master Template) should include: a background sections explaining and motivating the workshop, the objectives of the workshop, planned activities, the background of the organizer(s), publication plans (if any), anticipated number of participants, and the means for soliciting and selecting participants. Workshop proposals will not be included in the conference proceedings.

PANEL PROPOSALS

FDG welcomes debate-style panels and emerging-area style panels that consolidate and explain recent work on a subject of interest to the FDG community. An interested researcher that wishes to carry out a panel should first recruit members for the panel and discuss the topics before submitting a panel proposal to FDG. Please consider diversity and representation when recruiting participants to the panel. Panel proposals are a maximum length of 2 pages (excluding references) in the ACM SIGCONF version of the ACM Master Template. Contents of the proposal should include the topic, participants, how the panel is organized, and a citation-supported statement of why the event is relevant and topical (also accounting for this year’s theme of “Games and their Heritage”). Panel proposals will not be included in the proceedings.

COMPETITION PROPOSALS

FDG welcomes competition proposals, with a maximum length of 2 pages (excluding references) in the ACM SIGCONF version of the ACM Master Template. Contents of the proposal should include a description of the competition and the organizers, the criteria for winners, anticipated number of participants, past number of participants (if the competition is ongoing), and how entries to the competition will be submitted. Competition proposals (or outcomes) will not be included in the proceedings.

GAMES AND DEMOS

The games and demo exhibition provides a forum for demonstrations of work best suited to interaction rather than a paper or a formal presentation. This track encourages submissions of games in various stages of development, from playable physical mock-ups to full-fledged implementations, as well as technical demos showcasing the latest tools, techniques, and systems created for games by academic or industrial research groups, or other early-stage or late-breaking research not yet ready for formal presentation.

Submissions are handled using EasyChair. They should include a 4-page extended abstract, an unedited video illustrating the game or technology, and (if possible) a link to the demo. Games and tech demos will be presented at a dedicated games and tech demo session open to the general public. Selected students projects receive a conference registration waiver for the day of the demo session.

DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM

FDG 2020 will include a Doctoral Consortium where PhD students can receive early feedback on their research from fellow students, researchers, and experienced faculty in the area. The consortium is primarily for PhD students who intend to pursue a career in academia and who will soon propose, or have recently proposed, their dissertation research.

To apply, students should submit a non-anonymized 2-4 page paper (excluding references) in the ACM SIGCONF version of the ACM Master Template describing their proposed research. The paper should address the goals of their research, the proposed approach, any results, and plans for completing the work. This should be accompanied by their CV and a short letter explaining how they would benefit from the consortium and what questions they want to discuss (general and/or specific to their research).

Accepted Doctoral Consortium students will give a presentation and are invited to present a poster on their abstracts during the conference. Doctoral consortium papers will not be published in the main proceedings.

STATEMENT OF VALUES

The organizers, general chair and program chairs of the Foundation of Digital Games 2020 conference affirm the event’s commitment to scholarly integrity, collegiality and professionalism, and inclusivity towards scholars of all backgrounds.


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