Call for Papers:

Video Games: Industry, Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation
For the journal Tripodos
https://tripodos.com/index.php/Facultat_Comunicacio_Blanquerna/focusscope

Deadline for submissions: June 15, 2025

Since its establishment in 2001, Game Studies have laid a solid foundation for understanding video games as a medium of communication and expression, as well as for identifying the key actors and processes involved in their creation, consumption, and reception. At the same time, the industry’s maturation and technological advancements, along with the emergence of an increasingly diverse gaming community, present new challenges and the need for research and innovation in more specific areas of the field. Within this framework, both the video game industry and academia have developed a particular interest in topics such as entrepreneurship, authorship, creativity and innovation in indie video games.

From its very beginnings, video games have been a clear example of entrepreneurship, showcasing how a small group of people, or even a single person, can have a vision for a project they believe in and bring it to life. With the evolution of the industry and the emergence of powerful development tools accessible to everyone (particularly through digital distribution platforms and crowdfunding systems) game entrepreneurship is now more accessible than ever. However, this increased accessibility also brings new challenges, such as higher degrees of competition and difficulties in gaining visibility. For this reason, it is crucial to conduct in-depth research on the role of these entrepreneurs, analyze both success and failure cases, and identify best practices (not only to maintain a historical perspective but also to help new entrepreneurs achieve their goals).

A relevant starting point lies in the not always evident distinction between indie games (characterized by greater creative and financial freedom) and mainstream games, which are more closely tied to market-driven production due to their high costs and the economic risks involved, particularly in the case of so-called AAA titles. From this perspective, the emergence of Indie Game Studies (Parker, 2013) was proposed within the framework of video games as a sector of the cultural industries (Pérez-Rufí, 2015; Moreno, 2003).

In this discussion, the concept of the “auteur video game” can be applied to indie game creation. However, considering the inherently collaborative nature of game development, sole or highly personalized authorship (much like in other cultural industries) becomes nuanced or even contested. Can we, then, establish a relationship between a game’s content and its authorship, in other words, a recognizable style? In this regard, concepts derived from auteur theory in the film industry could be applied to video games, prompting a reflection on their viability (de Baecque, 2003).

It is also relevant, in this context, to reflect on the notions of creativity and originality in the mechanics and narratives of indie games (Chiapello, 2021), their cultural and social dimensions (Anthropy, 2012; Sandovar, 2017; Juul, 2019; Ruffino, 2020), and their relationship with technological innovation (D’Errico, 2015; Freeman et al., 2020). Additionally, in a market where existing design formulas and artistic styles frequently resurface (as seen in retro-style video games), it becomes crucial to analyze the motivations and meanings behind these repetitions, as well as the creative opportunities they offer (Tosca, 2023).

Aligned with these discussions, we find the special issue “Indie, Eh? Some Kind of Game Studies”, published in Loading (Simon, 2013), as well as academic events such as the Symposium on Research in the Indie Game Industry (I3V 2023), held within the Indie Games TRS conference. This symposium explored the meaning of indie and the significance of auteur video games, their player communities, their applicability beyond entertainment, and various aspects of design and development, including visual, sound, and narrative design, localization and accessibility. As a result of the symposium, a dedicated publication was promoted, analyzing the Catalan indie production ecosystem (Villasís-Pamos et al., 2024).

Tripodos 59 aims to contribute to existing research on the state of the video game industry and to establish best practices and innovative proposals that drive success within the four key areas of entrepreneurship, authorship, creativity and innovation. Both empirical and theoretical contributions are welcome from researchers interested in Game Studies and digital creativity. While this issue places a special emphasis on the indie sector (given its strong intersection with these four areas), the call for papers is not exclusively limited to it. Contributions to all aspects related to the video game industry are welcome, including but not limited to the following topics:

• Aesthetic approaches to video games
• The concept of authorship in video games within the creative and production process
• Auteur theory in video games
• Narrative in mainstream and indie video games
• Local production video game ecosystems
• Historical perspectives on the video game industry
• Integration of indie games with emerging technologies
• Video game design frameworks
• Best practices for video game design and development
• User experience in video games
• Quality assurance (QA) in video games
• Accessibility in video games
• Video games and creation beyond entertainment: education, awareness, and well-being
• Metrics and data analysis in the context of video games
• Differences in communication and marketing strategies among video games
• Business strategy diff erences in the mainstream and indie video game industry as a cultural sector
• Entrepreneurship, incubators, and business strategies for the sustainable development of video games

Guest editors:

Dr. Joan Arnedo Moreno
Dr. Marta Fernández-Ruiz
Dr. Carles Sora-Domenjó
Dr. Lluís Anyó

Deadline for articles: June 15th, 2025

You can check the full CFP and more info HERE.

About the Journal:

Tripodos is an academic journal of international scope published by the Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations, Ramon Llull University. Since 1996, the pages of this biannual publication have offered a forum for debate and critical discussion with regard to any discipline related to the world of communication: journalism, media, cinema, television, radio, advertising, public relations, the Internet, etc.