Call for Papers:

Aesthetic Strategies for Purpose-Driven Play
For the International Journal of Film and Media Arts (Vol. 11 No. 2, 2026)
https://revistas.ulusofona.pt/index.php/ijfma/announcement/view/239

Deadline for submissions: February 2, 2026

The application of digital play has extended beyond mere entertainment. The experiential attributes that make games engaging, such as feedback loops, embodied interactions, audio-visual cues, and narrative structures, are now being utilized to train surgeons, encourage climate action, support language learning, and tailor wellness interventions. However, the aesthetic aspects of these interactions are frequently regarded as superficial enhancements rather than fundamental components that drive engagement, learning, and adaptive intelligence.

This special issue invites research that treats aesthetics as a design variable in serious games, interactive installations, and adaptive socio-technical systems. Aesthetics is defined broadly: it includes audio-visual form, but also the qualities of interaction that influence perception and emotion. Examples can include the pressure profile for rehabilitation (e.g. interactive pressure sensitivity or movement choreography), the tactile alignment of a tangible puzzle piece in mixed reality, the breathing-like vibration of a wearable synchronized with virtual visual feedback, or the timing of dialogue and interaction with a conversation agent. These sensorial and temporal decisions affect how users interpret and benefit from purposeful experiences.

This issue will be developed in collaboration with guest editors Micaela Fonseca and Phil Lopes from Lusófona University. We invite contributions that explore how form, sensation, and meaning interact with functional objectives, and how aesthetic strategies—including minimalist feedback, diegetic interfaces, procedural rhetoric, and affective audio—influence cognition, emotion, and behaviour.

The International Journal of Film and Media Arts invites filmmakers, artists, and researchers to submit papers addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Models of ludic aesthetics for behaviour change, training, or therapy
• Studies linking aesthetic features to engagement, skill transfer, or retention
• Adaptive systems that adjust aesthetics in real time using biosignals or user models
• Design reflections from XR, wearable, ambient, or multimodal projects
• Ethical and cultural questions raised by persuasive aesthetic techniques
• Methods for analysing and evaluating aesthetic qualities in interactive work

We welcome original research articles, design-practice reports, ethnographic studies, and forward-looking perspectives that expand the understanding of the interplay between “serious” and “playful” elements. By examining the integration of interactive and visual aesthetics, for purposeful outcomes, this issue aims to establish new ground in HCI, game studies, cognitive science, and creative technology—paving the way for a future where aesthetics actively contribute to the development of adaptive, meaningful, and humane systems.

Keywords: Ludic Aesthetics, Serious Games, Adaptive Interactive Systems, Digital Games, Digital Play, HCI, XR Play Experiences, Evaluation Methods for Playful Systems

SUBMISSIONS:

Full papers to be submitted by 2nd February 2026.

Provide two Word documents (.doc) with:

1. FULL PAPER (Abstract, Keywords, Article and References). The manuscript should not have any reference to the authors or the institution they belong to. The authors must ensure that their manuscripts are prepared in such a way that they do not reveal their identities to reviewers, either directly or indirectly.

2. BIO, no longer than 50/70 words. Name, Email address and institutional affiliation.

Please submit to:
https://revistas.ulusofona.pt/index.php/ijfma/about/submissions

When submitting full papers, authors must include a comment indicating the specific open call they are responding to. Please note that submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.

Submissions must be made anonymously. All submissions will undergo a blind peer review process and will be evaluated by at least two independent reviewers.

No fees are requested for submission or processing.

SCHEDULE FOR PUBLICATION:
Submission of full paper: 2nd February 2026
Feedback on full papers: April 2026
Final revisions: July 2026
Publication date: October 2026