CALL FOR PARTICIPATION (PhD)

Nordic Game Research Network would like to invite Nordic PhD-candidates within computer game research to participate in a PhD-seminar held at InDiMedia / VR Media Lab, Aalborg University (DK) and Dronninglund Slot, June 17–19, 2008.

NGRN is an academic network of researchers funded by a 3-year-grant from NordForsk. The funding period is autumn 2007 till autumn 2010. Two of the main objectives for NGRN are as follows:

”The objective of the network during the funding period is to establish a permanent platform for a Nordic cooperation on game research.”

”Another objective for the funding period is to establish the basis for Nordic anchored research education programs and actual researcher education seminars.”

This PhD-seminar is the first to be arranged by NGRN. At the seminar PhD-candidates will have the opportunity to attend keynote talks by some of the leading researchers within the network as well as presenting their own work for discussion and feedback from fellow PhD-candidates and senior researchers. Furthermore, the seminar will contain a short session discussing future seminars, where the PhD-candidates are asked to contribute to the development of a template for seminars to come.

The main topic of this seminar will be theory and especially methodology. The keynotes will provide different perspectives on methodology and theoretical implications in computer game research and the session chairs will take up discussions with specific relevance to the methods and theories presented by the PhD-candidates.

In order to participate in the seminar the PhD-candidate is obliged to submit a position paper focused on the use of theory and method within their thesis (5 pages) and register no later than June 2, 2008. There will be a limit of 20 participants. For further practical information, please see below.

The sessions of the seminar will be arranged in accordance with the following categories

• Sociology: – Empirical methodology and games, social activities and social constructions within and around games etc.
• Philosophy and aesthetics: – Ontology and epistemology of games, aesthetics and games, ethics and games etc.
• Psychology: – Cognition, emotion, perception, and the experience of games etc.
• Game design: – Innovative game mechanics, game worlds, and interfaces etc.
• Other approaches (not included above) – Approaches that the author cannot think of as being part of any of the other topics might be submitted to this category.

The position paper submitted should clearly specify which category it belongs to. A preliminary program for the seminar can be found at the end of this invitation. Further information about NGRN and news abut keynotes, session chairs, and the program will be available here at the NGRN website.

Best Regards Ole Ertløv Hansen Associate Professor, PhD Day to day head of NGRN

Practical information:

Credit: 3 ECTS

Deadline for submission of position papers and enrolment: June 2, 2008 Please register for the seminar with: ertloev@vrmedialab.dk

Travel expenses (economy class & public transportation) and accommodation will be paid for by NGRN. At the seminar you will be provided with information on how to get your travel expenses reimbursed. It is not possible to receive advance payment.

If you are in need of further accommodation due to early arrival or late departure NGRN will be able to subsidize your expenses within certain limits.

Preliminary program, travel and other information online: http://www.ngrn.dk/