CALL FOR PAPERS
Videogames and Cinema (edited collection of essays + conference, Italy)

Deadline: September 1, 2006

We are currently seeking for essays that analyze the interplay between videogames and cinema for a a book provisionally titled Videogames and cinema. Digital play, screen pleasures, This edited collection will be published in Italy in Winter 2006 in the ongoing "videoludica.game culture series" [www.videoludica.com].

The emphasis will be on videogames rather than cinema, that is, we would like to focus on the way digital games expand, reinvent, and/or subvert 
film narratives.

Scholars might productively borrow models from such fields as game studies, film studies, television studies, cultural studies, popular culture, economics, and psychology.

Some of the topics might include:

- Transmedia storytelling; remediation
- Close-readings of game adaptations of popular films (e.g. Peter Jackson's King Kong, Star Wars, The Godfather, Lord of the Rings, etc).
- Phenomenology of playing vs. movie viewing, gamer vs. spectator, forms of engagement with the text(s).
- Videogames as a spectatorial practice [for instance, machinima/replays/game videos]
- Comparative studies of film/game communities
- Comparative analyses of film/game genres (for instance, the horror film vs. survival horror game)
- Marketing/branding games based on films

Other related topics may be accepted at the editor's discretion. Revised/expanded versions of essays that have already been published in English might also be considered.

Interested scholars should email their contact information and a 1000 word abstract (in English or Italian) to mbittanti@libero.it by July 30th 2006.

Please keep in mind when writing your abstract that these essays should be chapter length with a target word count of 5,000+ words. The final draft should be submitted not later than September 1, 2006 via email (as a Word document attachment to mbittanti@libero.it). Accepted formats: MLA, Chicago, APA.

Questions and comments should also be e-mailed to mbittanti@libero.it.

The publication of Videogames and cinema. Digital play, screen pleasures will be followed by a conference on digital games and film at IULM University in Milan, Italy. The event will take place sometime in Spring 2007.

Important Dates:

Abstract Paper Submission Due: July 30th 2006
Full Paper Submission Due: September 1, 2006
Conference on game/film: Spring 2007


About "videoludica.game culture":

Edited by Matteo Bittanti, videoludica. game culture is a series of books about critically acclaimed and much-loved videogames of the past 40 years. By turns passionate, creative, and always informed, the 
thought-provoking books in this series demonstrate many different styles of thinking about videogames. What binds this series together, and what 
brings it to life, is that all of the authors  scholars/critics/gamers - represent the cultures that these games spawned after their releases. Each meditation revels in the distinct nature of the chosen game, series or genre - providing insightful commentary to an overlooked practice. Available in three formats ('Monographs', 'Readers', and, soon, 'Illustrated'), these volumes discuss videogames from a broad academic and critical perspective, setting characteristics, themes and techniques in context and exploring the games significance. More info: www.videoludica.com.