CALL FOR PAPERS for Edited Book
Hybrid Reality Games:Reconfiguring social and urban networks via locative media
Edited by:Adriana de Souza e Silva, Ph.D. (Communication, North Carolina StateUniversity)
souzaesilva@ncsu.edu Daniel Sutko (Communication, North Carolina State University)
dmsutko@ncsu.eduDescription:Games are pervasive activities in human culture. The strong success of videoand computer games during the last 20 years can make us forget that thephysical environment has always been the primary playful space. But ifcomputers helped take games to digital spaces, the popularity of mobiletechnologies takes them back to the physical. The pervasiveness of mobilephones, which allow us to walk around urban spaces connected to the Internetand each other, encourages the creation of a new type of game arena thattakes place simultaneously in physical and digital spaces. In these games,communication, collaboration, and interaction occur in a combination of thephysical and the digital-in hybrid spaces.
In such games the players'mobility and position in space indeed matter. Hybrid Reality andLocation-based games transform the players' perception of urban spaces, aswell as the intrinsic definition of game space.This edited book invites essays that critically investigate theinter-relations among mobile technologies, location-based activities, andplayful / social spaces, with the ultimate goal of finding interconnectionsbetween games and social networks.
Submitted essays should focus on threemain areas:
(1) The history of games as social environments, with particular emphasis onMUDs and RPGs, as predecessors of hybrid reality/location-based gaming.Essays in this part of the book are encouraged to explore how gamecommunities are formed, how players in these types of games contribute tothe creation of the game space, game content, and the social relationshipsinside and outside the game.
(2) Theoretical papers about location aware games, differentiating thesetypes of activities from previous game theories on video games. Besidestheoretical papers, we also welcome case studies on current location- based,hybrid reality games, urban games, and pervasive games. In summary, we lookfor defining an overarching concept for the different types of multiusergames that employ mobile technologies as interfaces.
(3) Essays that investigate games beyond the pure entertainment approach,including articles that explore uses of hybrid reality, location aware andpervasive activities in educational contexts, media arts, training,corporate environments, and other similar activities.
Essays might draw connections among gaming, education, art, and other location-basedactivities.
These are suggested research themes, but similar topics will also beconsidered.The book will be directed at academic readers, but should be attractive tothe gaming community and industry insiders, as well.
Abstracts of 500/700words describing the proposed papers are due by December 15th, 2007 withthose accepted due in final form by June 15th, 2008.
Submissions may be in the form of empirical research studies or theory-building papers and shouldbe 5000/7000 words (in English).
Abstracts must include a brief biography ofthe author(s). Proposals and inquiries should be sent electronically to
souzaesilva@ncsu.edu .
Deadlines:Paper abstracts: December 15th 2007(500/700 words) Notification of acceptedabstracts: January 15th 2008 Full papers: June 15th 2008 (5000/7000 words)
About the editors:Adriana de Souza e Silva is an Assistant Professor at the Department ofCommunication at North Carolina State University (NCSU), and the director ofthe Mobile Gaming Research Lab (
http://mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/). She is also afaculty member of the Science, Technology and Society Program at NCSU. In2004/2005, Dr. de Souza e Silva was a Senior Researcher at the UCLA GraduateSchool of Education and Information Studies (GSE&IS) at CRESST (Center forthe Study of Evaluation). She holds a Ph.D. on Communication and Culture atthe Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From 2001 to 2004 Dr. deSouza e Silva was a visiting scholar at the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts. Her research focuses on how new media (mobile) interfacesreconfigure our relationship to space and create new social environments viamedia art and hybrid reality games games. She holds a Masters degree inCommunication and Image Technology at the Federal University of Rio deJaneiro, Brazil.
http://www.souzaesilva.com/http://mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/Daniel Sutko is a second-year Master's student in the Department ofCommunication at North Carolina State University. He teaches public speakingand is the research assistant for the Mobile Gaming Research Lab at NCSU.His research centers on the relationship between media and social/ spatialpractices, with a particular focus on new media literacy.
