Program

INTRODUCTION
Frans MŠyrŠ
President, Digital Games Research Association

Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) aims to raise awareness of the various aspects related to games as a subject of research as well as to create possibilities for the games research community to congregate and evolve. An international academic conference dedicated to presenting the state of digital games research in various countries is key to attaining these goals.

It has become obvious to everyone working in this field that past few years has been a watershed in the academic study of digital games. The interest and activity have been gradually rising for years, but lately we seem to have reached the Îcritical massâ: it is suddenly possible to find a community of knowledgeable individuals who are working on similar subjects, critically discussing each othersâ work. It is possible to compete for research funding in the most highly acclaimed agencies for academic financing, and be seriously regarded (and ocasionally even win some grants). It is possible to start building a career and degrees in games research.

Simultaneously, we have to be aware and openly discuss the fact that this field is still in its infancy. The short history has its pros and cons; there are not so many basic concepts, theories and methodologies in game studies that would have been tested and found sound through years of critical research. Most researchers who are experts in games are quite young. This also means that the field is not (yet) calcified to any single dogma, and it is simultaneously defining core areas that create its own identity, and testing interdisciplinary approaches that create variety and interchange with long-established academic disciplines.

The programme for the inaugural Digital Games Research Conference 2003, ÎLevel Upâ, organized by the University of Utrecht in collaboration with DiGRA, looks very promising. The emphasis has been on providing a showroom for the variety and scope of academic games research as it is currently practiced. As you take a look at the programme, you will see that it is quite many things. Yet, this is just the opening: the young researchers, students and veterans of academia as well as games research and design professionals meeting in Utrecht will no doubt continue to create even more stimulating, challenging and quality research in the future.

On behalf of the DiGRA Executive Board, I welcome you all to Utrecht in November!

Frans MŠyrŠ
President, Digital Games Research Association

CONFERENCE STRUCTURE

Joost Raessens, Conference Chair
Marinka Copier, Conference Manager
Jeffrey Goldstein

In this conference we distinguish different points of view or approaches from which computer games can be considered. These approaches are ideal types; because they are abstracted from existing research, they are not to be found in pure form. In most lectures and posters one of these approaches is favored, although other perspectives are also implicated. We distinguish the following five approaches:

In the first section, Computer games, we concentrate on computer games themselves, their aesthetics and history: an analysis of what games are made of, the role of artifical intelligence, the ways in which time, space, narrative, text and speech are represented, et cetera. We pay extra attention to pervasive games as one of the possible perspectives on the future of computer games.

Section II, Games as a social phenomenon, considers social and ideological aspects of computer gaming and the effects of games on social behavior. Issues include the effects of computer games on desirable (education) and undesirable behavior (violence), the role games play in marketing, and art. Some lectures deal with forms of participation in computer games.

In the third section, Reception, we focus on the individual playerâs relationship to the computer game. Empirical research on the psychological effects of gaming at work are reviewed, the role of parental mediation and different forms of enjoyment and engagement.

Section IV, Design, is concerned with the relationship between the designer and the game. We pay attention to game research from the designerâs point of view: game design foundations, types of design and design patterns.

Section V, Games as a cultural phenomenon, takes a cultural approach. How games are interpreted, their meaning and significance to the player, contribute to an understanding of oneself, of relationships with others, and of oneâs world. We concentrate particularly on the manner in which computer games affect our discussions and understanding of identity (gender and ethnicity).

The central theme of the conference will be on improving academic standards in game research. In an extra section (VI) we concentrate specifically on the variety of computer games research methods. 

An extra section is made up by poster presentations. These are also grouped in the different approaches named above.

We all hope to see you in Utrecht in November!

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