[Air-l] CFP: The Refractory (journal) Special Games and New Media Issue

[Samita Nandy]

All dates are for this year, 2007----------
Abstract Deadline: April 10th
(Articles: 3,000 - 7,000 words, refereed)
(Small Articles: 1,000 - 3,000 words)
(Reviews: 300 - 500 words)
Notification of Successes: April 30th
Submission Deadline: July 1st
Publication: Mid-Late August

Refractory: a Journal of Entertainment Media is a refereed,
peer-reviewed, e-journal that explores the diverging and intersecting
aspects of current and past entertainment media. The journal is
published  by the Cinema Studies Program, School of Culture and
Communication,  University of Melbourne.

http://www.refractory.unimelb.edu.au/


ISSUE THEME: Meta-Materiality: Games, New Media, The Digital

Launching as it did in 2002, The Refractory arrived on the scene just
in time for its titular metaphor to get complicated, with the arrival of
'metamaterials' – artificial composites with negative refractive indices .
When a wave phenomenon such as light travels between media, it
changes speed and bends relative to the normal: refraction. But with
just the right metamaterial, the positive refraction can be negated.
The wave finds its stride – the straw in the glass looks straight –
total refraction. This special issue of The Refractory aims to assess
its central metaphor in relationship to games and new media with a
focus on the materiality of their aesthetics, assemblages, ecologies,
and networks.

Some directions you may wish to consider are:

- Real-world economics, class and power in games
- Remediation, Adaptation, Cross-media Style and the Media's Metamateriality
- Protocol, Code, Algorithms – the materiality of Digital Media
- Re-representation of one medium by another: e.g. Videogame
Emulations, Youtube
- Arcades, public space, social mapping and locative media
- Material genres: e.g. Game engines, middleware, blogs,
- Mobile movements and the 'ludicity' of technology
- Controller crises, free movement, and gestural remediation: e.g. Wii
Sports
- Who actually makes games? / A history of Tose studios
- Piracy, free gaming, information control, DRM
- New Media art and artistic intervention

Editors:
Christian McCrea //
Cinema Studies Program,
University of Melbourne

Darshana Jayemanne //
Literary Studies Program,
University of Melbourne

Thomas H. Apperley //
Media and Communication Program,
University of Melbourne

All Enquires and Submissions:
refractorygames at gmail.com


Information for Submissions:
---------------------------------------------

Abstracts should consist of a short paragraph outlining your intended
approach. A short bio would also be appreciated, although anonymous
heroes are welcome.

Articles dealing generally with areas outlined in the home page may be
submitted electronically as a rich text format document to our email
address at: refractorygames at gmail.com

The following disclaimer will appear on the front site: "All views
expressed by the contributors to the website are those of the authors
and not the Refractory (unless otherwise indicated)."

NB. Although most contributions follow a standard publication format
at this time, we also encourage contributors to make full and creative
use of the hypertextual nature of the web. The form such contributions
may take can be discussed with the editors. Images are possible
(detail below), as well as off-site linking to videos, but be aware
that we will have to add a further disclaimer of content at the top of
your article's page.

Copyright: The individual authors hold copyright. If material is
re-published elsewhere it must include a statement that it was
originally published by Refractory. The editors reserve the right to
maintain permanent archival copies of all submissions.

Images: Please include any images or other visual material with your
submission. Note: In most circumstances, images cannot be
included unless permission has been obtained from the copyright owner
to reproduce them electronically. It is the obligation of the author
to negotiate with the Refractory and obtain permission. Fair use
obviously applies, but we appreciate caution in this regard. If you
intend to use more than a handful of images from a source, an email to
a copyright holder will usually give you usage rights.

Style Guideline: Articles for Refractory should range from 3,000 to
7,000 words. These will be refereed - submission is no
guarantee of acceptance. Articles for State of Play between 1,000 to
3,000 words. Reviews: should range from 300-500 words.

Film and game titles are to be italicized. Films followed by the name
of the director and year of the first screening in brackets after the
first appearance of the title. Example: Minority Report (Steven
Spielberg, 2002). Computer games followed by the name of the
production company and year of release. Example: Phantasmagoria
(Sierra On-Line, Inc., 1995)

Articles should be referenced with footnotes: footnote markers are
superscripted numerals, following punctuation. All sources
must be cited in a consistent manner according to Chicago style
criteria (in text version) and included in a bibliography. Citing
Electronic Sources: Include Surname, First Name, "Title", original
date and place of publication (if applicable), the url (for example,
http://www.utopia.com), date accessed. Essay not submitted in this
style will be returned. Please be gentle with your formatting. It may
be pretty in Word, but for editors and website-uploaders, it is hell.

For further information on referencing electronic sources see:
http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/chicago.html - the AUTHOR-DATE system