[Air-L] REMINDER: Game Studies Special Issues on Game Reward Systems

[Olli Sotamaa]

CFP: Game Studies Special Issues on Game Reward Systems

Guest editors Mikael Jakobsson (mikael.jakobsson at mah.se) and Olli 
Sotamaa (olli.sotamaa at uta.fi).

Digital games have a long history of rewarding players for their 
efforts. It can be in the form of  treasures, items, easter eggs, 
highscores, character outfits, achievements, or badges. The prolific use 
of  rewards indicates that they play an important part in shaping the 
gaming experience. On one hand, it seems  obvious that we enjoy being 
rewarded, but on the other hand, it is harder to understand the 
fascination  with these seemingly empty gestures, given their virtual 
nature.

This special issue of Game Studies is dedicated to the exploration of 
all aspects of game rewards and game  reward systems. We invite our 
potential authors to think about the topic in relation to game culture
as  well as game design, but also hope to attract papers exploring 
connections to other areas of research such  as psychology, sociology, 
economy, education, and law. Possible topics include, but are not
limited to:
- Means for approaching and understanding game reward systems
- Reward typologies: characteristics and qualities
- The role of reward systems in relation to other game mechanics
- Player motivations in relation to game achievements
- History of reward systems within game culture and beyond
- Reward systems in social media applications
- Understanding rewards as motivators

The call is for full papers in English. All submissions will undergo a 
double blind peer review process and  be reviewed by at least two 
reviewers. Papers should be submitted to submit at gamestudies.com. Please 
see the Game Studies submission guidelines for further details: 
http://gamestudies.org/1001/submission_guidelines

Timeline
Submission deadline: 15th of August 2010
Publication: November - December 2010

About Game Studies
Our Mission - To explore the rich cultural genre of games; to give 
scholars a peer-reviewed forum for their  ideas and theories; to provide 
an academic channel for the ongoing discussions on games and gaming. 
Game Studies is a crossdisciplinary journal dedicated to games research, 
web-published several times a year at www.gamestudies.org. Our primary 
focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer 
games, but any previously  unpublished article focused on games and 
gaming is welcome. Proposed articles should be jargon-free, and should 
attempt to shed new light on games, rather than simply use games as 
metaphor or illustration of some  other theory or phenomenon.

Please help us spread the call to anyone you think might be interested.
It is also available on the web at: 
http://gamestudies.org/1001/articles/cfp_game_reward_systems