1st World Conference for Fun 'n Games | June 26-28, 2006, Preston, England
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Call for Participation

Fun 'n' Games 2006 (FNG2006) is a new style of conference where academics and practitioners can interact together in a playful event that marries the best of academic writing with the most innovative user experiences. The conference, which takes place in Preston, UK between the 26th June 2006 and the 28th June 2006, breaks new ground by highlighting the experience of the delegates.

The conference elicits contributions from designers, developers, and researchers in computer games, experience design and fun. We are particularly interested in contributions that cross the traditional disciplines of human computer interaction and games design. There are opportunities for participation in several streams, these include peer reviewed academic and practitioner papers, posters, user experiences, and work groups.

 

Work that addresses any aspect of Fun and Games will be considered, but we particularly welcome contributions that address the following themes:

  1. Designing (and implementing) for fun and games (theories applied to the design of fun and games, storyboarding, prototyping, approaches to game evaluation; case studies and exemplars of successful fun and games design processes, in different settings)

  2. Innovative fun and game interfaces (novel consoles, peripherals and input devices: e.g., haptics and multi-modal interfaces).

  3. Collaborative fun and games (new forms of socially-organised fun and games).

  4. Distributed and mobile fun and gaming (concepts and tools that exploit the affordances of computational/technological mobility to facilitate non-co-located play).

  5. Conceptual approaches to fun and games (theoretical constructs and frameworks for understanding fun and games: engagement and motivation, narrative theory, optimal experience, flow).

  6. Fun and games culture (the social ramifications of gaming on society, on education and business; implications for social access and inclusion; gaming sub-cultures; historical perspectives on fun and games).

  7. Reflective studies of how fun can be packaged, evaluated and valued. Design guidelines and heuristics for fun.

 

Important Dates

1st December - call for papers
17th March – deadline for papers
28th April – booking opens
28th April – notification to authors of papers
8th May – deadline for posters, user experiences and workgroups.
15th May – notification to authors of posters, experiences and workgroups
26th May - early booking deadline

 

Paper Format and Length

FNG2006 Guidelines for Authors (Microsft Word .Doc)

Peer reviewed academic and practitioner papers should be significant studies that demonstrate completed work. As a guide these will be around six to eight pages in length. Posters can represent early work and late breaking work and are particularly well suited to students; submission in this category will require a two to three page abstract of the work. User experiences are for demonstrations of, and participation in, fun activities or gaming experiences. Submissions in this category will comprise a one page synopsis of the experience on offer as well as a single page abstract for the proceedings. To encourage academic and practitioner debate, we offer a chance for like minded individuals to organise work groups co-located with the conference. Further details will be available on the website.

Short Papers (Talks and Posters)

Short papers can represent early work and late breaking work and are particularly well suited to students; submission in this category will require a three to four page abstract of the work presented in the conference format as detailed at FNG2006 Guidelines for Authors (Microsoft Word .Doc). Papers should be anonymised and should be submitted in two parts, as a pdf of their anonymised paper and an accompanying file that details the authors’ names and affiliations and indicates the preferred method of delivery, as a poster or as a spoken (15 minute) talk. See the Submissions page for further details.

Interactive User Experiences

User experiences are for demonstrations of, and participation in, fun activities or gaming experiences. Submissions in this category will comprise a one page synopsis of the experience on offer as well as a single page abstract for the conference proceedings. The single page abstract should be presented in the conference format as detailed at FNG2006 Guidelines for Authors (Microsoft Word .Doc). The one page synopsis of the experience on offer should include:

  • A 50 word description of the experience (this will be used by delegates to inform them whether or not the experience is for them!)
  • A 50 word summary of what the purpose of the experience is (e.g. Is it to demonstrate a new product, to do a research study on participants, to gather feedback, or just for fun!)
  • An indication of how the session will be run detailing the time needed per experience and the maximum number of participants. For example; this session will take approximately 20 minutes. A maximum of six participants will be able to attend at any one time; they will be given a 5 minute introduction to the technology and then will interact for 15 minutes in pairs. Please note that we expect that any intro to the experience will normally take only around 5 minutes – the intention is for the delegates to be active.

This synopsis is essential as it will assist us in determining how well suited the interactive experience is. It is expected that those people providing interactive experiences will present the experience at least three and possibly many more times during the conference so that as many delegates as possible can participate. See the Submissions page for further details.

For further information, if unsure about this track contact, emazzone@uclan.ac.uk.

Work Groups

To encourage academic and practitioner debate, we offer a chance for delegates to organise work groups co-located with the conference. These will not clash with other conference events. Whether you are a lone individual looking for some interested others, or whether you have a group already in place, you can apply for space in the programme. Workgroup organisers are expected to register for the conference, in the event that the workgroup attracts more than ten attendees, the organiser will be entitled to a conference discount. Attendees at workgroups may register for the conference (in which case the workgroup is free) or can pay a small fee for the workgroup. Conference fees can be found on the registration page.

The conference committee will help to advertise workgroups. If your workgroup is accepted, you agree to run the event and may not cancel it without the explicit permission of the conference chairs.

To propose a workgroup submit a single page description of the event by 8th May (no particular format required), this should include:

  • a short biography of the organisers, an indication of the preferred duration (we can facilitate anything between 2 hours and 6 hours), and a description of likely participants, an outline of the anticipated activities, and the expected outcomes.
  • A description of the workgroup of about 50 words (this will be used to advertise the event)
  • An indication of how the workgroup will be run detailing the time needed and the maximum (and minimum) number of participants.
Contact sjmacfarlane@uclan.ac.uk (Workshop chair).

© 2005 Child Computer Interaction (ChiCI) Group