University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Events
  • Intranet
      

(Chinese) Game Studies conference

Date(s)
19 (09:45) - 20 April 2014 (17:15)
Contact
Description

Game studies – or the academic study of digital games – is a relatively new field, drawing scholars from a range of disciplines who are interested in the formal, cultural, and social aspects of digital games. It has developed most rapidly in Europe and North America, but game studies also has significant presence elsewhere, with an emerging tradition in areas of the Chinese-speaking world. This conference hopes to begin to bridge these traditions and foster the development of game studies in the region.

'Chinese' has a multitude of (contested) meanings. We are using the term broadly here and hope to be as inclusive as possible, but we also hope that the conference can tackle some of the challenges of this designation. Specifically, what is 'Chinese' game studies? Are there distinctly 'Chinese' gaming cultures? If so, are they/should they be the subject of specific scholarly attention? How does game studies in the Chinese-speaking world relate to the wider game studies community?

The conference has two aims:

  • To bring together scholars working in the region or on Chinese games and gaming cultures
  • To connect Chinese game studies with the wider game studies community

To encourage the development of game studies in the region, the conference will be preceded by a PhD consortium on Friday 18 April.

Invited speakers

Espen Aarseth (ITU Copenhagen)

Espen Aarseth (PhD) is an outspoken proponent for the establishment of game studies as an independent academic field. He has worked towards that end as the author of the influential book ‘Cybertext’ (1997) as well as a steady output of journal articles and book chapters, as a founding editor of the journal Game Studies (2001) and through his involvement in the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA, established 2003). Espen Aarseth is an associate professor at the IT University of Copenhagen.

Gino Yu (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Gino Yu (PhD) has been involved in research on media technologies since the early 1990s. His current focus is on robotics as well as the use of games and other interactive media in facilitating personal transformation and inducing awakening. Dr Yu has established several multimedia institutions in Hong Kong and the USA, including the Integrated Media Systems Center at the University of Southern California, the Center for Enhanced Learning Technologies in Hong Kong University of Science and Technologies and both the Multimedia Innovation Centre and the M-Lab at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where he is now Associate Professor and Director of Digital Entertainment and Game Development.

Practical information

Getting here

Air

  • Ningbo Airport: 15 -20 minute drive
  • Hangzhou Airport: 1.5 hour drive
  • Shanghai Pudong: 2.5-3 hour drive

Rail

  • Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station – Ningbo: 2.5 hours

Bus

  • Shanghai South Bus Station – Ningbo: 2.5 hours

For further information on how to get to UNNC:

Address of the conference venue

The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, 199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo, 315100, P.R. China

中国宁波泰康东路199号 邮编315100

Accommodation

On campus hotel

  • Limited accommodation available, telephone: +86 (0)574 8818 0818

Nearby hotels

Programme

Time Friday 18 April  Saturday 19 April Sunday 20 April
  Day 1, 09:45-17:15
Room AB 209
Day 2, 10:00-17:15
Room AB 209
09:45   Welcome   
10:00   Presentation: Presentation: Espen Aarseth (ITU Copenhagen) Presentation: Gino Yu (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
11:00   Break  Break 
11:15  

Paper Session 1

Julian F. Belmonte (University of Murcia), 'China and the imagined West: "Western" games developed in China'

Hanna Wirman ( Hong Kong Polytechnic University) , 'Radical gameplay, non-radical innovation'

Yong Ming Kow ( City University of Hong Kong) , 'Grassroots Cultures and Participatory Practices'

Paper Session 3

Yowei Kang and Kenneth C.C. Yang ( Kainan University (Taiwan) and The University of Texas at El Paso) , 'Applying Hybrid Interactive Rhetorical Engagements in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) to Analyze Multi-Modal Persuasive Interactions: Theoretical and Methodological Implications' (by video)

Ryan Qin, 'A Comparative Study on the Unique Mindset and Philosophical Attributes of Chinese Game Development Studios'

Chaoguang Wang and Gino Yu (Hong Kong Polytechnic University), 'Develop a Video Game for Eye Movement Techniques and Test its Effectiveness through Electroencephalogram Measurement'

12:45   Lunch Lunch
14:00 PhD consortium 
Room: AB 230 

Paper Session 2

Philip Lin Providence University (Taiwan) , 'Conflicts as Gaming Essence: Reshaping War-Themed First-Person-Shooter Games’ Ontology'

Olli Leino ( City University of Hong Kong) , ‘Single-Player Computer Game as a Bad Faith Machine: Sketch for a theory of romantic attraction with non-player characters’

Felania Liu, 'Does the Failure of DND Games and Success of Its Derivative Xianxia Games in China Substantiate a "Chinese" Game Taste? A Reflection on whether there are distinctly "Chinese" gaming cultures'

Paper Session 4

Sebastian Möring ( City University of Hong Kong) , 'In China With Love – A Speculation on The Marriage'

Daniel Vella (ITU, Copenhagen), 'Perceiving the self: games and the autoscopic relation'

Damien Charrieras (City University of Hong Kong) , 'On the relevance of a cultural study of the technology of game engines in video game studies (and the case of Japan)'
15:30
Break Break
15:45

Paper Session 5

Zhang Ge ( Hong Kong Polytechnic University) , 'Recycling the present of Internet cafes in China'  

Roy Brice, ( University of Technology of Compiègne)  'Showcasing experimental videogames in China' (by video) 
16:00 Chinese DiGRA meeting in Lon Tea (all conference delegates welcome) Break
16:45
Finish 
19:00 Conference dinner