Chinese Digital Games Research Association is excited to announce the fourth annual conference to be held at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on June 2nd-4th of 2017.
Conference Themes
The conference will consist of presentations related to the study of games, game cultures, games industry and game design and development in China and beyond:
- Analyses of game design and development traditions and practices in the region
- Diversity and inclusiveness in ‘Chinese’ games
- Chinese games industry and its future possibilities/weaknesses
- Hong Kong as a gateway to Chinese games market
- Histories and analyses of Hong Kong games industry and game cultures
- China as the biggest videogame market in the world
- Critical analyses of ‘Chinese’ games and games popular in China
- Critical considerations of future game development in Chinese-speaking region
- Local ‘game design issues’
- Specificities regarding computer games within Chinese cross-media environments
- Computer games and playability in the context of interactive art and creative media
Keynote Speakers
Larissa Hjorth
Distinguished Professor, RMIT
Professor Larissa Hjorth is an artist and digital ethnographer in the School of Media & Communication, RMIT University. Since 2000, Hjorth has been researching the gendered and socio-cultural dimensions of mobile media and play cultures in the Asia-Pacific - these studies are outlined in her books, Mobile Media in the Asia-Pacific (Routledge, 2009), Games & Gaming (Berg, 2010), Online@AsiaPacific (with Arnold, Routledge, 2013), Understanding Social Media (with Hinton, Sage, 2013), Gaming in Social, Locative and Mobile Media (with Richardson, Palgrave, 2014), Haunting Hands (with K. Cumiskey, Oxford Uni Press, 2016), Digital Ethnography (with Pink, Horst, Postill, Lewis and Tacchi (Sage, 2016) and Screen Ecologies (with Pink, Sharp and Williams, MIT Press, 2016).
Ip Yuk-Yiu
Media Artist and Associate Professor, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong
Ip Yuk-Yiu is an experimental filmmaker, media artist, art educator and independent curator. His works, ranging from experimental films to live video performances and media installations, have been showcased extensively at international festivals including European Media Art Festival, New York Film Festival (views from the avant-garde), Image Festival, FILE Festival, VideoBrasil, Transmediale, ISEA, Hong Kong International Film Festival and Yamagato International Documentary Film Festival. He is the founder of the art.ware project, an independent curatorial initiative focusing on the promotion of new media art in Hong Kong. Ip has lectured extensively on film, video and media art. Currently he is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong where his recent works explore emergent and hybrid forms of cinema.
Yat Siu
Founder & CEO, Outblaze (HK)
A technology entrepreneur/investor based in Hong Kong, Yat Siu is founder and CEO of Outblaze, a conglomerate specializing in cloud, gaming, and smartphone software. Yat began his career at Atari Germany in 1990. In 1995 he moved to Hong Kong to establish Hong Kong Cybercity/Freenation, the first Asian free web page and email provider. In 1998 he set up Outblaze, an award-winning pioneer of multilingual white label web services. In 2009, he sold Outblaze’s services business to IBM, allowing Outblaze to focus on digital entertainment. Yat is a director for TurnOut Ventures, a partnership between Outblaze and Turner Entertainment that brought to prominence the hugely popular emoticon character Tuzki. He is co-founder and director of mobile developer and publisher Animoca, and of its ASX-listed spinoff Animoca Brands. He founded ThinkBlaze, the research arm of Outblaze investigating socially meaningful issues in technology. He has earned numerous accolades including Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, and Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the DHL/SCMP Awards. A classically trained musician, Yat is a member of the advisory board of BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and a director of the Asian Youth Orchestra.
Schedule
Detailed paper sessions will be announced on 1 May 2017.
Friday 2 June 2017- Venue V1201
9:00 - 9:45 | Registration |
9:45 - 10:00 | Welcome remarks- Associate Dean Tim Jachna |
10:00 - 11:00 | Keynote: Yat Siu (Founder & CEO, Outblaze) |
11:00 - 12:30 |
Paper session 1 The Development of Chinese Online Games Industry and the Stigmatization- Tian-jiao Ma, Wen-qian He Money can buy happiness?: a research on the relationship between money spending and game experience- Li Mengqi Lost in translation: a study of the conflicting uses of Video game engines in Japan- Damien Charrieras |
12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch / MSc in Multimedia & Entertainment Technology game demos |
14:00 - 15:30 |
Paper session 2 How to teach non-design students to make video games? A game level design workshop- Jeffrey C. F. Ho The effect of gamification to Chinese college students’ performance and flow in English words learning task- Huang Shen Designing a Multiplayer Serious Game for Collaborative Problem Solving- Chaoguang Wang |
15:30-16:00 | Break |
16:00 - 17:30 |
Paper session 3 Game, Video Game, and the Concept of Time- Shan-Chao Fu Gendered Mechanics: A ludological approach to examining gender in games- Gokul Sisir, Andrew George Korah, Avani Jain |
18:00 - | Social programme |
Saturday 3 June 2017- Venue V322
9:30 - 10:00 | Registration |
10:00 - 11:00 | Keynote: Larissa Hjorth (Distinguished Professor, RMIT)- Mobile Games: Digital wayfaring and ambient play in everyday life |
11:00 - 12:30 |
Paper session 4 Serious Games in Hong Kong (2006-2017): Reviewing Serious Mechanics and their Origins- Hanna Wirman, Betty Durango Virtual Reality Arcades as Boxed Experiences in Hong Kong- Rhys Jones New Chinese Gambling Cultures and Social Networks- Jani Kinnunen |
12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch / Chinese DiGRA AGM and discussion session (room V1201) |
14:00 - 15:30 |
Paper session 5 Esports @ Hong Kong: An Analysis of Industry and Culture- Olli Leino, Yong Ming Kow Analyzing the Discourse on Twitch- Daniel Recktenwald Varacter: What Is It Like to Feel a Nine-tailed Fox- Veli-Matti Karhulahti |
15:30 - 16:00 | Break |
16:00 - 17:30 |
Paper session 6 The Task of the Player: The Legend of Sword and Fairy Case Study- Mateusz Felczak A Socio-Semiotic Approach to East Asian Game Studies- Carman Ng Probing Chinese Game Criticism- Dino Ge Zhang, Xiaomeng Qiao |
18:00 - | Social programme |
Sunday 4 June 2017- Venue V322
9:30 - 10:00 | Registration |
10:00 - 11:00 | Keynote: Ip Yuk-Yiu (Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong)- Screen.Play: an artist’s perspective and process on working towards a hybridization of screen and game |
11:00 - 12:30 |
Paper session 7 Endgame: Garry’s Mod and the Qing Eclipse- Peter Nelson The Pursuit of Nature Utopia: Druids Revival through Video game- Felania Mengfei Liu Electronic Games' Media Superiority of Restating the Myth Innovatively- Lei Xiang |
12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch |
14:00 - 15:30 | Panel: eSports HK |
15:30 - 17:00 |
Paper session 8 Sesame Credit: Paranoia of Gamification- Hugh Davies The Delicate Politics of Game Regulation and Policymaking in China- Yingrong Chen The Allegory of Suture and The Loser Culture: The Politics of Characters in Video Game Find Something- Jing Sun |
18:00 - | Social programme |
Chinese DiGRA
Chinese DiGRA is a regional chapter of DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association) focusing on game research relevant to Chinese speaking countries and the surrounding regions. Chinese DiGRA aims to enhance the quality, quantity, and international profile of games research in the Chinese-speaking context, by develop a network of game scholars and researchers working in the Chinese-speaking world and/or on aspects of Chinese games and gaming cultures, forging links between academic and professional researchers on games, supporting teaching and PhD development in the region, and disseminating and promoting Chinese game scholarship around the world. Chinese DiGRA is run by a board comprised of top academics in the fields of Chinese games research from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
In 2017 we bring the 4th Chinese DiGRA conference to Hong Kong having held the previous three conferences in Ningbo, Beijing, and Taichung. Chinese DiGRA is proud to have been able to invite prominent international keynote speakers in the past, including Prof. Espen Arseth (Denmark), Prof. Gino Yu (HK), Prof. Akinori Nakamura (Japan), Prof. Peichi Chung (Hong Kong), Prof. Mia Consalvo (Canada) and Prof. Holin Lin (Taiwan).
Organising team
General Chair: Dr. Hanna Wirman, Research Assistant Professor, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Program Co-chair: Dr. Olli Leino, Assistant Professor, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong
Program Co-chair: Dr. Yong Ming Kow, Assistant Professor, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong
Supporters
Funded by
- PolyU School of Design
- MSc in Multimedia & Entertainment Technology, PolyU Design
In Collaboration with
Academic Partners
Contact
Chinese DiGRA 2017 Conference Secretariat, Mr. Rhys Jones
E-mail: rhys.g.jones@polyu.edu.hk
Tel.: +852 2766 5440
c/o Rhys Jones
V920 Jockey Club Innovation Tower
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hung Hom, Hong Kong
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