The increasing ubiquity of mobile computing devices in South Asia has accelerated gaming culture in the region to an unprecedented extent; however, academic analysis of this phenomenon is still very limited. In an attempt to address this lacuna, Bioscope is inviting contributions on video game cultures in South Asia. Topics might include, but are not limited to:
* Transmedia gaming: the video game and Bollywood; the extension of franchises through video games; the video game as artist’s medium; theatre as game interface;
* The business of making games: production practices; interviews with games designers and studios, the local vs the global industry;
* Social gaming: gaming, as particularly facilitated by social networks;
* Audiences: consumption; circulation; fandoms; access;
* Histories of gaming: region specific accounts of gaming practices and how they gained currency; other practices of play (board games, sport) and their influence on video games; cultural specificity and how it might shape game design;
* Game design: explorations of game mechanics, game play, narrative and how they facilitate meaning; serious games; gamification and governance;
* The game as media artifact: how does a game distinguish itself from other narrative forms? how is the experience of a game altered by devices and their affordances.
Interested authors may send abstracts of no more than 500 words by October 15. Final papers should be 6,000-8,000 words long and are due on January 15, 2015. All papers will be reviewed through a blind peer review process.
Contact: Padmini Ray Murray, Guest Editor, BioScope Special Issue on Videogame Cultures in South Asia, at p.raymurray@gmail.com