International conference: History of Games
Fall 2022
Online
Organized by Yannick Rochat (Université de Lausanne) and Carl Therrien (Université de Montréal)
Presentation
The history of games international conference series is a global initiative that seeks to act as a catalyst for academic research on gaming history. Biennial events bring together historians, curators, social scientists and archivists from academic or fan communities to develop networks and disseminate research and preservation initiatives.
Following the last conference held virtually in 2020, the next event will feature three main activities: keynote addresses by Wendi Sierra, Alexis Blanchet and Véronique Dasen; workshops focussing on emerging research; and a general meeting to elect members from all over the globe. All events will be completely free, hosted on Zoom and Discord towards the end of October 2022.
Since the pandemic has prevented many emerging scholars from travelling to conferences and getting feedback from their peers, this coming event will focus on providing discussion opportunities. We invite any researcher with an interest in the history of games to send short proposals (80-120 words) presenting their current research interests or an idea they would like to explore. We will assemble workshops by regrouping similar proposals and asking relevant experts from our network to join the conversation. These workshops will be held privately on Zoom, adjusting to each group’s preferences and time zones. We seek to accept as many short proposals as possible and assemble the program from there. We also accept applications to act as respondent.
In this context, we invite YOU to define the relevant topics that will help develop our understanding of game histories, including material and cultural inspections of sports, tabletop games and videogames. The steering committee of the conference series gives a good sense of the scope of experts we seek to bring into these conversations: https://www.history-of-games.com/steering-commitee/
The event will also feature keynote addresses by:
Wendi Sierra, author of Todd Howard. Worldbuilding in Tamriel and Beyond. Prof. Sierra will address the legacy of The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, released 20 years ago.
Alexis Blanchet, author of Une histoire du jeu vidéo en France: 1960 – 1991. Dr. Blanchet will revisit the first occurrences of games in France, in universities, in arcades, and how an industry developed from there.
Véronique Dasen, author of several books and project lead of the ERC-funded project Locus ludi. Prof. Dasen will discuss this project, aimed at studying « the cultural fabric of play and games in Classical Antiquity ».
Programme
(all times in the schedule are CET)
October 24 18:00 – 20:00 |
Workshop: Non human agency in game history Participants: Kelly Boudreau, Sara Gonzales Fernandez, Christine Tomlinson Moderator: Bart Simon |
October 25 02:30 – 04:00 |
Workshop: Women in gaming cultures Participants: Stephanie Harkin, Xing Wang Moderator: Anne Ladyem McDivitt |
October 26 11:00 – 13:00 |
Workshop: Language games Participants: Rebecca Bayeck, Joleen Blom and Elina Koskinen, Jaume Esteve, Michael Wagnières Moderator: David Javet |
October 28 15:00 – 17:00 |
Workshop: Sports, games and cultural legitimization Participants: David Murphy, Douglas Stark, Xie Siqi and Zhang Xinyue Moderator: Rachael Hutchinson |
October 31 14:00 – 15:30 |
Keynote: French Touche ! Writing on video game local history in France : sources, interviews and the benefit of a lack of nostalgia… Alexis Blanchet |
October 31 17:00 – 19:30 |
Workshop: Bootleg histories Participants: Loïc Cremer, Patrick Dolan, Alexandre Declos, Ian Larson, Camille Laurelli Moderator: Fanny Barnabé |
November 2 14:00 – 16:00 |
Workshop: Local histories Participants: Lofan Brown, Jaume Esteve, Bruno de Paula, Alesha Serada Moderator: Souvik Mukherjee |
November 3 12:00 – 02:00 |
Workshop: Hybrid mechanics Participants: Lucas Friche, Sylvain Payen, Mikael D. F. Sebag, Booth Wilson Moderator: Victor Navarro Remesal |
November 4 10:00 – 12:00 |
Workshop: Sex, drugs, dystopia and failure Participants: Charlotte Courtois, Andrew Ferguson, Kieran Nolan, Alex Wade Moderator: Pierre-Yves Hurel |
November 4 16:00 – 18:00 |
Workshop: Online preservation challenges Participants: Annie Harrisson, Ignacio Barragan Lozano, Loïc Mineau Murray Moderator: Jonathan Lessard |
November 7 14:00 – 16:00 |
Workshop: Oral histories Participants: Riccardo Fassone, Dany Guay-Bélanger, Guillaume Guenat Moderator: Marco Benoit Carbone |
November 7 18:00 – 19:30 |
Keynote: Locus ludi : New insights in ancient play and games Véronique Dasen |
November 8 19:30 – 21:30 |
Workshop: Platform studies and code reading Participants: Shankar Ganesh, Stefan Höltgen, Jesper Juul, Patryk Wasiak Moderator: Pierre Depaz |
November 10 07:00-10:00 |
Special panel: East asian gaming histories Participants: Ju Hyung Shin, Daichi Nakagawa, Jung Yeop Lee, Kyung Hyuk Lee, Jian Deng, Zhang Cheng Moderator: Bora Na |
November 11 16:00 – 17:30 |
General meeting |
November 11 18:00 – 19:30 |
Keynote: Morrowind at 20: Reflections on a classic Wendi Sierra |