Replaying Japan 2022 – The 10th International Japan: Game Studies Conference
Conference theme: Games for Learning
Date: August 25-28, 2022
Location: Hosted online and on site at Osaka Ibaraki Campus by Ritsumeikan University
Deadline for proposals: April 15th, 2022
Please be aware that, as of now, it is not possible to enter Japan on a tourist visa. No exceptions can be made for academic conferences. Participants from outside Japan should assume at this stage that their presentation will be made online. We thank you for your understanding and will update you if there are any changes.
Proposals in Japanese are most welcome! 日本語での発表要旨も受け付けます!
Call for Papers
Since 2012, when we held the first meeting in Edmonton, the Replaying Japan conference has hosted researchers from various fields conducting research on Japanese game culture. The tenth international conference will be hosted by Ritsumeikan University at the Osaka Ibaraki Campus. After a two year hiatus, we hope to have some aspects of this conference conducted on-site, with an online section for those unable to make it to Osaka. Through this conference we wish to continue to celebrate the rich and international research community interested in games and Japan that has evolved since 2012.
This year’s conference theme will be “Games for Learning”. Games in various formats will always have a role in our society, we learn through them, about them, and in playing them. While some might see games as frivolous play, others can see the learning potential gaming can provide. In the right context, games can be a powerful learning tool for children and adults alike.
This theme has been selected to allow participants to demonstrate the broad range in which Japanese games can be used as an instrument for learning. Particular attention will therefore be paid to how learning is represented in Japanese games. Proposals that address games for learning in Japanese game culture are thus encouraged, but other topics are also welcome. This conference focuses broadly on Japanese game culture, education, and industry. It aims to bring academics, educators, and the Japanese game industry together. Academics from all perspectives are welcome, including the humanities, social sciences, business, and education. We encourage poster/demonstration proposals of games or interactive projects related to these themes.
Conference Format
As the conference is being held in a hybrid format (online and on site), we will be following a compressed presentation format where presentations are short to leave time for questions.
- Each session will be 30 minutes and will have a chair.
- We will ask that full papers/posters/demos be uploaded a week before the conference to a conference website.
- During the online sessions, presenters will not present their papers. Instead they will be given 3 minutes to summarize their work.
- There will be a respondent who will comment briefly on the papers/posters/demos and ask the first questions.
- We will take written questions from the online chat.
- Sessions will be in English, but we will have translation support for presenters who are not comfortable with English.
- For work in progress there will be a special Lightning Talks session.
- All sessions will be recorded and shared among the participants. We intend to make them accessible to a wider audience after the conference, pending the approval of the speakers.
Submission Guidelines
Abstracts must be submitted to replayingjapan@gmail.com as a MS Word Document. The abstract should be no more than 500 words. Figures, tables and references do not count toward the word limit. Please include your name, affiliation and email address in the email, but not in the submitted abstract. In addition, please add the title of your presentation/demo in the email as well when submitting.
The following paper categories are welcome:
- Full papers: If accepted you will be expected to submit a paper (around 3,000 words) or a video presentation (up to 20 minutes) in English one week before the conference.
- Posters/demos: Presenters who want to demonstrate innovative work best shown visually rather than submit a written paper should take advantage of our poster/demo sessions. If accepted you will be expected to submit a poster OR a short video (up to 5 minutes) in English a week before the conference. Again, there will be an online session where you can talk to your poster/demo.
- Lightning Talks: If you have work in progress that you would like to present we will have a Lightning Talk format. Abstracts can be shorter than 500 words. If accepted you will be expected to post a short video a week before and to submit a single PowerPoint slide. We will have a session when each Lightning Talk presenter will get 1 minute to talk to their slide.
It is understood that by submitting to Replaying Japan 2022 you assert that the work is original and that there are no copyright issues. You also agree to let the University of Alberta post you work and archive the conference proceedings/video/draft papers.
Note that we plan to have support for Japanese speakers for whom presenting in English is difficult. We will have workshops in Japanese for graduate students on preparing for presentations at international conferences. We will also have ad-hoc translation support during the conference to help with presentations and questions.
Announcing: The Prince Takamado Japan Centre will also be awarding two essay prizes (1500 words) to the best student presentations on Japanese games. These will have a value of $500 CAD each.
Important dates
Submission of proposals: April 15, 2022
Notification of acceptance: May 31, 2022
Revised proposals in English due: July 15, 2022
Full papers, video presentations, posters etc.: August 10, 2022
Conference: August 25-28, 2022
Contact Information
For more information see www.replaying.jp or contact replayingjapan@gmail.com.
You can follow us on Twitter at #replayingjapan
Organizing Committee
Replaying Japan 2022 is organized by the Ritsumeikan Center for Game Studies, in collaboration with University of Alberta (AI for Society (AI4S) signature area, the Prince Takamado Japan Centre (PTJC), and the Kule Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS)), University of Delaware, Bath Spa University, Seijoh University, University of Liège, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and DiGRA Japan.
Komodo 21, n°16, “Les longs formats dans la presse”, dir. Valérie Jeanne-Perrier, Violaine Sauty, Oriane Deseilligny, 2022.
Benjamin Lavigne, 
La Revue des lettres modernes,
Nouvelle Revue d’Esthétique, n° 28, “Esthétisation”, dir. Emmanuel Alloa et Christoph Haffter, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 2021. 
