The 2024 conference was hosted by the Department of Performing and Digital Arts, University of the Peloponnese, Greece.
Theme: Reimagining Games, Art and Performativity
The conference theme, ‘Reimagining Games, Art, and Performativity’ will allow us to delve into the historical parallels, intersections, challenges, and tensions traditionally inherent within these three concepts. We therefore invite scholars, researchers, artists, and game design professionals to submit proposals for presentations within one of these thematic areas.
The conference theme, ‘Reimagining Games, Art, and Performativity’ will allow us to delve into the historical parallels, intersections, challenges, and tensions traditionally inherent within these three concepts.
Within game studies, commonly explored themes include the recognition of games as art forms, artistic practices embedded in gaming culture, the performative interplay between gaming as an action and a spectacle, and the use of games as platforms for personal, social, cultural, and political expressions. The question of whether a game like Disco Elysium (2019) or Alan Wake 2 (2023) can be considered art has been historically debated by many, and the criteria for labelling something as art (Tavinor, 2009) is still a question in disguise. Art games, such as “The Artist is Present” (2011) by Pippin Bar, Paolo Pedercini’s Molleindustira project, and autobiographical games like That Dragon Cancer (Numinous Games, 2016) and Dys4ia (Anthrophy, 2012), highlight the significance of subversive game design, theorized by Flanagan in 2009.
On the other hand, the notion of ludic art, as articulated by Arne Kjell Vikhagen (2019), underscores the myriad intersections between art, games, and all the in-between states of experience. This encompasses art as games, gamified and playful elements integrated into artistic practices, gamified systemic design for art applications, and experimental use of gaming hardware and software in art. Ludic art and installations, such as Alan Kaprow’s pioneering work, Miltos Manetas’s “videogame iconography” (Clarke & Mitchele, 2007), and Bill Viola’s innovative video art, have historically been significant for the intersection between art and games. At the same time, new challenges have paved the way for innovative, playful artistic expressions. Art projects using game engines like Unity or Unreal spark discussions on the cultural significance of gaming software. Playformances like Dating of Isaac (Pitoum, 2023) or the Incholm Project (Bozdog, 2016) merge performative arts with video games, blurring the lines between in-game and off-game experiences.
As Frank Lantz points out, echoing the ideas of Eric Zimmerman, it is crucial to recognize that games and gaming culture should not be reduced solely to their utilitarian benefits (Lantz, 2023, p. 113). Both scholars argue that games can offer a unique perspective on the world and enhance our understanding of how systems, life, and playful artistic experiences interact. In this light, the notion of re-enchanting the world through games and art becomes a tangible possibility. This perspective offers a valuable framework for understanding innovative forms of artistic expression and their broader social and cultural implications. Additionally, gaining insight into the diverse artistic practices within gaming culture and industry enable us to reimagine games as artifacts. Thus, there is a pressing need to reimagine the relationship between games, art and performativity. We therefore invite scholars, researchers, artists, and game design professionals
to submit proposals for presentations within one of these thematic areas:
● Games as an artistic expression: how games shape human discourse, contribute to new forms of design, produce new ways of critical thinking, and negotiate societal topics.
● Art games versus game-based art: theoretical inquiries into the distinctions and similarities between art games and game-based art; conceptual analysis of specific art games and/or game-based artworks; how these genres are perceived, evaluated, and interpreted by critics, scholars, and audiences.
● Games and “high art” versus “folk art” and camp: how these terms are being defined and framed within the context of games; historical transitions that have influenced our understanding of games and their significance in contemporary society; Representations and depictions of games and gaming culture in art; the concept of kitsch and camp, in games and gaming culture within national contexts.
● Radical art games and identity exploration: the transformative potential of radical art games, focusing on their impact on identity exploration and how they challenge social norms; critical analysis of specific game art projects.
● Archaeology and historiography of games and art: historical intersections between games and art; methodological underpinnings of archaeological research on games and art; manifestations of material gaming culture (game consoles, controllers, cartridges, and game boxes, as well as artworks related to gaming such as promotional materials and merchandise).
● Playful immersive technologies and embodiment: Immersive qualities of games and how they contribute to embodied experiences, blurring the lines between the virtual and the physical; new aesthetic experiences and immersiveness in games and playful art projects.
● Performance studies and video games: gaming as a performative medium; how player actions, narratives, mechanics, and other interactive elements contribute to the broader field of performance studies; the theatrical, improvisational, and narrative dimensions of games.
● Playformance and experimental design: defining the boundaries and innovative potentials of “playformance” and experimental design in games; case study analyses of playformative practices; experimental approaches to gameplay and interactive experiences.
● Modding as a creative pursuit: the creative potential of modding in games; how player-generated modifications contribute to new and unique gaming experiences; modding in playful art projects and interactive art experiences.
● Player performances: player performances beyond the game itself, including the rise of game streaming and its impact on gaming culture.
● Games as a creative industry: the impact of economic circumstances, cultural policies, and labor issues on creative work within the game industry.
● Independent developers and video game artists: showcasing the creativity of independent developers and video game artists, highlighting their unique contributions to the gaming landscape; independent video games as an act of resistance and the quest for authenticity.
● Contemporary art and video games: the convergence of contemporary art and video games; how artists incorporate game cultural references and symbols, gaming hardware, and software in their work.
● Reimagining society through games and art: New technologies as sandbox spaces for co-creative, subversive game design in art- challenging norms through games; Game mechanics and game design in decentralized art projects