Videogames Transcending Play: An Academic Call for Deeper Exploration

The world of videogames is rapidly evolving, pushing beyond the traditional boundaries of mere entertainment. A significant academic call, "Beyond Play. Aesthetics, Technology, and Design in Videogames as Socio-Cultural Practices," seeks to delve into the profound ways these interactive digital experiences function as integral socio-cultural phenomena. This special issue of the journal GAME – Games as Art, Media, Entertainment invites researchers to explore how videogames actively shape our identities, forge communities, influence values, and construct collective imaginaries.

Beyond Entertainment: Videogames as Lived Practice

Videogames are increasingly recognized not as static objects but as dynamic, performative experiences. They act as intricate cultural laboratories where the convergence of aesthetic principles, sophisticated design strategies, and robust technological infrastructures creates novel forms of expression, fosters creativity, and facilitates collective meaning-making. This perspective frames videogames as a continuous negotiation between players and designers, humans and machines, and the realms of imagination and computation.

Interdisciplinary Exploration Invited

This academic endeavor seeks to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue, drawing expertise from game studies, communication, design, digital humanities, media studies, philosophy, and the arts. The aim is to critically analyze the practical, aesthetic, and cultural dimensions of videogames and their far-reaching implications for contemporary societies. Scholars are encouraged to examine the myriad ways these digital worlds intersect with and influence our lived realities.

Key Areas of Inquiry

The call outlines several critical areas for investigation. These include examining videogames as everyday practices that mold socio-cultural identities through gaming habits and communities. The role of design as a cultural practice, highlighting the negotiation between creativity, technology, and player agency, is also a focal point. Furthermore, the influence of technological infrastructures and imaginaries—such as AI, VR/AR/MR, and platform ecosystems—on play aesthetics and practices is of great interest.

Community, Ethics, and Methodologies

Additional themes proposed for exploration encompass videogames as participatory and relational spaces, where community-building, fandom, streaming, and modding thrive as player-driven practices. The concept of critical play and counter-practices, including subversive uses of videogames as aesthetic and cultural interventions, is another vital area. The journal also seeks contributions that address ethics, inclusion, and representation in practice, scrutinizing how design and play dynamics reinforce or challenge existing power structures and societal norms.

Embracing Diverse Methodologies

To facilitate a comprehensive understanding, the special issue welcomes a broad range of scholarly contributions. This includes empirical studies employing qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, as well as theoretical and critical essays. Case studies grounded in cultural, artistic, or community-based contexts are also encouraged, alongside papers presenting methodological innovations for studying the complex interplay between game design, technology, and lived experience.

A Call for Original Research

The deadline for full paper submissions is November 30, 2025, with a double-blind peer review process ensuring the quality and rigor of the selected works. Accepted papers are slated for publication in the 2025 issue of GAME – Games as Art, Media, Entertainment, offering a timely platform for cutting-edge research.

Shaping Future Understandings

This initiative represents a crucial step in advancing our understanding of videogames from simple diversions to complex cultural forces. By encouraging scholars to look "Beyond Play," the call promises to enrich the discourse on how digital interactive media are fundamentally interwoven with the fabric of modern society, impacting our perceptions, interactions, and collective future.

Source Insight: This report was curated based on original coverage from ispr.info.

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