[CFP] Video Game Art Reader - Issue 4

Video Game Art Reader Issue 4
Call for Papers

Video Game Art Reader is accepting submissions through March 20th!
=20
The Video Game Art Reader (VGAR) is currently accepting submissions from =
practitioners, researchers, and educators for its four issue. The theme f=
or this Issue is Overclocking. A detailed overview of the scope this them=
e is included below. If interested, please submit your draft article to T=
iffany Funk at the address provided below no later than midnight on March=
 20th. Late submissions will be accepted at the discretion of the editors=
.=20

VGAR is an annual, peer-reviewed, art history journal published through t=
he Video Game Art Gallery. VGAR=E2=80=99s primary aim is to facilitate co=
nversation and exploration of video game art through an inclusive discour=
se about the far-reaching influence of video games on history, society, a=
nd culture.

Sincerely,=20=20

Michael Reed
Managing Editor
Video Game Art Reader=20

Issue 4 Theme: OVERCLOCKING

In computing, overclocking refers to the common practice of increasing th=
e clock rate of a computer to exceed that certified by the manufacturer. =
While the concept is seductive=E2=80=94buy the slower, lower-cost central=
 processing unit (CPU), accelerate the clock speed, and presto! you have =
a cheap, high-end processor=E2=80=94overclocking may destroy your CPU, mo=
therboard, and system memory, or irreparably corrupt your hard drive (voi=
ding your warranty being the least of your problems).

This issue of the Video Game Art Reader (VGAR) proposes overclocking as a=
 metaphor for how games are produced and experienced today, and the tempo=
ral compressions and expansions of the many historical lineages that have=
 shaped game art and culture. In the same way that a computer user might =
overclock the processor of their machine to achieve results beyond its in=
tended use, how can video game art studies overclock its received histori=
cal boundaries and intervene on current understandings of video game prac=
tices that are accelerating past their limits? Might overclocking practic=
es also produce strain on video games and their stakeholders in ways that=
 need to be identified and understood?

VGAR is currently accepting submissions that critically analyze video gam=
e art at the limits of temporality: through long historical vectors, acro=
ss significant investments of lived human experience, and in terms of oth=
er considerations of time.

Possible topics and questions include but are not limited to:

=E2=97=8F Expansions of, or interventions into, theories of media archaeo=
logy. How might we expand a media archaeology of video game aesthetics, g=
enres, or modes of play, and what do these histories help us understand a=
bout the present?
=E2=97=8F As cultural critics, how do we respond to the overclocked deman=
ds of video game labor across all levels of production, from art games to=
 indie to AAA?
=E2=97=8F How do we reconcile the extensive play time demanded by certain=
 games, and the overwhelming volume of games available, with the limited =
attention (or life) spans of audiences?=20=20
=E2=97=8F What kinds of historical grounding can be identified in the vis=
ual culture that precedes and informs the current video game paradigm, an=
d what are the conceptual underpinnings of these choices?
=E2=97=8F How are the conventions of contemporary video game art distribu=
ted across digital and non-digital media?

Deadline for Submissions is March 20, 2019.=20

All submissions and questions should be sent to: tfunk (at) vgagallery (d=
ot) org.

For more information and formatting guidelines, visit Video Game Art Read=
er @ https://www.videogameartgallery.com/vga-reader

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
General list info and FAQ: http://comm.umn.edu/~grodman/cultstud.html