CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

for a topical issue of Open Philosophy

PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES TO GAMES AND GAMIFICATION: ETHICAL, AESTHETIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL PERSPECTIVES


second call





Open Philosophy (https://www.degruyter.com/opphil) invites submissions for the topical issue " Philosophical Approaches to Games and Gamification: Ethical, Aesthetic, Technological and Political Perspectives," edited by Giannis Perperidis (Panteion University, Greece).    



DESCRIPTION



This special issue aims at exploring innovative philosophical approaches on games and gamification. Numerous philosophers in various historical periods attempted to explore the ontological, ethical, political and economic foundations of play and games. From Heraclitus to Kant, Nietzsche and most recent scholars, play and games are related to aesthetic, temporal, ontological, and political matters. Digital games and virtual worlds have challenged typical boundaries of thought in the before-mentioned fields. A philosophy of games and virtual worlds needs to approach old and new ways we perceive play and games and address issues deriving from aspects such as virtual reality, playing vs games in the analogue or digital worlds and digital games production.


Moreover, an important issue concerning the relation of games and society is gamification. In a broad sense, gamification means the transition of gaming categories of thought, habits and structures into “real” procedures such as communication in online platforms, structuring of working spaces, personal development or even the “credit system”. Gamification’s consequences have not yet highlighted in depth: the way “platform capitalism” works; the way workers are bound to companies via aesthetically designed “treats”; the shaping of working hours and space; the digitally designed smart cities; the way politicians acquire and fascinate their audience; the way “nudge” works. All of the abovementioned elements of gamification need to be evaluated in regard to their ethical and political implementations.

Contributions may address (but not be limited to) the following topics:


Revisions of older philosophical approaches to play and games.

Innovative aesthetic issues concerning digital games (are digital worlds works of art? What kind of temporality do digital worlds entail?).

What is the essence of virtual reality created by digital games? What affordances does it generate? Does it entail ontological, metaphysical and/or representational issues?

Power relations and digital worlds.

Gaming production and philosophical issues (ethical, political and/or economic matters)

Is gamification ethical? How should we assess the political communication of political leaders who attempt to fascinate their audience through gamifying techniques and technologies? How are modern technical artifacts influenced by gamification? What are the consequences of Virtual Reality in production? How is it used and how can it be ethically and politically evaluated?

Technological issues concerning digital games and/or gamification technologies and/or gamified technologies.

We especially welcome contributions that raise (and/or attempt to answer) philosophical questions regarding technical and economic dimensions of the before-mentioned topics.


Authors publishing their articles in the special issue will benefit from:

· transparent, comprehensive and fast peer review,

· efficient route to fast-track publication and full advantage of De Gruyter's e-technology.



Because Open Philosophy is published under an Open Access model, as a rule, publication costs should be covered by so called Article Publishing Charges (APC), paid by authors, their affiliated institutions, funders or sponsors.



Authors without access to publishing funds are encouraged to discuss potential discounts or waivers with Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk (katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com) before submitting their manuscripts.





HOW TO SUBMIT



Submissions will be collected until March 31, 2025.


To submit an article for the special issue of Open Philosophy, authors are asked to access the online submission system at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/opphil/



Please choose as article type: Games and Gamification



Before submission the authors should carefully read over the Instruction for Authors, available

at: https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/OPPHIL/downloadAsset/OPPHIL_Instruction%20for%20Authors.pdf



All contributions will undergo critical review before being accepted for publication.



Further questions about this thematic issue can be addressed to Giannis Perperidis at johnperpe@gmail.com. In case of technical problems with submission, please contact AssistantManagingEditor@degruyter.com



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