The Department of Information Science and Media Studies at the University of Bergen and its Nordic partners call for papers and student presentations for a workshop on the philosophy of games to be held at the alternative culture site Regenbogenfabrik in Berlin, Germany, 19-20 May 2023.

Games are a source of fascinating philosophical issues addressed by current games research, and which increasingly are catching the attention of traditional philosophers. In a series of “Nordic Explorative Workshops” we aim to provide arenas where students and scholars in philosophy and game studies can discuss their projects. We reach out to scholars who would like to contribute to this emerging field, and to bachelor and master students writing essays about such issues.

The first workshop is dedicated to themes that pertain to action and subject positioning in a game. We invite submissions on issues that relate to the character of action in relation to interactivity with the system, subjectivity and avatarhood, fictionality and virtual actions, gameness, perception of objects and environments, depiction and the status of the image, and issues that pertain to ethics and aesthetics.

Examples of questions that can be addressed are:

• What is the psychological structure of gaming acts?
• How should we evaluate moral norms in the context of play?
• What are you doing when you are acting in virtual worlds?
• What is the relation between the physical actions of the player and their ludic and narrative representations?
• What forms of aesthetic appreciation are peculiar to action in games?
• What forms of intentionality and subjectivity are found in avatar-based actions?
• How do avatars occupy fictional and real roles?
• How is action in games tied to the perception of affordances?

For full paper presentations and student presentations we ask for an abstract (max 300 words) along with a short bio (max 100 words).

The seminar is open for international submitters, but the program will have an emphasis on speakers with affiliations to Nordic institutions.

The seminar is open for general attendance, to the extent we have space. For requests for attendance we ask for a short bio (50 words) with institutional affiliation.

Send abstracts/bios to PhilGamesAction@gmail.com by April 20, 2023. Notification of inclusion in the workshop program will be sent out by April 27, 2023.

We may be able to offer to cover some of the expenses for some of the Nordic participants.

The workshop is funded by the Joint Committee for Nordic research councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS). We aim to have a selection of the papers published in Journal of the Philosophy of Games.

Information about the workshop and the series: https://nordicgamephilosophy.w.uib.no/

Please sign up to the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/586402056592864/

Rune Klevjer (Project leader), University of Bergen
John R. Sageng (Coordinator), Game Philosophy Network.