CHI PLAY is the international and interdisciplinary conference, sponsored by ACM SIGCHI, for researchers and professionals across all areas of play, games, and human-computer interaction (HCI). We call this area ’player-computer interaction’. The goal of the CHI PLAY conference is to highlight and foster discussion on high quality research in games and HCI, as foundations for the future of digital play. To this end, the conference blends academic research papers, interactive demos, and industry case studies.

As a SIGCHI-sponsored conference, CHI PLAY welcomes contributions that further an understanding of the player experience, as well as contributions on novel designs or implementations of player-computer interactions, including but not limited to the following:

  • Playful interactions and new game mechanics
  • Studies of applied games and player experiences
  • Games & Play for health
  • Games & Play for learning
  • Tangible play
  • Persuasive games
  • Games for change
  • Neurogames
  • Gamification
  • Accessible and inclusive game design
  • Advances in game user research and game evaluation methods
  • Psychology of players and game design
  • Virtual and augmented reality in games
  • Novel game controls or display technologies for games
  • Tools for game creation
  • Innovations in game design and development practices
  • Game analytics and novel visualizations of player experiences
  • Developer experiences and studies of developers
  • Industry case studies

Although CHI PLAY welcomes contributions on the effects of various technologies, software, or algorithms on player experience, technical contributions without clear indications of the impact on players or developers are not within the scope of CHI PLAY.

All times are 23:59 Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone (UTC -10:00).

Full Papers

Authors are invited to submit high-quality original work to advance the field of player-computer interaction research. CHI PLAY 2018 welcomes submissions that further our understanding of the player experience, as well as contributions on novel designs or implementations of player-computer interactions.

Important dates

  • April 13, 2018: Full Papers submission deadline
  • June 13, 2018: Reviews sent to authors
  • June 19, 2018: Rebuttal deadline
  • July 6, 2018: Decisions sent to authors
  • August 10, 2018: Final camera-ready papers due

Submission

Spotlight Papers

By bringing research and industry closer, the game research, design and development community can benefit. ‘Spotlight on …’ is a new track at CHI PLAY focusing on specific topics of interest to the community, highlighting significant work from both industry and research. The track is particularly suitable for individuals, studios, and companies who want to showcase their work and share lessons learned from success and failure.

Important dates

  • July 13, 2018: Spotlight papers submission deadline
  • August 17, 2018: Notification of acceptance
  • August 31, 2018: Final camera-ready papers due

Submission

Works-in-Progress

Work-in-Progress contributions provide a unique opportunity for late-breaking results to be presented in a poster format. Papers will be peer-reviewed and accepted submissions are archived in the companion proceedings in the ACM Digital Library.

Important dates

  • July 13, 2018: Works-in-Progress papers submission deadline
  • August 17, 2018: Notification of acceptance
  • August 31, 2018: Final camera-ready papers due

Submission

  • Up to 6 pages (references excluded) in SIGCHI Extended Abstract Format
  • Submissions must be made using the Precision Conference System
  • Submissions are not anonymous and should include all author names, affiliations, and contact information
  • The submission comprises the Extended Abstract only; a poster is only required for accepted submissions at the time of the conference

Doctoral Consortium

The CHI PLAY 2018 Doctoral Consortium provides an opportunity for doctoral students to explore and develop their research interests in games and HCI in an interdisciplinary workshop, under the guidance of a panel of distinguished researchers. We invite students who feel they would benefit from this kind of feedback on their dissertation work to apply for this unique opportunity to share their work with students in a similar situation as well as senior researchers in the field.

Important dates

  • July 13, 2018: Doctoral Consortium submission deadline
  • August 17, 2018: Notification of acceptance
  • August 31, 2018: Final camera-ready abstracts due
  • October 28, 2018: Consortium held on Sunday, as a single track.

Submission

  • Submission is a single PDF document containing:
    • 4 page (excluding references) SIGCHI Extended Abstract Format paper
    • 3 to 4 page appendix
    • The document must follow the format and structure outlined in the Doctoral Consortium CFP, which is specified in detail in the message from the Doctoral Consortium Chairs
  • Submissions must be made using the Precision Conference System
  • Submissions are not anonymous and should include all author names, affiliations, and contact information

Student Game Design Competition

The CHI PLAY Student Game Competition will provide a unique opportunity for students to showcase their interactive play systems and designs. Students will need to submit a video of their game as well as proof of student status (full-time or part-time, all levels up to Ph.D.). A jury panel will nominate the best submissions for an interactive presentation at the conference, where a panel of experts choose the winners. These nominated teams have to send at least one student member who will attend the conference. This team member is expected to present the game during the Student Game Competition Event and take part in the award ceremony. Supervisors are NOT accepted to present the game nor to accept the award. Registration and full attendance of at least one student from the team at the CHI PLAY 2018 conference is mandatory.

Important dates

  • July 13, 2018: Student Game Design Competition submission deadline
  • August 17, 2018: Notification of acceptance
  • August 31, 2018: Final camera-ready abstracts due

Submission

  • Submission includes:
    • Up to 6 pages (references excluded) in SIGCHI Extended Abstract Format
    • Gameplay video
    • Proof of student status
    • Optional but recommended: Executable game with 2 page technical requirements and installation description
  • Submissions are anonymous
  • Submissions must be made using the Precision Conference System
  • Interactive demonstration at the conference

Interactivity & Play Exhibition

The Interactivity track is an opportunity for researchers, designers and artists within the wider CHI Play community to showcase their work in a hands-on setting that gives conference attendees the opportunity to explore and discuss their systems. We are looking for submissions that push the boundaries of playful human-computer interaction through technical advancement, innovative interaction concepts, or stimulate artistic and critical reflection through design. Each submission to this track consists of a live artefact to be demonstrated at the conference along with an extended abstract submission that describes the system.

Important Dates

  • July 13, 2018: Interactivity submission deadline
  • August 17, 2018: Notification of acceptance
  • August 31, 2018: Final camera-ready abstracts due

Submission Details

  • Submission includes:
  • Submissions are not anonymous and should include all author names, affiliations, and contact information
  • Submissions must be made using the Precision Conference System

Workshops

Workshops provide an informal setting for presenting, discussing and demonstrating new developments on a specific theme or domain of the CHI PLAY core areas, focusing on novel perspectives and ideas. Workshops provide great opportunities for community-building at CHI PLAY. In prior conferences, some workshops have resulted e.g. in special journal issues, books, and research projects. Others created communities and evolved into their own conferences. We especially welcome workshop proposals that bridge the gap between practitioner and researcher knowledge.

Courses

Courses at CHI PLAY should allow participants to learn new hands-on knowledge about player-game interaction, development and evaluation. They are great opportunities for industry professionals to teach their knowledge to an interested audience and allow interdisciplinary knowledge development between practitioners and researchers. If you work in game education/research or game development and are eager to teach a workshop at CHI PLAY, we look forward to your submission.

Important Dates

  • May 25, 2018: Course proposals submission (by prospective course instructors)
  • June 24, 2018: Course proposals notification (to prospective workshop organizers)

Submission

  • Submission includes:
  • Submissions are not anonymous and should include all author names, affiliations, and contact information
  • Submissions must be made using the Precision Conference System