Communities and the discourses they foster play a crucial role in shaping how games are both designed and experienced. Salen and Zimmerman (2004) describe how games are cultural artefacts engaged with dynamic exchanges of meaning with their surrounding cultural contexts. These open cultural contexts influence can transform both games and their environments. Consalvo (2007) expands this understanding by discussing how videogame paratexts, such as guides and fan-created content, serve as vital pedagogical tools that shape how players approach and engage with games. Similarly, Mukherjee (2015) presents games as multifaceted “assemblages” shaped by the communities that form around them, while Keogh (2018) explores how these contexts inform embodied literacies that influence player behaviours.

You may be a game studies scholar, researcher, developer, or other practitioner interested in how community engagement shapes the interactive processes of games or influences the creative decisions behind them. For this edited collection we are seeking contributions that explore the impact of communities on either gameplay or game design. Abstract submissions should clearly identify a research question that addresses how communities influence one of these areas. Submissions should also demonstrate engagement with relevant literature, using Harvard style citations.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• The influence of fan communities on game design choices (e.g., mechanics, narratives, presentation)
• How modding or fan-made content contribute to or practice ongoing game development
• The impact of community-driven strategies and emergent playstyles on gameplay experiences
• Developer-community relationships and their role in shaping future game content
• Multiplayer and online communities defining standards of “fair” play, competition, and cooperation
• The role of social media, forums, and streaming platforms in constructing and maintaining game communities
• Non-digital games and how communities shape rules and experiences in tabletop, board games, and other formats
• How developers cater to and engage with niche game communities (e.g., cozy games)
• Platform-specific cultures (e.g., console wars) and their influence on player behaviours and design decisions
• Ethnographic studies of specific game communities

Submission Guidelines:
Please include your name, a brief biography (100 words), and an abstract of up to 500 words (excluding citations). Abstracts should articulate how community plays a role in shaping either gameplay or design and provide clear references to existing literature. Proposals should be submitted to gitgud.multiplay@gmail.com. For any questions, feel free to contact the editors.

Editors:
Kevin Veale (K.R.Veale@massey.ac.nz) and Adam Jerrett (adam.jerrett@port.ac.uk)

Timeline:

• Deadline for abstracts: 1 December 2024
• Notices of acceptance: 20 December 2024
• Full chapter submission: 30 March 2025
• Estimated publication: Q1/Q2 2026

Once sufficient abstracts are received, book proposals will be submitted to various publishers, including those the MultiPlay network has worked with before, such as Bloomsbury, Palgrave MacMillan, and Intellect Books.

Bibliography:

• Consalvo, M., 2007. Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
• Keogh, B., 2018. A Play of Bodies: How We Perceive Videogames. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
• Mukherjee, S., 2015. Video Games and Storytelling: Reading Games and Playing Books. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
• Salen, K., Zimmerman, E., 2004. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.