Hi all,

There is just two days left to submit your abstract for MultiPlay's conference, Games in the Zeitgeist, taking place online 28th January 2025, 6pm GMT.

With the constant and exciting release of new games by the day, the watchful public eye and the current focus of conversation in games communities and scholarship is a frequently shifting terrain. Within the last 12 months alone, we’ve seen discourse leap from new entries in the Zelda series, Baldur’s Gate 3, the latest Bethesda game Starfield, the unexpected significant rise and consequent drop of players in Helldivers 2, the release and reproach of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and a surprise remaster of the cult classic Beyond Good and Evil. This is to only mention a few, and in a discipline that fluctuates so frequently we rarely get the opportunity to stop and savour the moment.

In this new MultiPlay conference, amidst the fast paced zeitgeist, we’d like to take a step back, take stock, and reflect on the last year (or so) of games, with a particular focus on the highlights, trends, and foci of discussion within games communities. This is a celebration of the highs and lows of 2023-24 in gaming.

We are seeking 300-word abstracts offering critical perspectives on games and discourse from the last 12-18 months. We encourage submissions spanning a wide range of topics and trends from 2023-24. Some prompts for topics include:
The evolution of the Zelda series in Tears of the Kingdom or Echoes of Wisdom.
The narrative autonomy in Baldur’s Gate 3.
The live storytelling in Helldivers 2’s ongoing galactic war.
Live-service games such as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
The difficulty debate surrounding games such as Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO and Silent Hill 2.
Developer and fandom relationships in Black Myth: Wukong.
Fan reaction to Ghost of Yotei.
The enduring popularity of Final Fantasy.
We also encourage submissions from a range of perspectives, backgrounds, and subject areas, from humanities, arts, science, and beyond, and we welcome academics and practitioners alike.

Accepted presentations will be 10-15 minutes long, followed by a 5 minutes Q&A. Please send 300 word abstracts and 100 word author bios to: networkmultiplay@gmail.com by 29th November 2024.

Lisa Meek
PhD Candidate
University of Sunderland

Co-Chair
MultiPlay Network