Game Cultures cluster presents: History of Games Conference 2024

By Poppy Wilde on April 30th, 2024


BCMCR’s Game Cultures cluster is proud to be hosting the 2024 History of Games conference, 22-24 May. Registration is now open!

In 2023, the History of Games conference celebrated its 10th anniversary. During this time, the conference has visited Montréal, Copenhagen and Zoom. In Philosophical Investigations, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1958: 65-67) says that in games there is a ‘complicated network of similarities’, and that he ‘can think of no better expression to characterize these similarities than “family resemblances”[…]: “games” form a family’. This is the departure point for our conference theme, “Families of Games”. Games, like families, are central to the creation of our lifeworld. In May 2024, then, we look forward to welcoming you to Birmingham in the United Kingdom to celebrate the growing family of international researchers investigating histories of games.

We are delighted to welcome three keynote speakers to History of Games 2024. Each keynote speaker will kick off one day of the conference, offering key considerations of the current state of game studies that deal in some way with historical issues – be they industry, research, or development.

Dr Tom Apperley interrogates “Hugh Hefner’s “Homo Ludens””.

Dr Regina Seiwald presents “La Famiglia: The Mafia and Videogames”.

John Szczepaniak explores “Tracing forgotten family lineages through oral histories”.

The conference website has full details of the event, including abstracts from our three keynote speakers.

The conference will also host over 60 paper presentations from delegates attending both in person and online. Register now to join us!

 

Banner graphic designed by Reuben Mount.