CHI Play is the international and interdisciplinary ACM SIGCHI conference for researchers and professionals across all areas of play, games, and human-computer interaction (HCI) or ‘player-computer interaction’. The goal of 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. This year’s CHI Play will be from October 15 to 17 in Amsterdam.

Important dates

• March 3, 2017: Workshop proposals
• April 14, 2017: Full papers
• May 26, 2017: Course proposals
• June 30, 2017: Spotlight papers, Game competition, Works-in-progress, Panels
• July 14, 2017: Doctoral consortium
• Game exhibition: To be announced shortly

Submissions

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.

Papers

4 to 10 pages in ACM SIGCHI Paper format, references excluded

Papers are archived in the proceedings in the ACM Digital Library and presented as a talk at the conference.

Important dates

• April 14, 2017: Submission of manuscripts
• June 26, 2017: Notification of acceptance
• July 31, 2017: Final camera-ready papers due

Authors are invited to submit high-quality original work to advance the field of player-computer research.

For more information see Papers page.

Spotlight papers

Up to 10 pages, in SIGCHI Extended Abstract format, references excluded. Spotlight papers are archived in the companion proceedings in the ACM Digital Library and presented as a short talk and discussion session at the conference.

Important dates

• June 30, 2017: Submission
• August 7, 2017: Notification of acceptance
• August 14, 2017: Final camera-ready papers due

The “Spotlight” track is a new and exciting track that invites significant and groundbreaking work on player experiences and novel design or implementations that do not fit within the full papers track. Examples are industry case studies, designs, state-of-the-art implementations, alternative game mechanics, art installations, etc. While these papers may present groundbreaking work that deserves being communicated to a wider audience, they may not adhere to the academic format that is necessary for inclusion in the full papers track. We particularly call for boundary pushing, controversial work or case studies where implementations may even have failed.

For more information see Spotlight Papers page

Works-in-progress

Up to 6 pages in SIGCHI Extended Abstract format, excluding references. Works-in-progress are archived in the companion proceedings in the ACM Digital Library and presented as a poster at the conference.

Important dates

• June 30, 2017: Submission Work in Progress papers
• August 7, 2017: Notification of acceptance
• August 14, 2017: Final camera-ready papers due

For more information see Works in Progress

Workshops

Workshop proposals, but not participants’ submissions, are archived in the companion proceedings in the ACM Digital Library. Approved workshops will take place at the conference, with attendees (and, possibly, specific submissions to the workshop – e.g. position papers) solicited and selected by the organizers.

Important dates

• March 3, 2017: Workshop proposals submission (by prospective workshop organizers)
• March 24, 2017: Workshop proposals notification (to prospective workshop organizers)
• May 1, 2017: Camera-ready workshop proposals due (from accepted workshop organizers)
• August 21, 2017: Application deadline for prospective workshop attendees

For more information see Workshops

Course proposals

4 pages in SIGCHI Extended Abstract format, excluding references

Courses are run at the conference with any participants that choose to register

Important dates

• May 26, 2017: Course proposal submissions (by prospective course organizers)
• June 23, 2017: Course proposal notification (to prospective course organizers)
• September 11, 2017: Course registration deadline

For more information see Course Proposals

Panels

4 pages in in SIGCHI Extended Abstract format, excluding references. Panels are presented at the conference.

Important dates

• June 30, 2017: Submission Panel proposals
• July 28 , 2017: Notification of acceptance

For more information see Panels

CHI PLAY Student game design competition

4 pages describing the game and approach in SIGCHI Extended Abstract format, excluding references.

Student game competition abstracts are archived in the companion proceedings in the ACM Digital Library and presented in the game competition at the conference.

Important dates

• June 30, 2017: Submission Game Design Competition papers
• July 24 , 2017: Notification of acceptance
• July 31, 2017: Final camera-ready abstracts due

For more information see SGDC

Doctoral consortium

4 pages in in SIGCHI Extended Abstract format and a three to four-page Appendix, poster presentation at the conference

Important dates

• July 14, 2017: Paper deadline
• July 31, 2017: Notification
• August 14, 2017: Camera-ready deadline

For more information see Doctoral Consortium

Play exhibition

In the same vein of other recent initiatives at CHI (e.g. Art.CHI 2016 exhibition), the CHI PLAY community will also explore playful interaction in digital art and games, both from industry and from individual independent designers. To this end, a play exhibition will be organized during the conference. A separate call for submissions, including theme, specifications, and requirements will be issued at a later date.