Theme of the conference

In four decades the video game industry has become a worldwide phenomenon, generating millions in revenue every year. Video games are increasingly becoming more elaborate and sophisticated, with advanced graphics and intricate story lines, and developers and publishers need to reach the widest possible audience in order to maximise their return on investment. Translating games into other languages and designing games that can be played for a wide spectrum of players, regardless of their (dis)ability, are two obvious ways to contribute to increasing the audience for the game industry. In addition, games are increasingly being used for “serious” purposes beyond entertainment, such as education, and such games should also be designed inclusively, to facilitate access to them by all types of players.

However, to date, both industry and academia have paid little attention to the emerging fields of game localization and accessibility, as well as accessibility to virtual worlds, also known asmetaverses, and the role translation plays in them. Academic studies focusing on game localization and accessibility of games and virtual worlds are few and far between, despite the fact that further research in localization and accessibility is beneficial to all. The industry can benefit by reaching the broadest possible audience, while the audience can benefit from having improved access to games and virtual worlds. A more systematic and interdisciplinary approach bringing together academics from different disciplines with various research backgrounds and methodologies, such as translation studies, media studies, psychology, linguistics, education, usability, human rights, engineering and computing is required to promote further advances in these areas of study.

The successful previous editions of the Fun for All: International Conference on Translation and Accessibility in Video Games and Virtual Worlds, held at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2010 and 2012, became a meeting point for academic and professionals working in the game industry and the game localisation industry, as well as students interested in this field. The third edition of the conference, Fun for All: Serious Business Video Games and Virtual Worlds Translation, Accessibility and Educational Design, aims to continue fostering the interdisciplinary debate in these fields, consolidate them as academic areas of research and contribute to the development of best practices.

Key note speakers

Kate Edwards, Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA)

Ian Hamilton, Accessibility expert, author of the Game Accessibility Guidelines.

Suggested topics

1. Fun for All: Serious Business Video Games and Virtual Worlds Translation, Accessibility and Educational Design will cover the following topics. Proposals about related topics are also welcome:

• Game localisation process
• Standardisation and quality issues
• Development and use of specialised tools
• Cultural adaptation in games
• Creativity in games
• Humour in games
• Dubbing and subtitling for games
• Localization of online, mobile phone and tablet games, social games
• Video game fan translation
• Role of translation in virtual worlds
• Video games and Translation Studies
• Game localisation best practices
• Game accessibility best practices
• Game audio design
• Design for all
• Educational game design
• Video games and foreign language teaching
• Video games as educational resources

By means of papers and workshops on the featured topics, we hope to foster new perspectives, reflecting and anticipating scientific research in these fields in all its complexity and contributing to the development of best practices in game localization and accessibility.

Abstract proposals and deadlines

Paper and workshop abstract proposals (max. 300 words) should be sent by 20^th November 2013 to:VG.VW.translation.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Date of notification regarding acceptance of abstracts: 20th December 2013.

The abstracts should attached as a WORD document, with the format: authorname.doc

Please indicate ABSTRACT in the subject line in your e-mail.

Conference Language

The language of the conference will be English.

Information and Contact Details

For all correspondence about the conference please use the e-mail address VG.VW.translation.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please indicate clearly the subject in the subject line of your e-mail. For example:  "GENERAL INFORMATION QUERY", "REGISTRATION QUERY", etc.

More information will be available soon from the conference website http://jornades.uab.cat/videogamesaccess/

Conference Fee and Registration

Fees include attendance to the conference, materials and coffee breaks. Attendance to conference dinner is optional (20 Euro). Places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment. You can indicate whether you are attending the conference dinner or not in the registration form and add the conference dinner amount to the registration fee when you are doing the payment.

Early-bird registration (before 15^th February 2014): 130 Euro.

After 20th February 2014: 150 Euro.

Early-bird registration for members of ATRAE : 110 Euro

Registration for members of ATRAE after 15^th February 2014: 130 Euro

Early-bird registration students:  40 Euro

Student registration after 19^th February 2014: 60 Euro.

Alumni of the AVT, Tradumàtica and Video Game Design Master’s at UAB: 80 Euro

Alumni of the AVT, Tradumàtica and Video Game Design Master’s at UAB after 15^th February: 100 Euro

Conference dinner: 20 Euro

Organising Committee

Alberto Fernández, Universidad de Oviedo

Carme Mangiron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Anna Matamala, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Pilar Orero, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Scientific Committee

Miguel Bernal, University of Roehampton

José Ramón Belda, Universidad de Alicante

José Ramón Calvo, Universidad de Alicante

David Camacho, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Heather Chandler, Media Sunshine Game Development Studio

Alberto Fernández, Universidad de Oviedo

Dimitris Grammenos, Institute of Computer Science (ICS) Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH)

Carme Mangiron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,

Enric Martí, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Pablo Muñoz, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Minako O'Hagan, Dublin City University

Lucía Pérez-Castilla, (Centro Estatal de Autonomía Personal y Ayudas Técnicas, National Centre for Personal Autonomy and Techincal Support)

Javier Torrente, Universidad Complutense de Madrid