Computers and Writing Online 2007 has announced a call for games in which they seem to welcome small scale, online political games and newsgames of the sort that interest many readers of this site. The theme of the conference is "Technoculture" and games should address that theme in some way. Full call after the jump.

Computers and Writing Online 2007: Call for Games

Games programmed using languages such as Macromedia Flash and Macromedia
Shockwave have become increasingly common. Usually modest in scope, with
limited graphics and sound, these so-called "Flash" games often appear in
banner ads positioned at the top or on the right-hand margins of commercial
sites. In return for accomplishing an ostensibly simple objective such as
"shooting 20 ducks," "roping a bull, " or "striking oil," these games
redirect players to sponsor's websites with the promise of rewards such as a
free IPod, Xbox 360, or laptop. Flash games are also used for political
purposes. One of the best examples of this practice can be found in
September 12th: a Toy World. A self-described simulation
designed to "explore some aspects of the war on terror," September 12th
positions players above a fictional Middle-Eastern city town and asks them
to "shoot or not shoot" the terrorists that roam the streets. As with
the games embedded in the banner ads of commercial sites, players discover
that playing the game does not produce the expected results.

In order to explore the critical and pedagogical possibilities of Flash
games, the 2007 Computers and Writing Online conference invites submissions
of games that directly or indirectly address the conference theme of
"Technoculture"
. Ideally,
these games should be no more than approximately two megabytes in size and
able to be embedded in a webpage. Games submitted to the conference will be
displayed on the conference website. In addition, the conference will
sponsor a synchronous discussion centered on the games. This discussion
will take place as part of the conference and will be held in AcadianaMOO.

Please submit finished games to cwonline2007@yahoo.com by January 5,
2007. If you have any questions about this call, please do not hesitate to
contact the CWOnline 2007 conference organizers at cwonline2007@yahoo.com.

Computers and Writing Online 2007
Conference Co-Chairs:
Keith Dorwick, The University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Kevin Moberly, St Cloud State University http://acadianamoo.org/cwonline2007

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