Submissions Guidelines

CFP Details

As a conference committed to creating an inclusive and interdisciplinary environment, this CfP is open to everyone—regardless of academic background, industry, or discipline. We encourage industry professionals, developers, independent scholars, artists, and anyone interested in the topic beyond academia to submit. 

To view the full Call For Participation and download for distribution purposes, please use the following:

Full Color PDF
icgan25-cfp-colour.pdf
Accessible PDF
icgan25-cfp-accessible.pdf

  1. Feel free to download and share the CfP widely  

  1. For questions about the CfP, please email icgan.submission@uwaterloo.ca 

  1. When posting on social media, feel free to use #ICGAN2025 and #ICGAN25 

Submission Guidelines: 

Guide on Writing Short Abstracts 

Submission of short abstracts is not common in all disciplines and can be tricky to figure out for non-academics and junior scholars. For guidance on writing short abstract submissions, we recommend this guide created for the Canadian Game Studies Association by Kateryna Barnes and Dany Guay-Belanger (francophone version). 

Sample Abstract

All submissions must include: 

  1. At least 3 citations (use ANY citation style you are comfortable with) 

  • Citations and works cited are NOT included in the word count 

  • Proposed demos do NOT require citation 

  1. 100–150-word author(s)’ statement(s) including: 

  • Full Name 

  • Affiliation (institutional, industry, independent, etc.) 

  • Description of selected research, publications, and presentations 

*Note that Author(s)’ statement(s) are not counted in the abstract word count* 

  1. Abstract/description of the contribution based on the following information: 

Paper or Video Essay 

Submissions 

  • 300–800-word abstract outlining the content you will cover in your presentation 

  • Individual or co-authored presentations can be either finished works or works-in-progress (i.e. dissertation research, or original, incomplete work from ongoing research) 

Panel Submissions 

  • 500–1000-word abstract describing: 

  • The panel’s motivation, goals, and themes 

  • 150–200-word abstracts for each panellist’s contribution 

Workshop Submissions 

  • 500–800-word abstract including: 

  • The workshop’s motivations, goals, and themes 

  • Schedule and structure of workshop activities; and 

  • Any components or equipment that are needed to run it (VR headset, markers, paper, dice) 

  • Workshops can also include game jams, the creation or teaching of how to use design tools, storytelling, etc. 

Demo Submissions 

  • 250-word abstract outlining video/analogue game creation or interactive narrative experience in the demo 

  • Link to 3-minute demo of the interactive artefact 

  • No citations needed 

 
Accepted abstract submissions, associated author statements, and links to demo videos will be included in the conference proceedings.

Call for Reviewers 

Thank you for interest in being a reviewer for ICGaN 2025! The call is now closed. Eligible reviewers would have received a confirmation email. For questions, please email icgan.submission@uwaterloo.ca.  
 

Ethical Review Policy:  

All submitted abstracts will undergo single-blind review. This means that reviewers will have access to the author's names and institutions. The benefits of this type of review process are that the authors' previous work and expertise are considered by the reviewer and assist in identifying self-plagiarism. This allows reviewers and organizers to address any conflicts of interests.   

Desk Rejections 

We will desk reject any submissions that do not follow the guidelines outlined in the CFP, do not align with the themes of adaptation, games, and narrative, or go against our Code of Conduct. 
 
Code of Conduct.

Use of Generative AI in Submissions 

While we acknowledge that AI may be helpful in formatting citations or assisting with editing and grammar checks, the ICGaN Organizing Committee strongly encourages authors to NOT use generative AI to write their submissions. If you do use generative AI to create your submission, we will consider you, and any other authors listed on the submission, fully responsible for any plagiarism, misrepresentation, fabrication, falsification, or hallucination of the AI tool.  

EasyChair Guides and Submission Information 

Conference proposals will ONLY be accepted if submitted through EasyChair. Any and all submission sent in via email will be deleted without review.  

EasyChair is an online platform used to help organize submissions and streamline the review process. The software is a web-only service and cannot be installed on a server or desktop. Please note the links below for video and written guides on how to use EasyChair. Inquiries regarding the EasyChair platform should be directed to EasyChair support. Any additional questions about the conference, the submission or the review process can be sent to icgan.submissions@uwaterloo.ca.  

EasyChair YouTube Tutorials 

Logging into EasyChair and Finding the Submission Link - Tutorial 

Getting Started with EasyChair 

https://phmap.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/getting-started-with-easychair.pdf 

Detailed article on account creation 

https://easychair.org/help/account_creation 

Detailed article on how to submit 

https://easychair.org/help/how_to_submit