VS-Games 2013 – 5th International Conference on Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications hosted at Bournemouth University

VS-Games 2013, the fifth outing of the International Conference on Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications will be hosted at Bournemouth University, UK between the 11th and the 13th of September 2013.

With the conference organized in previous years at locations such as Coventry (UK), Braga (Portugal), Athens (Greece) and Genoa (Italy), it will take place, for 2013, at the state of the art Kimmeridge House building of Bournemouth University, situated at the main Talbot campus of the institution.

The development and deployment of games with a purpose beyond entertainment and with considerable connotations with more serious aims is an exciting area with immense academic but also commercial potential. This potential presents both immediate opportunities but also numerous significant challenges to the interested parties involved, as a result of the relatively recent emergence and popularity of the medium. The VS Games 2013 conference aims to address this variety of relevant contemporary challenges that the increasingly cross-disciplinary communities involved in serious games are currently facing. This will be achieved by, amongst other ways, the comprehensive dissemination of successful case studies and development practices, the sharing of theories, conceptual frameworks and methodologies and, finally, the discussion of evaluation approaches and their resulting studies.

Call for Papers:

For VS Games 2013 we are therefore seeking contributions from researchers, developers from the industry, practitioners and decision-makers which aim to advance the state of the art in all of the technologies related to serious games. The following listed topics are particularly encouraged, though it should be mentioned that they are not the only ones of interest to VS Games 2013 and that the list below is not exhaustive by any means:
• Game design
• Virtual environments
• Game-based learning methodologies
• Mixed and augmented reality
• Computer graphics
• Gamification
• Case studies/user studies for serious games and virtual worlds
• Mobile gaming
• Interactive storytelling
• Application areas
• AI for serious games
• Educational/learning theories and their application
• Visualization
• Pervasive gaming
• Human-computer interaction
• User modeling
• Alternate reality
• Simulation
• Platforms and tools

 

The following are the dates of submission for the different tracks of the VS Games 2013 conference:

• Full Papers (8 pages): 25th March 2013
• Short Papers (4 pages): 25th March 2013
• Poster Papers (2 pages): 25th March 2013
• Call for Workshops: 25th March 2013

The best authors will be invited to write an extended version of their paper for inclusion in the IGI Global’s International Journal of Game-Based Learning. Further proceedings and other journal special issue details for the VS Games 2013 publications are being finalised and will be announced as soon as possible.

For further information please visit the conference website: http://www.vsgames2013.org/

Technology Enabled Tourism Experience Economy

When: 09:00 – 12:00, Thursday, 18th April 2012
Where: Eyefortravel Trave Distribution Summit 2012, London
Registration: http://ifitteft-eorg.eventbrite.com/
Fees: Free for IFITT Members – £40 for non IFITT Members (charged at the entrance)

Join IFITT and benefit from cutting edge events

PLEASE NOTE that participation in the event will give you access to the exhibition area of the EyeForTravel London Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2012 but NOT to the conferences. Please contact Eye for Travel and purchase your access. Significant discount available for members of IFITT.


ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

IFITT is hosting a workshop at the EyeForTravel London Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2012 to discuss the “Technology Enabled Tourism Experience Economy”.

The experience economy has become an increasingly important concept in modern society as well as in business. Today, consumers increasingly strive for experiences gained by the consumption of products/services. Tourism as a traditionally service-dominated industry has always been on the forefront of the experience economy. For tourism businesses, designing, staging and delivering meaningful, unique and memorable consumer experiences has become an imperative.

At the same time, recent dynamic technological advancements have provided opportunities for adding value to already high-level quality tourism products and services. Businesses in the cruise, aviation, or hospitality sectors, as well as a number of destination management organisations, have successfully implemented information and communication technologies in order to enhance the experiences provided for their customers. For example, British Airways offer iPads as a means of inducing an immersive in-flight experience for their customers. Carnival Cruise Lines have developed a multimedia platform to directly engage with customers during the pre- and post-travel stage, and improved the on-travel experience through digital signage.

The role of technology in staging tourism experiences represents a cutting-edge concept in experiential tourism marketing. Participants in this Workshop will:

  • Understand the importance of technological solutions for customer experiences
  • Learn how recent technological developments can enhance tourism and hospitality products and services;
  • And find out from leading experts in the field about current best practices and future opportunities of technology-enhanced tourism experiences.

http://www.ifitt.org/home/view/ifitt-e4t
http://ifitteft-eorg.eventbrite.com/