2GGS: 2nd Geogames Symposium 2025: Connecting Communities through Games and Play University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland, June 9-10, 2025

                                                                Geogames are games that concentrate on the well-being and regeneration of planet Earth. They are designed with a purpose in mind that is more than just fun and entertainment. They provide opportunities for collaborative learning, co-creation, and communication. Geogames can be analogue, digital or hybrid mixing analogue and digital principles.

 Please, join us for the 2^nd Geogames Symposium in Dublin, Ireland, where cutting-edge innovation and community-centred approaches converge! Explore how analogue and digital games can foster a deeper understanding of our world and communities. Whether you are a researcher, developer, or gaming enthusiast, this event is your gateway to the future of geogames. Feel invited to be part of the 2^nd Geogames Symposium in Dublin on June 9 - 10, 2025 – where virtual worlds and the real world collide!

This year we will highlight the intersection of geogames with new ecological epistemologies. We will examine how geogames can enhance our comprehension of Earth as a complex network of interconnected actors and self-regulating systems to rethink how we/humans impact the urban environment. Let's explore together how geogames can promote environmental awareness, foster community engagement and cohesion, offer creative solutions to local and global challenges, and contribute to a better world.

We invite everyone working on theories and application areas of geogames to join the symposium. The application areas which may include urban planning, architectural design, cultural heritage conservation, urban geography, climate risks and disaster management, geotechnical engineering, environmental psychology, cultural anthropology, urban/mental health and more.

The best contributions will be invited to be further developed in an article and submitted for reviews to the Special issue on Geogames in the Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and Citizen Science: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/EPB

Submission Guidelines

Submissions

All submissions should include the title, names of the author(s), their affiliation(s), and their emails.

• Extended Abstracts. Between 750-1000 words. Please include a problem statement, research focus, research methodology, results and conclusions.
• Workshops. Around 300 words. You may submit a suggestion for a 2 to 3-hour workshop.
• Game demonstrations and game play. Around 300 words. Propose a demonstration or testing of your game or game prototype.
• Graduate students’ forum. Dedicated to students to foster their career. Submit around 500 words. PhD, graduate thesis, or class work: research in progress.

Deadlines

• Extended abstract submission: January 31
• Reviews: March 15
• Acceptance letters: by April 15

Submission platform

The abstracts should be submitted via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/cfp/2GGS.

List of Topics

Key research topics include and are not limited to:

1. Geogames Fundamentals: Explore the theories and concepts of games and geogames as they illuminate game design and storytelling, fostering knowledge and promoting sustainable cities and communities. Whether through analogue tools or digital platforms, these narratives create immersive experiences that educate and inspire.

2. Geogames Applications: Uncover the applications of geogames in empowering communities and engaging rightsholders and stakeholders. From design and prototype development to purpose and goals, testing and evaluation, detail how these games transform concepts into real-world impacts - ecological, socio-spatial and/or economic.

3. Geogames Technologies: Dive into the innovations of digital and analogue geogames. Digital games may leverage augmented, virtual, or mixed realities, integrate geospatial data/information, digital twins or AI. Analogue games may blend realities with novel tools for representation and communication, forging new pathways for sustainable technological explorations.

More in detail the topics can be:

• Geogames and Environmental Awareness. Explore how theories of games can support game design and storytelling to foster knowledgeand promote urban sustainability and regenerative practices, utilizing analog tools and/or digital platforms.
• Community-Centred Geogame Implementation: Discuss the role of community, users’ input and evaluation in creating engaging and immersive geogames that address local and global urban issues.
• Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed-Reality (MR) in Geogames: Investigate the immersive potential of AR, VR and MR technologies to create interactive and educational experiences rooted in real-world contexts.
• Artificial Intelligence and Geogames. Examine how AI can enhance geogames by creating dynamic, responsive environments and personalized experiences.
• Geogames and Geospatial Science. Share research on computing foundations of incorporating real world and existing geospatial content and data into game environment with examples of game engine and geospatial technology integration, novel approaches for incorporating large language model (LLM) AI, and sensor integration for geospatial digital twins.
• Geogame Development and Implementation. Discuss geogame prototypes, their purpose and goals, geogame development, implementation, testing, evaluation and impacts.

Committees

Local Committee

• Ítalo Sousa de Sena (University College Dublin)
• Chiara Cocco (University College Dublin)

Program and Organizing committee

• Alenka Poplin (Iowa State University)
• Bruno Amaral de Andrade (Portucalense University)
• Ítalo Sousa de Sena (University College Dublin)

Scientific committee

• Alenka Poplin (Iowa State University, USA)
• Anson Call (Iowa State University, USA)
• Brian Tomaszewski (Rochester Institute of Technology, USA)
• Bruno Amaral de Andrade (Portucalense University, Portugal)
• Christoph Schlieder (Bamberg University, Germany)
• Deepak Marhatta (Tribhuvan University, Nepal)
• Ítalo Sousa de Sena (University College Dublin, Ireland)
• Jeffrey Wheatley (Iowa State University, USA)
• Jeremy Best (Iowa State University, USA)
• Lynn Alves (Federal University of Bahia, Brazil)
• Mónica Alcindor (Portucalense University, Portugal)
• Micael Sousa (University College Dublin, Ireland)
• Ola Ahlqvist (Ohio State Universit, USA)

Invited Speakers

• To be confirmed

Publication

Best extended abstracts of the 2GGS proceedings will be invited to be published in our special issue on Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science.

Venue

The conference will be held at the University College Dublin campus.

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to the Organizing committee (geogamesgroup@gmail.com) with a copy to Alenka Poplin (apoplin@iastate.edu).

Sponsors

Geogames Lab

UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy

College of Design, Iowa State University