iThrive Games and Carnegie Mellon's ETC Press Extend Call for Submissions for Special Peer-Reviewed Issue of Video Game Journal Well Played

Non-Profit Seeks Case Studies and Essays that Spotlight the Use of Video Games to Promote Positive Social and Emotional Skills


NASHVILLE, TN --(Marketwired - August 29, 2017) - iThrive Games -- a nonprofit that partners with game developers, researchers and youth organizations to facilitate the positive use of video games to enhance social and emotional skills -- in cooperation with academic publisher Carnegie Mellon's ETC Press, today announced it has extended the submission deadline for a special peer-reviewed issue of Well Played, the analytical video game journal. iThrive Games invites video game players, developers, educators and behavioral health professionals to contribute to Well Played as a means to highlight the positive connection between video games and psychology, particularly how the medium affects teens. Authors have until October 1, 2017 to submit their entries.

iThrive Games is seeking in-depth essays, either data-driven or theoretical, that discuss the various meanings, values and experiences provided by video games in their design and during play. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, identifying personal strengths and abilities through gameplay, designing games for empathy, building teens' self-awareness through gameplay and using games as a tool for social and emotional skill development. Submissions will be curated by a team of highly respected game industry academics from around the United States including Dr. Luke Dicken, Dr. Gabriela Richard, Dr. Moses Wolfenstein, Dr. Doris Rusch, Dr. David Simkins, Dr. Susan Rivers and Kelli Dunlap, PsyD.

iThrive Games specializes in -- and seeks to advance -- research that examines the intersection of teen development, social and emotional skills, positive psychology, gameplay and game design. The organization collaborates with award-winning game studios and developers, tests games with teens and provides resources to support teen thriving through gameplay.

The Well Played journal gives academics and junior faculty a place to share their ideas, theories and analysis of the game industry and its works as a means of advancing knowledge in the field. Contributors are encouraged to analyze sequences in a game in detail to illustrate and interpret how the various components of a game come together to create a fulfilling play experience unique to this medium.

For more information, visit http://ithrivegames.org/seeking-contributors-special-issue-of-well-played/.

If you have any additional questions, would like to submit an essay, or would like to speak with iThrive Games directly, please contact Heidi McDonald at heidi.mcdonald@ithrivegames.org.

About iThrive Games

iThrive Games is a team of social and emotional learning experts, psychologists and game developers that work to produce meaningful games through collaborations with game studios as well as experts in teen development and positive psychology. The iThrive Games team embraces teens' love of video games, and explores how great games can empower teens to discover and use their unique strengths, unlock their potential and take charge of their well-being. For more information about iThrive Games, please visit www.ithrivegames.org.

About ETC Press

The ETC Press is an academic and open-source publishing imprint out of Carnegie Mellon University that distributes its work in print, electronic and digital form. It represents an experiment and an evolution in publishing, bridging virtual and physical media to redefine the future of publication.

Well Played is a forum for in-depth readings of games that parse out the various meanings to be found in the experience of playing them. Contributors are encouraged to analyze sequences in a game in detail to illustrate and interpret how the various components of a game come together to create a fulfilling play experience unique to this medium. Follow Well Played on Twitter at @etcwellplayed to learn more.

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