Game Studies Scrimmage

The document is a panel proposal submitted to DiGRA, the Digital Games Research Association, for an experimental session titled "Game Studies Scrimmage." Its central idea is to have a team of game studies scholars play a randomly selected game they have never encountered, then deliver short ten-minute talks analyzing it, with the aim of testing analytical agility while fostering collaborative enjoyment. The game would be chosen roughly two to three weeks before the annual meeting in Guadalajara and would need to be completable within about 24 hours, with a Discord server opened to let researchers worldwide participate, stream, and comment.

The proposal introduces five confirmed player-presenters drawn from volunteers responding to a social media call. Their backgrounds span cultural sociology, player studies, social psychology focused on the body and affect in games, cultural and queer studies, and game ethics and education. The organizer frames the team by describing each member's analytical style and role, and highlights the credentials of the participants, including journal editorial positions and recent scholarly publications. Following the presentations, the session would move into an open audience discussion of the chosen game.

The document offers no empirical data, survey results, or research findings, as it is a promotional and structural proposal rather than a study. Its scope is limited to the planned format and participant roster for a single conference session, and its tone is informal and enthusiastic, with the author predicting the event will be memorable in DiGRA's history.