The GamiFIN conference is an annual academic conference, which focuses on the development, implementation and dissemination of gamification research. The conference brings together an international group of academics and aims to attribute to the overall development of gamification as a process and a tool.

GamiFIN is hosted by the Gamification Group in affiliation with the University of Tampere, Tampere University of Technology, University Consortium of Pori and University of Turku. The conference provides an excellent platform for multidisciplinary research, and encourages innovation, development of technology as well as networking among the leading scholars within the field of gamification, games studies, business-studies and human-computer interaction.

GamiFIN is already the leading conference related to gamification and is quickly becoming a prominent academic conference in the world on the interaction of economics and game research. Last year the conference gathered over 60 participants from 9 different countries and the acceptance rate for the submitted academic papers was 40%. The proceedings of the conference have been published in CEUR Workshop Proceedings in the GamiFIN Conference volume.

During the last decades, games have penetrated everyday life by becoming an established segment of the entertainment industry and of consumer culture, while becoming an integral part of people’s lives. The ways in which people relate to games are many, and go beyond playing, including emotional attachment, identification and great personal investment. There are various different types of games and gaming platforms available, mediated through different technologies that cater to the gaming needs of a widening audience through the use a wide variety of business models.

Following these developments, our reality and lives are increasingly game-like, not only because video games have become a pervasive part of our lives, but perhaps most prominently because activities, systems and services that are not traditionally perceived as game-like are increasingly gamified. Gamification refers to designing products, services and organizational practices to afford similar experiences to games, and consequently, to attempt to create value and affect people’s behaviour. In recent years, the popularity of gamification has skyrocketed and is manifested in growing numbers of gamified applications, as well as a rapidly increasing amount of research. Healthcare, educational and organizational contexts have been especially prominent fields for gamification interventions and solutions. Gameful restructuring of activities has been perceived as a potentially effective way of increasing motivation and participation in such contexts. Research in the given contexts has seemed to support the idea that gamification can indeed be beneficial for increasing engagement and commitment in, for example, healthy habits and exercise, learning, and work.

Beyond intentional gamification, gamification also refers to the general ludic transformation of our reality, culture and everyday lives. For example, recently we have witnessed the popular emergence of augmented reality games and virtual reality technologies that enable a more seamless integration of games into our physical reality. The media ecosystem has also experienced a degree of ludic transformation, with user generated content becoming an important competitor for large media corporations. This transformation has led to the development of several emerging phenomena such as streaming and esports, that have penetrated the cultural membrane allowing games to seep into domains hitherto dominated by traditional media. Furthermore, current developments in smart home and smart office solutions, and the integration of sensor technology and connectivity to tangible everyday objects, and the development of the Internet of Things, are creating new avenues for creating playful and gamified experiences. Today, many toys also incorporate technology, extending the ways they can be used and interacted with. Connected, smart playthings and the Internet of Toys (IoToys) have widened both our understandings of play and what comprises contemporary, digital playgrounds, exemplifying the toyification of technology. At the same time, when shared on social media platforms, play with non-technological toys is becoming increasingly gamified.

Submissions on the above-mentioned topics are welcomed until November 3th. Find further information on the Call for Contributions here.

General informations and the registration formula can be found on the website of GamiFIN 2019.