Games and Play SIG: Connecting Games Research to the Broader HCI Context

Research on games and play has been present at CHI since the first conference in 1982. The community-building efforts of many volunteers has grown the games and play community within SIGCHI into a vibrant and active group of researchers, with a dedicated conference (CHI PLAY) that publishes its full papers in the GAMES track of the ACM PACMHCI journal. However, we there are members of the larger HCI community whose research and practice intersects with games and play—in topics such as emerging technologies; VR/AR/XR; theories of motivation, experience, and personality; metaverse; livestreaming; fan, and spectator communities; accessibility; and serious games—who may never have attended a games-specific conference. The purpose of this SIG is to offer a lightweight opportunity for CHI attendees to connect with the games and play research community. Our aim is to meet as a community, and to connect with HCI researchers who have not traditionally seen their work as part of games and play for networking and bi-directional idea exchange.