After nine volumes, 31 issues and just under 10 years of publications, The Computer Games Journal has ceased operations as a standalone academic journal. The journal – which was published by Springer, a household name in scientific research – is being substituted for a new ‘Digital Games’ section in the long-running Multimedia Tools and Applications journal.
In an email sent to editorial board members, Springer stated: “Despite everyone’s best efforts, the journal has not been able to secure enough content over the past few years to continue publication.”
The Computer Games Journal accrued around 26,000 downloads during its lifespan and published a wide range of science-oriented games research, including an eye opening study on the energy consumption of videogames that found that in the US alone, they have a carbon footprint equivalent to that of five million cars.
In December last year, the journal published a study from University of Glasgow researchers William Kavanagh (who we recently spoke to) and Alice Miller titled “Gameplay Analysis of Multiplayer Games with Verified Action-Costs” that focused on measuring player skill to help inform design and balancing decisions. The study was centred around RPGLite, a multiplayer mobile card game made by Kavanagh and Tom Wallis specifically for the research.
Multimedia Tools and Applications, which began publishing in 1995, has a history of publishing games research, including a special issue dedicated to MMO’s in 2009 which explored the technical processes that go on behind the scenes in the likes of World of Warcraft and Second Life, from reducing latency to tracking player and game states. The journal’s new Digital Games track is edited by Harry Agius, a senior lecturer in computing at Brunel University London, and is asking for submissions on a wide range of topics, including development, machine learning in games, level design and much more. You can read the full list here.
Unfortunately, all the links to the past issues of The Computer Games Journal are currently dead. However, the Springer website states that the entire archive will be made available through their Springer Nature platform.
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