About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the academic study of computer games and play.

The editors of Eludamos conceive of computer games as aesthetic expressions that have cultural, political and societal implications, and see it as an important part of the journal’s mission to investigate such games with an eye on facilitating inclusive and progressive alternatives. The journal aspires to enhance the understanding of both the media-specific aspects of computer games as well as highlight their intrinsic connections with other cultural practices and forms.

Eludamos publishes innovative work, critical writing, and alternative perspectives on computer games and the field of game studies. We encourage contributions on the interplay between games, players, politics, culture and society and invite both theoretical and empirical studies of topics including but not limited to:

• critical perspectives on games, representation and play,
• analyses of game cultures, play practices and player experiences,
• analyses of genres, rules, narratives and worlds in games,
• the cultural, political, societal and economic implications of games and play,
• critical game design, as well as
• investigations of the game industry, game production, game journalism, economy and marketing.

Due to our focus on the cultural, political, and societal implications of computer games and play, we do not conceive of Eludamos  as a platform for manuscripts limited to the presentation of new technical advances in game design or instrumental approaches aimed at for instance improving marketing techniques or the effectiveness of gamified applications.

Eludamos is published annually. On occasion, we invite guest editors to put together thematically framed special issues or special sections in addition to the manuscripts published in the open section. We also invite book reviews, game reviews, or presentations of recently defended dissertations of exceptionally high quality or specific academic interest. In addition, we solicit one commentary on methods in game studies for each issue.

We accept original articles of up to 8.000 words (excluding references, including notes & tables). Reviews and invited commentaries should not exceed 3.000 words. All submissions need to be fully formatted in accordance with Eludamos guidelines. Manuscripts without proper formatting will be returned to the author(s).

Note on review processes

Eludamos publishes original research only. Prior to possible publication, each submitted manuscript is assessed by at least two independent experts in a thorough double-blind peer review process.

All submissions are screened for possible plagiarism using the i iThenticate crosschecking tool.

Eludamos aims at a speedy and reliable review process.

Note on open access and publishing policies

Copyright for all manuscripts published at Eludamos remains with authors. Authors can distribute published and accepted versions as they deem fit given that Eludamos is acknowledged as the original publication channel.

No restrictions apply to self archiving and distribution of published maniscripts and accepted versions.

Access to all material published at Eludamos is free and without restrictions. No registration is necessary.

Eludamos does not apply any charges or fees (including APCs) pertaining to publication, distribution, and access.

Rights and permissions

Authors retain copyright to articles published in the journal.

For articles published in Eludamos prior to 2022, authors must be contacted for permission of any type of reuse that does not fall within exceptions and limitations to copyright.

From 2022, manuscripts published with Eludamos are open access in accordance with Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Journal archiving

The journal is included in the PKP Private LOCKSS Network.

Ethica and malpractice statement

Eludamos has developed publication ethics policies for each of the Core Practices described by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). In drawing up these policies, we have followed COPE’s guidelines for editors and publishers. Where suspected cases of malpractice are identified, we follow the flowcharts developed by COPE.

Authorship and contributorship

Eludamos uses the definition of authorship set out by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). An author (or co-author) of a manuscript should meet all four of the following criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Where contributors do not fully meet these criteria, their contribution should instead be credited in an acknowledgement. Corresponding authors are requested to provide their ORCID when submitting a manuscript, and we recommend ORCIDs are supplied for all co-authors.

Conflicts of interest

When submitting a manuscript to Eludamos, authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interests that may prejudice or compromise their work, such as financial or commercial interests, personal or professional relationships, and political or religious beliefs. If the submission is accepted for publication, a conflict-of-interest statement will be added to the manuscript where applicable.

In line with COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, reviewers must declare all potential competing interests that might prevent them from providing a fair and unbiased review when they are approached by editors. Acting editors of Eludamos will not submit their own work to the journal.

Data sharing

Eludamos encourages authors to archive any research data or code underpinning their submission in a suitable open data repository.

Ethical oversight

Authors are expected to follow relevant institutional and national guidelines on research ethics. Informed consent must have been obtained from any human subjects who participated in the research.

Intellectual property

When submitting a manuscript to Eludamos, authors must confirm that their work is original and has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors of articles published in Eludamos retain copyright to their work and grant permission to Septentrio Academic Publishing to distribute their work under a Creative Commons licence.

Post-publication discussions and corrections

Once an article has been published in Eludamos, errors that affect the meaning of content or that relate to data or citations can be corrected. A correction notice including a list of changes, publication date of the original article and the date of the correction, and where to obtain the original article will be added to the end of the corrected articles.

In rare circumstances, serious errors may invalidate an article’s results or conclusions. In such cases, we will follow COPE’s Retraction Guidelines and publish a retraction notice that states which parts of the article are erroneous, as well as the grounds for retraction.

Complaints and appeals

Complaints to Eludamos should be submitted by email to holger.potzsch@uit.no. Complainants should describe the subject and nature of their complaint and provide supporting documentation. The Editors will, in consultation with the Editorial Board if necessary, assess any complaint on its merits, take any necessary remedial action, and respond to the complainant promptly.