This is a quick guide to the main conference tracks for IEEE Games Entertainment & Media conference to be held in Galway, Ireland 15th-17th August. We have 27 paper & poster sessions to provide a forum for your research divided across 12 academic tracks and 5 industry-focussed tracks which are outlined in this article.

Your research contributions will determine the ultimate conference program so read on to see where your research fits best ...

Note that if your research paper is finalised then you can submit a paper to any track by simply clicking on the track name. Extended abstracts of 2 pages are accepted for initial review; final papers should be 4 - 8 pages in length. Industry tracks can accept a slide deck in place of a formal research paper.

Paper submission is via EDAS and there is a guide to registering with EDAS here. For more information on each track I have tried to include links to relevant articles or provide a link to the relevant track chair(s).

Academic Conference Tracks

AT01: GEM in the Cloud this track has a focus on all the networked and cloud-related aspects of multi-player online gaming. I have authored an article related to this conference track and you can contact the track chairs to discuss your proposed research submission here.

AT02: Mobile & Wearable Technologies for GEM this track is the right forum for research related to mobile gaming, or research involving the use of wearable technologies. The track chairs can be found here.

AT03: Augmented & Virtual Reality in GEM this track has a focus on emerging augmented & virtual reality technologies for GEM. If your interest is focussed on the application of these technologies then some of our other tracks may be more appropriate. For example, the education & learning track has a strong focus on leveraging AR & VR for new teaching modalities. There is an article from the conference chair on the background and context for this track

AT04: Social and Economic Aspects of Digital GEM this track covers aspects of GEM linked with social media technologies, in-game economies and links between gaming ecosystems and their impacts on the real-world around us. As an example one of our keynote talks will investigate "The business and culture of live streaming on Twitch: evolving paradigms." The track chairs are here.

AT05: Societal & Behavioural Impacts of GEM Gaming & interactive technologies have come to dominate many aspects of our lives. Our children are more likely to entertain themselves via youtube or minecraft on a tablet or phone than to spend time passively watching TV. This track provides a forum for presenting research related to all societal and behavioural aspects of gaming and interactive media. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chairs here.

AT06: Emerging Technologies: this track covers all new, emerging technologies related to gaming, interactive entertainment & media. This track embraces emerging GEM technologies including, User-Interface, Location-Awareness, Touch & Haptics, Motion Capture, Distributed Intelligence. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chairs here.

AT07: Artificial Intelligence in GEM: Gaming technology already embraces many aspects of artificial intelligence and this track offers a venue to present the latest research findings in this field. And if you want to learn about "Edge-AI" there is an excellent starter workshop running in parallel with the main IEEE GEM conference. To discuss the suitability of your research paper you can find the track chairs here.

AT08: Education & Learning through GEM this track has a dedicated track page where you can learn more about the track chairs vision for the future of Education & Learning via GEM technologies.

AT09: Medical Applications of GEM There is an article from the conference chair on the background and context for this track. There will also be a panel session at the conference to discuss issues relating to Medical applications of GEM. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chair here.

AT10: Augmented Spaces for GEM This track has a focus on Augmented & Mixed reality technologies and the challenges of integration into gamimg, interactive story-telling & Virtual Worlds. Several of our keynote speakers will focus on different aspects of Augmented Spaces, including the key importance of Audio Rending and the challenges of creating content and achieving truly immersive experiences. There will also be a plenary panel session linked with the themes of this track.

AT11: eSports This is a rapidly evolving field of modern gaming culture and has led to the prospect of gaming as a bona-fide career choice for some. One of our keynote talks will investigate "The business and culture of live streaming on Twitch: evolving paradigms." Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chair here.

AT12: Serious Gaming Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chairs here.

AT13: Digital Arts & Humanities in GEM: There is an article from the conference chair on the background and context for this track. Also there are several well-known speakers whose research overlaps into the DA&H on a plenary panel session and one of our plenary speakers is the head of "Mission Innovation" at ARTE the European cultural network and one of Europe’s most innovative content producers & broadcasters with a long track record of producing interactive content and games. If your research has an artistic streak to it then this may be the IEEE GEM track for you!

Industry Tracks

As an introduction I will note that industry presenters are welcome at GEM and we will allow you to submit your presentation slides for publication via IEEE Xplore, rather than a more conventional research paper format. There are 5 industry specific tracks at IEEE GEM.

IT01: GEM Design, Development & User Experience As many aspects of gaming and interactive entertainment involve innovative design and user-experience elements that lie outside of traditional research this track provides a forum to present and discuss such innovations. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chair here. or our industry liaison Tom Coughlin at tom@tomcoughlin.com or the conference program chair Sam Redfern at sam.redfern@nuigalway.ie.

IT02: Serious Gaming & Industry Applications this track mirrors academic track AT12 above but allows industry research to be presented. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chair here. or our industry liaison Tom Coughlin at tom@tomcoughlin.com or the conference program chair Sam Redfern at sam.redfern@nuigalway.ie.

IT03: Practical Case Studies of GEM Industry presenters are welcome at GEM and the conference has had a tradition of strong industry engagement & participation. This track allows you to share some practical experiences related to games, interactive entertainment & media. As with other industry tracks your presentation slides can be provided for publication via IEEE Xplore, rather than a more conventional research paper format. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chair here. or our industry liaison Tom Coughlin at tom@tomcoughlin.com or the conference program chair Sam Redfern at sam.redfern@nuigalway.ie.

IT04: GEM Platforms & Infrastructure This track covers both software & hardware aspects of gaming & interactive media platforms. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chair here or our industry liaison Tom Coughlin at tom@tomcoughlin.com.or the conference program chair Sam Redfern at sam.redfern@nuigalway.ie.

IT05: Standards & Open-Source GEM As with other industry tracks this track caters for aspects of gaming and interactive entertainment involving open-source technologies and industry standards that lie outside of traditional research activities. Please feel free to open a dialog with the track chair here or our industry liaison Tom Coughlin at tom@tomcoughlin.com.or the conference program chair Sam Redfern at sam.redfern@nuigalway.ie.

Final Words from the Conference Chair

In this article I have tried to cover all the different tracks on the IEEE GEM conference call for papers. Each track has one or more dedicated track chairs and you may find it helpful to discuss with them or the technical program chair, Sam Redfern at sam.redfern@nuigalway.ie to better understand if your research submission is going to the right conference track.

Once you've determined where to submit your research you may also want to read about the EDAS submission & peer review system which we are using. After registering with EDAS you'll be able to click through from the links on any of the tracks above directly into the EDAS submission system. Or you can review all tracks and submit from EDAS here.

Lastly, thanks for your time & attention; on behalf of the organising committee I'd like to thank you for your interest in IEEE GEM and I hope you found this article helpful in finding the right conference track to submit your research to. I look forward to meeting many of you in Galway this August!

Sincerely,

Peter Corcoran, conference chair, IEEE Games Entertainment & Media conference 2018.