Open Access Arts and Humanities Journals

At First Person Scholar we seek to develop and expand the role of the game critic. Historically speaking, games have proceeded from industry-driven production to mainstream-media guided reception (i.e. industry-sponsored games magazines and websites). Within this dynamic the game critic—as an informed figure capable of bringing context to games–has been largely irrelevant.

We at FPS are advocating for a new dynamic, one in which the game critic demonstrates his or her relevancy through timely, rigorous, and accessible criticism that challenges all players to engage in critical play. As Mary Flanagan writes, “Critical play is characterized by a careful examination of social, cultural, political, or even personal themes that function as alternates to popular play spaces” (Critical Play 6). The articles we publish encourage players—be them developers, scholars, critics, or enthusiasts—to consider alternatives to popular interpretations of games and game play. Through this discourse we seek to establish and sustain a critical conversation amongst those producing and playing games, demonstrating in the process that the game critic is a figure capable of enriching and challenging our understanding of games and what they are capable of.

Intensities journal addresses all aspects of cult media including cult television, cult film, cult radio, cult comics, literary cults and cult authors, new media cults, cult figures and celebrities, cult icons, musical cults, cult geographies, historical studies of media cults and their fandoms, cult genres (e.g. science fiction, horror, fantasy, pulp fiction, Manga, anime, Hong Kong film etc.), non-generic modes of cultishness, theorisations of cult media, relevant audience and readership studies, and work that addresses the cult media industry.

In addition to publishing refereed essays (of between 6000 and 8000 words), Intensities also features a non-refereed Cult Media Review section which will carry shorter speculative reviews, reviews of cult phenomena (e.g. cult TV series, cult films, cult novels, science fiction, comics), short critical essays, interview transcripts, conference and convention reviews and articles about aspects of industry, fan culture, production and authorship.

"In the 60s they said it was underground but it wasn't. Now nobody says anything and it really is." – Stan Brakhage

Founded in 2008, INCITE is dedicated to the discourse, culture, and community of experimental film, video, and new media. Merging print and online platforms, this hybrid journal addresses the lack of critical attention afforded film and media artists working today. In addition to scholarly articles, INCITE publishes aesthetic statements, manifestos, artist projects, multiples, archival documents, interviews, reviews, and hastily drawn plans. Stationing ourselves at the cross-flow of research, scholarship, and creation, we encourage personal writing, critical poetics, and radical approaches to film and media.

Audiovisual Thinking is a leading journal of academic videos about audiovisuality, communication and media. The journal is a pioneering forum where academics and educators can articulate, conceptualize and disseminate their research about audiovisuality and audiovisual culture through the medium of video.

International in scope and multidisciplinary in approach, the purpose of Audiovisual Thinking is to develop and promote academic thinking in and about all aspects of audiovisuality and audiovisual culture.

Advised by a board of leading academics and thinkers in the fields of audiovisuality, communication and the media, the journal seeks to set the standard for academic audiovisual essays now and in the future.

Our Mission - To explore the rich cultural genre of games; to give scholars a peer-reviewed forum for their ideas and theories; to provide an academic channel for the ongoing discussions on games and gaming.

Game Studies is a non-profit, open-access, crossdisciplinary journal dedicated to games research, web-published several times a year at www.gamestudies.org.

Our primary focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer games, but any previously unpublished article focused on games and gaming is welcome. Proposed articles should be jargon-free, and should attempt to shed new light on games, rather than simply use games as metaphor or illustration of some other theory or phenomenon.