Pitches wanted (games, non-fiction media) | $250 per piece

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: IMMERSE

Deadline: 2 April 2021

Writers, we have another call for proposals for you! Immerse is seeking pitches for Playing with Reality, an upcoming issue on game engines, logics, platforms, etc. and nonfiction media. We want to hear from you. The deadline is 4/2. Our standard rate is $250. As always, please send pitches to editor@immerse.news. More info below.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Submission guidelines for our next special issue, in May/June 2021

Playing With Reality, Immerse’s May/June 2021 issue, will be themed around games and nonfiction media. We are interested in probing the influence of game engines, tools, infrastructure, and logics on immersive nonfiction storytelling projects. We are also interested in how immersive and emerging forms of nonfiction interact with and in turn affect gaming platforms, spaces, narratives, and notions of audiences.

We are seeking proposals for pieces of 1200–1500 words that critically and imaginatively reflect on these approaches. From our last open call, we accepted proposals from writers such as Julie Fukunaga, Lara Chapman, Cheng Mun Chang, and more.

The following are example lines of inquiry, though proposals are not limited these projects or questions:

What was the influence of games on nonfiction storytelling before Unity, Unreal Engine, and VR headsets? Hypertext fiction, and the prevalence of women artists utilizing the medium to transform the format and self-publish feminist narratives, presaged web-based branching nonfiction narratives. Open world games like Grand Theft Auto, based on real world settings and maps, have both been a source of found footage for linear nonfiction films and spun off the genre of machinima, many of which have deep connections to nonfiction storytelling practices. There are, also, the games that are based on historical or biographical reality, or sample from reality, from historical mods of popular video games to games created with a personal or historical archive. (A Force More Powerful, This War of Mine, Everything, Assassin’s Creed, Truth or Consequences, Life Imitation)

And now, how do the structure of game engines limit and encourage world-building? Most immersive nonfiction work is built with game engines and is experienced with the same gear. Dialogue and decision trees, rendering limitations, cutscenes, and other gameplay mechanics that have been a focus for ludologists have been under-examined for emergent forms of nonfiction. Games have also contributed far more than genre and technological platforms. Interactive games and nonfiction projects rely on maintaining game flow. Paralleling the rise of magical realism in nonfiction filmmaking and immersive forms, games have introduced non-linear and non-corporeal elements, structures, aesthetics, and interactivity to a broad audience. (Rogue-like games, Kentucky Route Zero, Out for Delivery, Liberate Hong Kong, Home Movie)

Looking ahead, what does the history of gaming tell us about the future of nonfiction interventions? Here, we are interested in questions regarding the gamification of engagement with immersive nonfiction, changing audience consumption habits from increasing gaming during the pandemic, virtual economies, and new business models such as bundling products, public betas, subsequent DLCs, and increased developer and player interaction through social media and online forums. Racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and ablist harassment and toxicity are a social problem in gaming spaces that have already crossed over, including well-documented cases like the overwhelmingly caustic reviews of “Project Syria” on Steam. Trolling and troll-like behaviors often are amplified in gaming spaces; the establishment of QAnon, the cult of Kek, and the belief in “meme magic” and conspiracy theories have been read as a form of participatory gaming.

Where does this lead us, and where do we go from here?

Proposals should be 200 words or less in length and submitted by Friday, April 2, 2021 to editor@immerse.news. Accepted proposals will be notified by mid-April. Our standard fee is $250.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

• Questions / submissions: editor@immerse.news
• Website: https://immerse.news/

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: Immerse aims to offer a creative discussion of emerging nonfiction storytelling. With a curious and critical eye, Immerse covers an array of topics: artificial intelligence, equity in tech, networked activism, nonfiction games, and more. More information here.
• Read through a selection of recent articles/stories on its website.
• Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook Database and at SuccessfulPitches.com.