Gameology 2.0

The culmination of the submitted papers will be a book called The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy. Essays should deal with any philosophical issues relating to or surrounding the Legend of Zelda franchise: from the original gold-plaited Nintendo cartridge game to the current Twilight Princess. This means that some general issues falling under the heading Philosophy and Video Games may be advisable, as long as you replace “video game” with “The Legend of Zelda.”

Possible Topics Include (but are not limited to):

• Death and Immortality in the game world
• Issues of playing God
• The ethics of killing in the game world
• Metaphysical status of objects (e.g. the ghosts)
• The status of Good and Evil in the game world
• When does the player become the avatar (i.e. Link)?
• Eastern Philosophy and The Legend of Zelda
• The difference in levels of freedom between the Matrix and Hyrule
• Sense of presence in the mediated environment
• Personal identity
• Repetitiveness in the game world
• “Desires” and “Fears” of Pre-Programmed Enemies
• Is Link a person?
• Our influence of the game being limited by its design
• The player’s creation of mental models for the assumed existence of game objects

Also, it isn’t against the rules to tie The Legend of Zelda to any specific famous philosopher (e.g. Plato, Kant, Schopenhauer) or any well known philosophical notion (e.g. stoicism, mind/body problem, the problem of evil).

What to Avoid

Stick to philosophy. Don’t write about the game’s popularity. Avoid writing about social relations or culture where there is no connection to philosophy.

Submissions Procedure & Format

Send abstracts to the editor, Luke Cuddy, at lcuddy12 at gmail.com, in the text of the email. I advise you to send me an abstract before you start writing the essay, unless you are really gung-ho. Because these essays are geared to a popular audience there are specific guidelines the editors at Open Court want to be followed. I will send you these guidelines when you send me your abstract (as long as it is sound). If you want to get an idea, take a look at some of the Pop-Culture and Philosophy series titles such as The Simpsons and Philosophy, The Undead and Philosophy, Monty Python and Philosophy, etc.

Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and in Microsoft word format with standard font (12) and margins. The paper should be around 10 to 15 pages.

Also, include with your abstract the name of your institution and your position (whether grad student, doctoral candidate, or professor). If you’re a freelance writer, tell me what institution you graduated from.

Important Dates

Abstracts are due by May 15, 2007, and preferably sooner. Papers are due no later than July 30, 2007, and preferably sooner.