The July 2008 issue is out! This issue’s theme is Family Fun. As well as some stories about gaming with family members, we have our usual crop of interviews and insightful and creative articles. Enjoy!

We’re currently looking for submissions for our August issue. Here’s the call for submissions:

Submission deadline: July 20
Theme: Fight Like a Girl

Violence of one kind or another is a common feature of many games, and a matter of some concern to the non-gaming population. Is it all just harmless fantasy fun, or are there lines that shouldn’t be crossed? What’s so enjoyable about fighting in games?

And what about gendered violence in gaming? Female fighters are often fetishized in a way their male counterparts aren’t, and women and girl characters are often victims of sexualized violence. What does all this mean for gaming and for gamers?

If you’re interested in topics relating to violence, fighting and sexuality in gaming, be sure to submit your work for this issue.

The June 2008 issue is out! This issue’s theme is Heroines and Villainesses. We have several articles about villainesses and heroines as well as a report from the Capes and Consoles party at WisCon 32, plus our regular helping of interviews, a review, craft check and stories of course. Go check it out!

We’re currently looking for submissions for our July issue. Here’s the call for submissions:

Submission deadline: June 20
Theme: Family Fun

Once thought of as a hobby for adolescents, gaming is becoming more and more popular amongst a wide variety of ages. Gaming with family seems like a natural outgrowth of this trend. Parents teach their children to play their favorite games, and some children teach their parents. Couples play one-on-one tabletop games, or adventure online together.

There’s a lot of variety in the ways in which families game together. What are some of the benefits of gaming with your kids? Are there drawbacks to playing fighters with your spouse? Are your parents finally starting to understand what’s so entertaining about those newfangled video consoles? And what about gamers that create family through gaming? If you have something to say about families and gaming, this issue is for you.

The May 2008 issue is out! This issue’s theme is Getting Noticed In Gaming. It’s also Cerise’s first anniversary, and we have a successful year to look back on

We’re currently looking for submissions for our June issue. Here’s the call for submissions:

Submission deadline: May 20
Theme: Heroines and Villainesses

Male heroes and villains seem to dominate gaming storylines, but there are plenty of fascinating female hero(in)es and villain(esse)s, too. This issue aims to celebrate and discuss our favorite (and least favorite) female characters, both protagonists and antagonists.

Who are your all-time favorite heroines and villainesses, and why are they so great? What makes a video game heroine heroic? What’s it like to role-play as a villainess? What are some of the typical ways in which female heroes and villains differ from their male counterparts – and is that okay? If these questions intrigue you, be sure to submit your work for this issue.

What we’re looking for:

1. Enthusiastic people who want to conduct interviews with industry professionals and game-related bloggers by e-mail, phone, or other media.
2. Reliable people with enough time to conduct (at most) one interview a month.

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! You will be working with an Interview Co-ordinator (right now that’s me) who will help you with the preparation and post-interview process.

While much of the co-ordinating will happen via e-mail, we recommend that you sign up for our forums. There, you fill find a number of resources that will help you form your interview strategy, including guidelines and suggestions for future interviews.

This is not currently a paying job, but it is excellent experience for anyone interested in journalism and/or the gaming industry.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in this thread, or alternatively contact me via e-mail. All those interested in the position, please e-mail me directly at andrea [at] theirisnetwork [dot] org.

Check it out for great articles on making your own quick miniatures, an interview with costumer and sculptor Victoria Lamb, reviews, gamer stories, and more!

And don’t forget to hit the submissions page to see how you can contribute to the April issue, devoted to queerness and gaming: Do You Game With Dorothy?

Submission deadline: March 20th, 2008

Theme: Do You Game With Dorothy?

Any group whose members commonly use the word “gay” as a synonym for “foolish” or “undesirable” undoubtedly has some pretty serious heterosexist biases. Queer gamers face challenges ranging from lack of representation in many games to objectification or outright hostility from some corners of gaming culture.

What’s it like to be a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender gamer? Which communities, game designers and companies are serving queer gamers well, and which are failing to consider them at all? What can be done to improve representation for queer gamers? While we here at Cerise welcome discussion of queer concerns in gaming at any time, our April 2008 issue will be specifically devoted to giving the spotlight to marginalized sexualities – if the preceding questions are important to you, don’t miss this issue!

 As always, submission guidelines and categories can be found here.

 Once, when I was in college, a guy I had a serious crush on invited me to join him at his apartment one evening to “play some video games or something.” Believing that this must be code for “fool around together,” I put on a cute skirt and a fitted t-shirt and prepared myself for an evening of semi-reclining fun.

To my surprise, he actually did want to play video games – specifically, ports of classic arcade games that would run on an emulator for his desktop computer. I did my best for a miserable half hour while he encouraged me by shouting things like: “Jump! Jump, damn it! HIT THE B BUTTON.”

I can’t believe I shaved my legs for this, I thought. But at least it will make for a funny story later. Once it stops being mortifying.

From the About page:

This blog is a chronicle of the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of Andrea Rubenstein relating to her studies at HAL, a technical school in Japan. The articles here range from academic critiques to personal entries, including everything from her thoughts on the educational process to analyzing the aspects of the gaming industry that she is exposed to.

It won’t really kick into gear until April, which is when school starts, but in the meantime I’m in the process of getting up articles about my experiences up to now.

The June 2007 issue is out! The theme is “The Making of a Gamer”, and we have some great stories in our new feature “gamer stories” relating to that.

We’re currently looking for submissions for our May issue. Here’s the call for submissions:

Submission deadline: June 20, 2007
Theme: Inclusive Game Design

We often talk about what developers can do to attract women and other groups outside of the target audience to games, or discuss how bad game design can foster an environment hostile to that goal, but the nuances behind inclusive game design (beyond “give me women heroes who aren’t defined primarily by their sexuality”) don’t get as much airtime as perhaps they should.

What are the fundamentals of inclusive game design? How far have we come, or not come, since the old days of gaming? Should we give companies allowances in terms of these fundamentals, based on potential increased costs and other factors that come with inclusive design? Where do lesser talked-about issues, such as accessibility for people with disabilities, fit in? What about the more complex issues associated with inclusive design, such as using an idealized society versus a flawed one, or giving everyone equal choices versus using a certain amount of difference to create a dialogue about equality? If you have something to say about how, when, and why to strive for inclusive game design, then please consider submitting your piece for this issue.