About the Journal

Scope and Focus
Journal of Game Design invites research, essays, and technical reports on game mechanics, narrative systems, player psychology, procedural design, ludology, user interface, accessibility, monetization ethics, and more. We welcome voices from academia, indie studios, AAA developers and critical theorists. If your work digs into how games are made, how they work, or why they matter—we are listening.

Open Access Policy
Everything we publish is free to read, remix and reference. Articles appear under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY); anyone, anywhere can build on your work with proper credit. No hidden costs or subscriptions.

Submission and Review
We use a double-blind peer review process to ensure rigor without bias. Submissions are reviewed by a mix of academic experts and seasoned game designers. Most decisions are delivered within 6–8 weeks. We prioritize clarity, originality and real impact on the field—not trendy jargon.

Copyright and Licensing
Authors keep the rights to their work. We only ask for a non-exclusive license to publish under CC BY, so your ideas stay yours while being open to the world.

Article Processing Charges
There are no submission fees. A modest processing charge applies only after acceptance, and waivers are available. Our goal is to keep the journal financially sustainable without turning away good work.

DOI and Indexing
All articles receive DOIs and are part of SERN’s indexing pipeline. We actively seek placement in relevant academic databases to make sure your work is findable and citable across disciplines.

Sponsorship and Platform
SERN hosts this journal and provides all editorial infrastructure. We do not accept advertising or external sponsorship. No corporate influence; no tracking; no nonsense.

Privacy Statement
Author and reviewer data is handled privately and used only for editorial and publication purposes. We do not share personal information with third parties, period.

Editorial Ethos
We believe game design deserves the same scholarly depth and critical attention as any other creative field. We are not interested in hype; we are interested in substance. Whether you are writing about procedural storytelling or dice probability curves, your voice matters here—especially if it comes from the edge of the map.