IEEE Transactions on Games

Submission guidelines

IEEE Transactions on Games invites authors to original high-quality articles covering scientific, technical, and engineering aspects of games. Papers should describe mature work that is original and not published or under review elsewhere.

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Guidelines for Authors

Before submitting your paper to IEEE Transactions on Games please read the following carefully.

ToG solicits four types of article:

• Full papers (10-14 pages – fees apply for pages over 10)

• Letters (4 pages)

• Survey papers (15-20 pages - fees apply for pages over 15)

• Short papers (6-8 pages - fees apply for pages over 6)

Full papers

Full papers may be research articles, surveys, or tutorials. They are archival quality papers making a significant contribution to the field. Full papers are limited to 10 pages in the journal’s two column format, which will include all references and author biographies (note, author biographies are optional), but excluding supplementary material. Papers exceeding this length will be subject to a mandatory over-length page charge.

Letters

Letters are limited to 4 pages in the journal’s two column format. Letters typically comment on existing papers but may also present new research where the result may be concisely described.

Survey papers

Survey papers will focus on a specific area related to the journal. It will provide a historical perspective, highlight recent work, provide a broader perspective of the area and suggest future areas of potential research, as well outlining open questions. A Survey paper should not exceed 15 pages of formatted text in the IEEE two-column style, which will include all references and author biographies, but excluding supplementary material. Papers exceeding this length will be subject to a mandatory over-length page charge.

Short papers

Short papers report sufficiently interesting new theories and/or developments/results/simulations/experiments on previously published work in the area. Short papers are limited to 6 pages in the journal’s two column format, including all references and author biographies (note, author biographies are optional), but excluding supplementary material. Papers exceeding this length will be subject to a mandatory over-length page charge.

Submission Instructions

All submissions should be accompanied by a covering letter or note indicating the type of the submission (letter, short paper, full paper or survey) and whether it is a candidate for a special issue.

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All correspondence concerning submissions is between the author, Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Assistant.

To submit your paper for consideration, visit the web submission system at Manuscript Central found in submission link, where you can create a new account or use an existing one if you have one, and submit a first draft of a new manuscript.

The journal operates a single-blind review process. Authors should list their names and affiliations on the manuscript, but the reviewers and the associate editor for each paper will remain anonymous. Use ample margins on all sides, and please ensure that your uploaded file prints without error on both 8.5×11 inch and A4 paper.

This TRANSACTIONS is devoted primarily to archival reports of work that have not been published elsewhere. Specifically, conference records and book chapters that have been published previously are not acceptable unless and until they have been enhanced significantly. In special circumstances or on exceptional occasions, the editor may deem a contribution noteworthy enough to be exempted from this policy. Ensure that in “Comments to Editor-in-Chief” you state that the work being submitted has not been published elsewhere, nor is it under review currently by another publication. Style for Manuscript

TOG follows the standard format IEEE Transactions. For guidelines and templates please follow this link: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/ . A list of 2-5 keywords are required for all manuscripts. Number all pages of hard copy manuscripts, using one side only. Provide an abstract of 150-200 words as described below. Authors are encouraged to put detailed derivations in appendices. Papers longer than 12 pages in the IEEE Transactions format will be considered only if the author can justify this length in the covering letter. The authors are encouraged to suggest a publication category for their paper, but this may be changed by the editor-in-chief as deemed appropriate.

Abstract

In order for an abstract to be effective when displayed in IEEE Xplore® as well as through indexing services such as Compendex, INSPEC, Medline, ProQuest, and Web of Science, it must be an accurate, stand-alone reflection of the contents of the article.

  • The abstract must be a concise yet comprehensive reflection of what is in your article. In particular:
  • The abstract must be self-contained, without abbreviations, footnotes, or references. It should be a microcosm of the full article.
  • The abstract must be between 150-200 words. Be sure that you adhere to these limits; otherwise, you will need to edit your abstract accordingly.
  • The abstract must be written as one paragraph, and should not contain displayed mathematical equations or tabular material.
  • The abstract should include three or four different keywords or phrases, as this will help readers to find it. It is important to avoid over-repetition of such phrases as this can result in a page being rejected by search engines.
  • Ensure that your abstract reads well and is grammatically correct.

Page Charges

After a manuscript has been accepted for publication, the author’s company or institution will be requested to pay a voluntary charge of $110 per printed page to cover part of the cost of publication. Page charges for this TRANSACTIONS, like those for journals of other professional societies, are not obligatory, nor is their payment a prerequisite for publication.

Mandatory Over-Length Page Charges

If the voluntary page charge is not honoured, the IEEE will impose a mandatory over-length page charge of $200 USD per page for each page in excess of 10 pages for full papers, 15 pages for survey papers, 6 pages for short papers and 4 pages for letters. Detailed instructions on payment of these charges will accompany the page proof.

Copyright

It is the policy of the IEEE to own copyright to the technical contributions it publishes. To comply with the IEEE copyright policy , authors are required to sign the IEEE Copyright Transfer & Export Control compliance From before publication in either the print or electronic medium. The form is provided upon approval of the manuscript. Author must submit a signed copy of this form with their final manuscripts.

Submission of Final Manuscript

Page Numbers: Number all pages, including illustrations (which should be grouped at the end), in a single series, with no omitted numbers. Figures should be identified with the figure number and author’s name at the bottom or on the back; keep the information in the margin, off the body of the figure.

References and Captions

Put references on a separate page and provide them in IEEE style. Figure captions should also be on a separate page from references and content. Do not include captions on the illustrations themselves. Figure captions should be sufficiently clear so that the figures can be understood without detailed reference to the accompanying text. Axes of graphs should have self-explanatory labels, not just symbols, wherever appropriate.

Illustrations and Photos

Figures and photos should be original figures and not photocopies. Photos must be glossy prints with not screens. Laser prints are not acceptable in place of photos or where gray-scale graphics are involved. All line drawings and photos should be in black and white, unles specifically requested. Letters should be large enough to be readily legible when the drawing is reduced to two or one-column width – as much as 4:1 reduction from the original. All materials should be no larger than 22 x 28 cm (8.5 x 11 in).

Electronic Form for Final Printing

For the final printed production of the manuscript, the author will need to provide electronic copy of the peer-approved version. Please be certain that changes made to the paper are incorporated into the final copy, and include all source files. Check that all files are complete including abstract, text, references, footnotes, biographies, and figures and captions. Figures, tables, and author photos may be submitted in .tiff, .eps, or .ps formats. A separate set of files should be submitted for graphics as they are processed separately from the manuscript. For more information on submitting electronic graphics, please visit the URL: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/ and click on the link “Guidelines for Author supplied Electronic Text and Graphics.” IEEE can process most commercial software programs, but not page layout programs. Do not send postscript files. The preferred programs are TeX, LaTeX, and Microsoft Word. An IEEE LaTeX style file or Word Template can be obtained at the URL: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org

The Review Process

What happens after a paper has been submitted?

  • After first vetting, the Editor in Chief sends it to Associate Editors.
  • For all papers review management is primarily under the direction of an associate editor, who will solicit reviews for each submission.
  • The associate editor will ordinarily make a recommendation after receiving three reviews (two for letters).
  • After an agreed decision have been reached, the authors are notified by the Editor in Chief or the Associate Editor.
  • When the final version of a manuscript is accepted, it is immediately published electronically on IEEE Xplore and given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), at which time it enters the queue for publication in the paper version. In line with the IEEE’s policy on scholarly publishing, authors are also free to archive the PDF of the author-final version of the paper on their own web-site or institutional repository.

The possible decisions are

  • Accept: the paper can be published as it is now (except maybe for some typos).
  • Accept with minor revisions: the paper will have to be slightly revised following the reviewers' comments, but there will not be any additional round of review, only the Action Editor and/or the Editor in Chief will check the modifications.
  • Revise and resubmit: although the topic is worth publishing, but the paper requires significant revisions before it can actually be published (often including additional experimental work). A substantial rewrite of the paper is likely, rather than merely clarifying material. If a revised version is sent within 6 months, it will most probably be handled by the same Action Editor.
  • Reject: the paper is out of scope, or does not contain any significant contribution, or may be simply too difficult to understand. In this case, the same work should not be resubmitted without first seeking approval from the EiC.

Last but not least, it is our goal that the whole review process does not take more than 3 months before the decision is sent to the authors.

IEEE Policy Regarding Prescreening of Articles by Editors

Editors may prescreen articles immediately after they are submitted and before they are transmitted to referees for evaluation. The purpose of such prescreening is to verify that the article adheres to minimum criteria set forth by IEEE, as well as by the organizational unit responsible for the specific publication. Typical prescreening measures include the following:

  1. The author(s) have followed the IEEE guidelines for style.
  2. The author(s) have not obviously violated IEEE Policies.
  3. The article is comprehensible (in other words, not so poorly written that it is unreadable).
  4. The subject and contents of the article meet the scope of the periodical or a specific issue.
  5. The article meets a minimum criterion for technical substance established for the periodical.

If the Editor assesses that a submission has met prescreening criteria 1 through 4, but has not met criterion 5, the Editor shall consult with at least two members of the editorial board for concurrence. Rejection on the basis of criterion 5 requires the agreement of the Editor-in-chief, the Senior Editor, and the Associate Editor. An article is considered in review if it passes the prescreening process and is forwarded to referees. An “administrative reject” refers to an article that does not meet the prescreening measures and is, therefore, returned to the author(s) with explanation.

Submission of Manuscripts that Extend Previously Published Work

We are happy to receive manuscripts which extend previously published conference work, book chapters or other similar work. There is no fixed percentage of the manuscript that must be different; rather, the Editors and reviewers base their judgement on assessment of the additional novel contribution made in the new manuscript. Hence, both the relationship of the submitted manuscript to the previously published work and the novel contribution of the new manuscript must be made explicitly clear to the reader within the manuscript text (not just in a covering letter).  Authors should also keep in mind the following points:

  • The conference paper must be referenced explicitly in the new submission;
  • The novel contribution of the submitted manuscript should be made explicitly clear in the abstract and conclusion, and perhaps elsewhere in the main text;
  • The amount of text copied directly from the published work should be reduced where appropriate by either changing the presentation, paraphrasing and/or summarising the previous work;
  • The previously published paper should be attached as a supplemental file, as PDF.

Contact Information

Any inquiries concerning editorial issues, as well as submission format and submissions themselves, should be directed by e-mail to the Editor-in-Chief: Georgios Yannakakis E-mail: georgios.yannakakis at um dot edu dot mt

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