Playing the Nonhuman : Alien Experiences in Aliens vs. Predator
Year of publication
2020
Authors
Arjoranta, Jonne
Abstract
What is it like to play a nonhuman character? In his classic essay, philosopher Thomas Nagel (1975) argues that we are fundamentally unable to imagine what it is like to be a bat, because our senses and cognition are structured in a way that is uniquely human – whereas bats’ senses and cognition have a uniquely bat-like configuration. In spite of this, media genres from fantasy to science-fiction routinely strive to imagine and show what it could be like to be something other than human. What is more, different media achieve this effect by different means: literature provides textual descriptions, audio-visual media rely on moving images, and comics employ different kinds of multimodal compositions, as discussed in the previous chapter. In the fifth chapter, Jonne Arjoranta continues investigating these medium-specific imaginations by examining how video games portray the nonhuman, what kind of assumptions they make about being nonhuman, and what kind of tools and techniques they use to convey the (imagined) experience of nonhumanness. The analysis focuses on Aliens vs. Predator (2010, Rebellion Developments), which features three different but intertwined campaigns that allow the player to play as a human, an alien, and a predator. The game thereby evokes two playing experiences that are supposedly nonhuman, and enables direct comparison between them and the “normal” experience of playing as human. The discussion around these playing experiences is further complemented with examples from other games that present playable nonhuman characters and, like the previous two chapters, draws theoretical support from the notion of embodied cognition.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Compendium
Article type
Other article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A3 Book section, Chapters in research booksPublication channel information
Parent publication name
Reconfiguring Human, Nonhuman and Posthuman in Literature and Culture
Parent publication editors
Karkulehto, Sanna; Koistinen, Aino-Kaisa; Varis, Essi
Publisher
Pages
108-124
ISBN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
3
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
Yes
Open access of publication channel
Fully open publication channel
Self-archived
Yes
Other information
Fields of science
Other humanities
Keywords
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Publication country
United States
Internationality of the publisher
International
Language
English
International co-publication
No
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.4324/9780429243042-8
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes