Abstract Berlin: Maciej Jemioł

On perceptions of the Other in violent and non-violent single-player video games

Although philosophy of perception is most commonly associated with perceiving objects, it also assumes an important role of explaining our perceptions of other subjects and intersubjectivity, explored by such philosophers as Alfred Schütz or more recently Dan Zahavi. In this presentation my aim will be to examine various approaches of single-player video games to constructing perceptions of the Other (Non-Player Characters: enemies, monsters, allies etc.) for the player in their ludonarrative, mediated trough the presence of the avatar. Drawing from the works of such thinkers as Emmanuel Levinas (ethical nature of perception) or Sara Ahmed (phenomenology of the Other) I will inspect the role that the presence or non-presence of violence in gameplay and narrative of such games plays in the construction of this kind of perception and what it means for the player.