Kevin Mercer holds a BFA degree from Western Illinois University and an MFA degree from The Pennsylvania State University. Mercer is an artist and game developer. His work focuses on interactive installation, experimental narrative, rurality, and the environment. Mercer currently serves as Assistant Professor of Digital Media Arts & Animation at Southern Illinois University, USA.
The Cute Shall Inherit the Earth: Animal Protagonists in Post-Human Game Worlds
FROG 2024 – Talk
Recent video game titles such as Stray and Another Crab’s Treasure feature animal protagonists navigating and improving built worlds in the decades following the extinction of humans. In each, the player embodies a cute, unlikely hero as they reckon with old-world technologies inherited from humans, face deadly foes, and seek to either reclaim a long-forgotten past or start anew.
Stray sees a cat, accompanied by an AI companion, ascend several architectural and societal layers of a near-lifeless city. Swarms of carnivorous zurks pursue the unnamed feline as it seeks respite among robotic communities. Another Crab’s Treasure sees a hermit crab, whose shell was stolen from its back, blaze a trail across a polluted ocean to reclaim his home. Throughout gameplay, the protagonist often returns to the city of New Carcinia to trade microplastics for goods.
Through intertextual analysis, I will discuss the commonality and contrast of Stray, Another Crab’s Treasure, and other games in their depictions of post-apocalyptic architecture, fallen economies, stratified societies, and environmental abuse. More specifically, the unique animal lens through which players engage with these themes will be investigated. In what ways may an animal player character facilitate either more or less humane gameplay?
References:
Another Crab’s Treasure. Directed by Nicholas Kaman, Aggro Crab, 2024. Microsoft PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S game.
Skolnick, Evan. Video Game Storytelling. United States of America, Watson-Guptill, 2 Dec. 2014.
Stray. Directed by Koola & Viv, BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive, 2022-24. Microsoft PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S game.
Vergine, Lea. When Trash Becomes Art: TRASH rubbish mongo. Italy, Skira Editore, 2007.
Whiteley, Gillian. Junk: Art and the Politics of Trash. New York, NY, I.B. Taurus & Co., 2011.
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