Pais (2026) - Friction matters: exploring friction in non-anthropocentric gameplay

This article examines the role of friction as a critical principle in interactive media design, particularly within the emerging field of non-anthropocentric game studies. Departing from dominant paradigms of smoothness, efficiency, and user-centric flow, it argues that friction, when deliberately and thoughtfully applied, can operate as a mechanism for decentering human agency and foregrounding more-than-human perspectives, temporalities, and ontologies. Building on insights from user experience theory, game design, and posthumanist design scholarship, this article identifies thirteen friction dimensions that support non-anthropocentric approaches to game design. These include, among others, sensory mismatch, real-time pacing, collective agency, and refusal of interaction.

The article begins by defining and contextualizing the concept of friction, initially examining its role in user experience design before analyzing its function within games and lastly focusing on its application in the context of non-anthropocentric game design.

Geslin (2025) - Imagining Ecocentric Futures Through Media: Biocentric Evaluation Questionnaire for Degrowth and Non-Anthropocentric Societies

Media profoundly influence collective imaginaries and values, often reinforcing anthropocentric worldviews through recurring themes of urbanization, dystopia, and planetary colonization. Such narratives risk perpetuating exploitative attitudes toward nature by extending them beyond Earth. This study presents the Non-Anthropocentric Media Evaluation Questionnaire (NAMEQ), a tool for assessing how well media align with ecocentric principles. Applied to 138 popular films and video games, the analysis reveals a strong dominance of human-centered narratives. Although some works integrate ecocentric ideas, they remain fragmented and inconsistent. The study calls for a cultural shift toward media that recognize the intrinsic value of non-human life and promote truly biocentric perspectives.

Pais and Geslin (2024) - Manifesto for a Non-Anthropocentric Game Design.

The original text is in Portuguese.
This article presents a manifesto proposing a shift in game design through a non-anthropocentric approach that emphasizes the integration of non-human entities into sustainable design practices. The manifesto is connected to the philosophies and activities of the Center for Non-Anthropocentric Play, a newly established research laboratory in Norway. It is structured around ten guiding principles, drawing on insights from philosophy, sociology, ecology, media studies, interactive design, and game design. Ultimately, the manifesto seeks to foster new non-anthropocentric social imaginaries, aiming to transform the perspectives of both designers and players.

Pais (2024) - Exploring more-than-human worlds and becoming with living and non-living entities through play

In recent years, we have observed the emergence of a variety of video games that allow their players to temporarily exist entangled in more-than-human worlds, becoming with other species and things. Informed and inspired by posthuman philosophies, this article examines three video games: Everything (2017), Stray (2022), and Endling - Extinction is Forever (2022). This analysis focuses on three key questions: 1) How are these games enabling players to become with non-human characters representing real-life organisms? 2) What kinds of knowledge do players gain about these worlds? 3) How to define a more-than-human playful experience? The article concludes by introducing an initial draft of guidelines intended to facilitate the development of more-than-human games.