Motif: Destabilizing Anthropocentrism

Destabilizing anthropocentrism challenges the belief that humans are the central beings in the world, with nature and non-human entities existing only to serve human needs. It promotes a shift towards valuing the environment and non-human life independently, fostering a more sustainable and equitable relationship with nature.
Kopnina, Helen, Haydn Washington, Bron Taylor, and John J Piccolo. 2018. “Anthropocentrism: More Than Just a Misunderstood Problem.” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 31 (1): 109–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-018-9711-1.

Destabilizing anthropocentrism challenges the belief that humans are the central beings in the world, with nature and non-human entities existing only to serve human needs. It promotes a shift towards valuing the environment and non-human life independently, fostering a more sustainable and equitable relationship with nature.
Kopnina, Helen, Haydn Washington, Bron Taylor, and John J Piccolo. 2018. “Anthropocentrism: More Than Just a Misunderstood Problem.” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 31 (1): 109–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-018-9711-1.

Rain World

Rain World might look a bit different than more prominent ‘ecogame’ examples but exhibits a few design decisions that stand out among other digital games and raise pertinent issues: Destabilizing anthropomorphism. The game exclusively features non-human protagonists and antagonists; moreover, while the in-game creatures are inspired by real-world counterparts (e.g. spiders and birds), they are

The Endless Forest

The Endless Forest is a multiplayer online game PC by Tale of Tales, in which players represent deer in a peaceful forest without goals or the ability to chat. Pictograms above registered deer’s heads represent their names. Players communicate with one another through sounds and body language. From the wiki: “During ‘abiogenesis’, every deer runs

Meadow (computer game)

From the wiki: “Meadow is Might and Delight’s latest release; a massively multiplayer online sandbox that allows players to interact as animals would. Described as a ‘forum in games’ clothing’, this online fable experience lets fans – old and new – come together and experience a peculiar world.” With its focus on nonverbal communication, the

Symbiosis

Symbiosis (Polymorf, 2021) is a performative, multisensory, multiuser and multi-species-storytelling VR experience. It offers a speculative world set 200 years in the future on the ruins of the Anthropocene after climate disaster has changed the world beyond recognition. This installation offers blueprints for the creation of new family relationships between humans, animals, plants and AI. On the verge of extinction, symbiosis between and the redesign

The Botanical Revolution: On the Necessity of Art and Gardening

An art exhibition that features an array of modern artistic interpretations of the ecological and shifting cultural importance of the garden. The exhibition seeks to stimulate ecological awareness and tries to educate its visitors on garden practices and views on nature throughout history while emphasizing the Anthropocene.

The Birds

In this Hitchcock film, birds ferociously and perpetually attack humans in Bodega Bay. It shows an 'animal retribution', and is an iconic reference point for the prospect of ecological apocalypse.

Avatar

Avatar is a science-fiction film set on the distant moon Pandora, where a team of humans has come establish a mining colony. The film uses the image of the Na'vi and their relationship with nature to put forward a message of environmentalism.

Timberborn

Timberborn is a beaver city-building game with a unique architecture system, wooden machinery, dams and water physics. By labelling the game an examples of "lumberpunk" (supported e.g. by the title), Timberborn taps into the current trend of differentiate -punk movements, communicating topicality and a larger world view than just one game.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a green strategy board game, in which players plant and grow their own forest. By suggesting the subjectivity of trees, the game questions human-centered thinking.

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction franchise, that actively uses their storylines to explore contemporary political and social issues. They often focus on diplomacy across cultures and promoting collaborative approaches to problem-solving.

Bee Simulator

Bee Simulator allows a player to experience life as a honey bee, encouraging the player to actively learn about the bee ecosystem, the value of biodiversity, and the relationships between animals and humans.

Princess Mononoke

This Studio Ghibli film tells the story of the young prince Ashitaka who finds himself caught in a war between the old forest gods and a mining colony. The film discusses the negative implications of destroying nature for the sake of economic gain.

Shelter 3

Shelter 3 is the fifth in a series of games, which put the player in the position of an animal having to care for their young in a hostile, stylized natural environment. From the game’s website: “Shelter 3 returns the player to the natural landscapes of Shelter, this time as an elephant mother in charge

Endling

From the game’s website: “Will the last mother fox on Earth be able to save its three little cubs Experience what life would be like in a world ravaged by mankind through the eyes of the last fox on Earth in this eco-conscious adventure. Discover the destructive force of the human race, as it corrupts,

Goat Simulator

The game’s physics-based and unpredictable gameplay is designed to produce crazy situations that lend themselves to streaming the game or sharing gameplay clips via YouTube or even as animated GIF memes.

WWF Panda Junior

WWF Panda Junior lets the player play as either Alex or Emma as they discover the African continent. The game is dedicated to a young audience from 6 to 9 years old. During their journey the players will meet lots of different animals, unfortunately tourists and hunters will try to stop the players from progressing.

TyrAnt

Tyrant is a real-time strategy game that teaches the player how ants eat,communicate and reproduce within a diverse and delicately balanced ecosystem. The game can be played by multiple players. The players can play competitively, allowing them to fight each others ant colonies.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn takes place in a postacolytpic world in which mankind is not at the top of the food chain anymore. Robots and machines have taken over control of the world and it is up to mankind to survive in a world filled their own technical creations.

Save a Rhino

Save a Rhino lets the player play as either an elephant or rhino. The game tries to teach players about the current situation involving the sales of ivory on the black market and how it is detrimental to the numbers of rhinos and elephants out in the wild.

Bioharmonious

Bioharmonious lets the player combine the features of two planets in order to create a harmony between mechanization and nature.

Animal Mayhem Games and Nonhuman-Oriented Thinking

CO₂: Second Chance

CO₂: Second Chance lets the players take on the role of CEO of an energy company. These companies have to respond to the requests of the governments for new, green power plants. The goal for the players is to stop the increase of pollution whilst meeting the rising demand for sustainable energy.