Estética, jogabilidade e narrativa para o Antropoceno

ABSTRACT

This paper explores dialogues between the video games Nier:Automata (PS4 and PC, 2017; Xbox One, 2018) and Cruelty Squad (PC, 2021), mapping their discourses from the perspective of the Anthropocene. As a term originally from natural sciences, positing mankind activity as the protagonist of yet another force of nature capable of interfering on Earth’s living conditions, the Anthropocene has spread to a wide range of areas bringing light to controversies about human boundaries and limits facing planetary and civilizational collapses. Aesthetics, gameplay, and sociability are guidelines for the analysis of the both games narratives and ambiances. Through immersion, premises, and proposed critical scenarios, the games relate environmental impacts as well as dystopian perspectives for the future of the human species - some of the epistemological, ethical, and identitary challenges of the Anthropocene.

KEYWORDS:
Videogames; Nier:Automata; Cruelty Squad; Anthropocene; Capitalocene; Game studies