Post-human encounters: Humanising the technological Other in videogames

Abstract

Whether we are talking about Alexa, chat bots or a videogame character, technological artefacts are increasingly being developed to mimic different aspects of being human. However, research on people’s experience with such technologies and the cultural imaginations of what makes them human remains underdeveloped. Guided by a reexamination of the sociocultural concept of the Other, this article empirically studies how and why players humanise non-playable videogame characters. The analysis is based on 21, online and offline, semi-structured interviews with players of two single player, role-playing videogames – The Witcher and Dragon Age – and other players’ anonymous posts on various websites. The analysis illustrates the different ways in which players humanise non-playable videogame characters (NPCs) and the ways these impede on their offline relationships. Finally, the analysis shows that the meaningful interactions with videogame characters affect players’ human relationships and, thus, blur the boundaries between humans and nonhumans, and reality and virtuality.