From the Invisible to Glitch: Rethinking the Possibilities of Aesthetics, Bodies, and Connection in Virtual Parties

This paper examines how aesthetic choices in virtual party environments shape the bodies, identities, social relations, and future imaginaries that players can inhabit. Its central question asks why some virtual parties feel like simulations of the present while others feel like spaces for speculation. To explore this, the authors compare two contrasting realms: a party environment in an unofficial roleplaying mod of Grand Theft Auto V, and a series of speculative virtual events called NeuroXcape, hosted in Club Cooee by the Neurodungeon collective. The work is framed as an early-stage study, with its findings currently drawn from critical literature analysis and with anthropological interviews and direct observation of gaming sessions still in progress.

The analysis argues that the GTA V roleplay environment is representational, reproducing a standardised, Western-coded idea of festivity centred on consumption, luxury, and display of wealth. Its party scenes often mirror the stereotypical American pool party and associate social life with masculinity and power. Avatar customisation is limited to binary gender presentation, and social interaction is characterised as largely disembodied. By contrast, NeuroXcape is presented as speculative worldbuilding that foregrounds queer, neurodivergent, marginalised, and other-than-human perspectives. Its avatars include posthuman and transspecies forms, and the project extends into physical space through live-action roleplay encounters.

A key concept in the analysis is glitch aesthetics. NeuroXcape's maximalist, deconstructed, and intentionally glitchy visuals are read as a critical strategy that exposes hidden computational processes and labour structures, challenging assumptions of transparency in digital systems. The authors conclude that their critique of the GTA environment is not purely oppositional but can help generate collective and empowering aesthetic approaches. The study positions itself as a foundation for further work, with the authors noting that subsequent interview findings are expected to refine and expand these preliminary categories.