How to be Non-Human: A Thematic Analysis of Animal Embodiment in VR Games

The document is a thematic analysis of animal embodiment in virtual reality games, centered on Animal Embodiment Simulators (AES), a niche within VR gaming that is frequently grouped under the broader category of "non-human" VR experiences. Its organizing concept is non-human embodiment, the experience of inhabiting a body other than one's own human form through animal-themed titles, and the player experiences such titles produce. The framing positions these games as a distinct area of study within VR game research rather than a peripheral novelty.

The analysis draws on scholarly work concerning animal embodiment, VR game studies, and animal simulation themes, including recurring motifs such as human behavior paired with animal features and hybrid human-animal forms. These motifs suggest the document is concerned with how embodiment shapes perception and identity when the player's virtual body departs from human anatomy.

Substantive findings, specific data points, and concluding claims cannot be reliably reconstructed from the available material. Much of the text is corrupted by encoding errors, including the closing section, so the document's empirical results, geographic and temporal scope, and specific industry coverage cannot be confidently stated. Any assessment of its conclusions would require access to a complete, correctly encoded copy of the original.