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WhitepaperThe Hong Kong University of Science3 Nov 2026

To be Non-human: From Player Reviews to Design Opportunities for VR Animal Games

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Effective de-anthropocentric VR design should prioritize selective mimicry and algorithmic assistance over full morphological simulation, as direct one-to-one mapping of human limbs to animal bodies often results in clumsy or unstable controls.See it on page 1
02
Twelve actionable design opportunities were identified for VR animal embodiment, including using AI to automate limb coordination, splitting control of a single avatar among multiple players, and converting physical player fatigue into in-game animal pacing.See it on page 15
03
Player reviews of existing VR animal games revealed that reliance on upper-body-centered interactions—such as arm-swinging or head-bobbing—frequently leads to physical strain, motion sickness, and broken immersion.See it on page 7
04
Designers should focus on 'becoming-with' animals through shared playful activity rather than attempting to achieve perfect biological accuracy, which is often hindered by the inherent human-centric nature of VR hardware and player perspectives.See it on page 20
05
Non-visual animal senses like olfaction and proprioception can be effectively simulated in VR through synesthesia design, such as using gradient-colored visual cues or spatialized sound to guide player navigation.See it on page 17
06
Technical limitations in control mapping can be reframed as intentional game mechanics, such as using absurd narratives to turn awkward movement controls into a source of humor or social enjoyment.See it on page 16
07
The study, published in the November 2026 issue of Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., utilized a two-part methodology consisting of a thematic analysis of player reviews and six co-design workshops involving 18 participants.See it on page 1

Summary

To be Non-human : From Player Reviews to Design Opportunities for VR Animal Games SIQI YU∗, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), China SHUAI LIU†, Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Germany YIQING TIAN, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom MAR CANET SOLA, Tallinn University, Estonia TENGJIA ZUO‡, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), China This study investigates the design of non-human animal embodiment in Virtual Reality games to add...

To be Non-human: From Player Reviews to Design Opportunities for VR Animal Games

To be Non-human: From Player Reviews to Design Opportunities for VR Animal Games

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