Academy of Media Arts Cologne

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 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…

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.