A Phenomenological Study of Video Games from the Perspective of Speculative Realism

Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی

Author
Ali Razizadeh
Assistant Professor in Department of Media Arts, Religion and Media Faculty, IRIB University, Qom, Iran
10.48308/kj.2026.242820.1390
Abstract
This study begins by addressing a foundational problem: How do digital objects in video games constitute the game-world through their own mode of being—prior to any human perception or action? This problem becomes significant in light of the fact that classical theories of gaming have largely emphasized human experience and activity, while paying insufficient attention to the technical structures, algorithmic logics, and nonhuman agencies that preconfigure digital worlds. From this theoretical gap emerges the central research question: How can a synthesis of phenomenology and speculative realism provide an ontology of video games in which digital objects are understood as autonomous and agentive entities? The aim of the article is to demonstrate that the game-world is the outcome of technical logic and ontotechnical operations, rather than a construct dependent on human consciousness. The methodology is based on philosophical analysis employing a non-experiential, non-subject-centered phenomenological approach combined with principles of speculative realism to examine the modes of existence of digital objects. The findings show that graphical processing, code architecture, lighting systems, and algorithmic operations form a network of nonhuman agency that independently configures the game-world. This analysis reveals that the human occupies a secondary position, since the digital world is already constituted by technical structures prior to any engagement. The study ultimately provides a framework for a non-anthropocentric, technicologically grounded ontology of video games.
Keywords
Phenomenology
Technical Ontology
Speculative Realism
Philosophy of Interactive Media
Video Games Studies
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  • Receive Date 07 December 2025
  • Revise Date 20 April 2026
  • Accept Date 24 June 2026