"Have You Ever Heard a Worm Sing?": The Spectral Ecology of Kentucky Route Zero, Act V
First author: YoungbloodYear: 2024
Abstract
This chapter places the episodic adventure game Kentucky Route Zero in conversation with ecological theorist Timothy Morton’s ideas of spectral ecology, with a particular focus on how the game habitually ruptures the boundaries between human and nonhuman. I argue Kentucky Route Zero presents an environment marked by a mingled coexistence of ghosts, animals, humans, and trash; it is what Morton deems a “perforated world,” one where the definition of humankind comes into question and new deanthropocentric modes of living emerge. Kentucky Route Zero is not a puzzle but a space to be witnessed. It offers a lingering image of a home with open walls: a space of unbounded play with what it means to be human.Details
Language: EnglishCountry of affiliation: United States
Published in: Ecogames: Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis
Publication type: Book chapter
Source: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.10819591.18
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