Observed Human

The Observed Human is an augmented reality video game that seeks to illustrate the philosophical dynamics of eroticism and desire. Inspired by Jørgen Leth’s 1967s film The Perfect Human, the game is a critique of the seminal film. Using the camera as a control mechanism, The Observed Human invites the player to meditate on the nature of voyeurism and the way it informs our relationships within the camera. In The Observed Human, players interact with The Others: computer generated creatures that move dynamically through the augmented reality board. Each of The Others either loves or hates the camera, and walks towards the player’s field, or hides from it accordingly. As the game progresses, new Others are born, and inherit their progenitors’ camera love/hate coefficient. By the end of the game, players have irrevocably altered this simulated society, with a final population of Others who can no longer be indifferent to the all seeing eye of the smartphone camera. The goal of the project is to elicit conversation about the way eroticism is expressed and experienced in a world mediated by the camera lens. The Observed Human demonstrates the capacity that the video game form has to become a tool for philosophical investigation.